Wednesday, July 14, 2010

DOMA in Obama's hands

Following a federal judge's ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, there has been much speculation about whether the Obama administration will appeal the ruling.

One former Justice Department official says that unless the Obama administration challenges the decision, it could set a precedent other administrations could someday use to ignore pro-LGBT federal laws.

"You could have a conservative Department of Justice that ... won't enforce all kinds of new protections for gays and lesbians because the attorney general doesn't agree with them. That's not a regime you want to live in," the former official notes.