Defense Of Marriage Act

NEW YORK — These are frustrating, tantalizing days for many of the same-sex couples who seized the chance to marry in recent years. The law that prohibits federal recognition of their unions is under assault in the courts. President Obama’s administration has repudiated it and taken piecemeal steps to weaken its effects. Yet for now, the Defense of Marriage Act remains very much in force — provoking anger, impatience, and confusion among gay couples. Because of the act, some binational couples still worry about deportation of the non-citizen spouse.

On Wednesday , after years of claiming that his view was "evolving," President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage. Oddly, the catalyst for that decision was probably his opponent for the presidency, Mitt Romney. Social issues weren't expected to intrude on a campaign supposed to be all about the economy. But last week, Romney's openly gay foreign policy spokesman, Richard Grenell, resigned, implying that social conservatives had driven him out of the job, which thrust the issue into the campaign and led to Vice President Joe Biden's saying on "Meet the Press" that he supported...

A battle over a law that denies federal benefits for married same-sex couples is headed to an appeals court in Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage. The federal Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In 2010, a federal judge in Massachusetts declared a key section of the law unconstitutional after the state attorney general and a gay rights legal group sued. The judge found that the law is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples an...

President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney on gay rights: OBAMA: Now supports legal recognition of same-sex marriage, a matter decided by states. Opposed that recognition in 2008 presidential campaign — and in 2004 Senate campaign — while supporting the extension of legal rights and benefits to same-sex couples in civil unions. Achieved repeal of the military ban on openly gay service members. Has not achieved repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and affirms the right of states to refuse to recognize such marriages.

WASHINGTON — After a brief reprieve, immigration authorities are once again denying applications for immigration benefits for same-sex couples. After a review by Department of Homeland Security lawyers, it was concluded that a law prohibiting the government from recognizing same-sex marriages must be followed, despite the Obama administration’s decision to stop defending the constitutionality of the law in court, said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

On Wednesday , after years of claiming that his view was "evolving," President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage. Oddly, the catalyst for that decision was probably his opponent for the presidency, Mitt Romney. Social issues weren't expected to intrude on a campaign supposed to be all about the economy. But last week, Romney's openly gay foreign policy spokesman, Richard Grenell, resigned, implying that social conservatives had driven him out of the job, which thrust the issue into the campaign and led to Vice President Joe Biden's saying on "Meet the Press" that...

TAMPA -- A lesbian couple who married in Massachusetts sued the federal government yesterday to have their union legally recognized in the rest of the country. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Rev. Nancy Wilson and Paula Schoenwether, who married July 2 in Provincetown. The couple applied for a marriage license in Florida soon afterward and were denied. It was believed to be the first such lawsuit since gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts in May, said their attorney, Ellis Rubin.

IN THE mid-'60s, many politicians who weren't diehard segregationists nonetheless convinced themselves that having the federal government require hotels and restaurants to serve black customers simply went too far. Not coincidentally, opposition to civil rights laws helped candidates win the support of white conservatives. Two decades later, almost every candidate who opposed civil rights laws was apologizing for it, saying their eyes had been opened to the importance of equal rights.

Google Inc., Starbucks Corp., and 46 other companies, siding with same-sex marriage proponents in Massachusetts, are seeking to overturn the federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The US Court of Appeals in Boston is considering a lower-court ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. "We anticipate this case would be the first case to reach the Supreme Court," said Janson Wu, a lawyer for same-sex spouses in the case. Wu's clients, couples married under state law who are denied federal benefits, have the backing of the Greater Boston Chamber of...

A federal appeals court in Boston is set to hear arguments in a legal battle over a law that denies federal benefits to married gay couples. The 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. In 2010, a federal judge in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal, declared a key section of the law unconstitutional. Judge Joseph Tauro found that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples a host of federal...

Lawyers for Massachusetts and for gay-rights advocates urged a US appeals court Wednesday to strike down a federal law that defines marriage as a union only of a man and a woman, calling it discriminatory and based on "animus" toward same-sex couples. But a lawyer for the US House of Representative's Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, a unique group appointed to defend the law, told the three-judge panel that the law was meant to preserve what he called the traditional definition of marriage and that it would have no effect on which marriages Massachusetts chooses to recognize.

A federal appeals court in Boston is set to hear arguments in a legal battle over a law that denies federal benefits to married gay couples. The 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages. In 2010, a federal judge in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal, declared a key section of the law unconstitutional. Judge Joseph Tauro found that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples...

A battle over a law that denies federal benefits for married same-sex couples is headed to an appeals court in Massachusetts, the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage. The federal Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In 2010, a federal judge in Massachusetts declared a key section of the law unconstitutional after the state attorney general and a gay rights legal group sued. The judge found that the law is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define...

IN THE mid-'60s, many politicians who weren't diehard segregationists nonetheless convinced themselves that having the federal government require hotels and restaurants to serve black customers simply went too far. Not coincidentally, opposition to civil rights laws helped candidates win the support of white conservatives. Two decades later, almost every candidate who opposed civil rights laws was apologizing for it, saying their eyes had been opened to the importance of equal rights.

Google Inc., Starbucks Corp., and 46 other companies, siding with same-sex marriage proponents in Massachusetts, are seeking to overturn the federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The US Court of Appeals in Boston is considering a lower-court ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. "We anticipate this case would be the first case to reach the Supreme Court," said Janson Wu, a lawyer for same-sex spouses in the case. Wu's clients, couples married under state law who are denied federal benefits, have the backing of the Greater Boston Chamber of...

MANCHESTER, N.H. - What started as a quintessential example of retail glad-handing in the Granite State yesterday turned into a pointed exchange on gay rights for Mitt Romney. The Republican candidate, seeking support from diners at the Chez Vachon, approached an older man wearing a Vietnam veteran cap and sidled up next to him. After some friendly banter about their ages, Bob Garon asked the former Massachusetts governor whether he supports repealing New Hampshire's same-sex marriage law. Romney said he did, adding, "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman.

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joe Biden predicted yesterday that the evolution in thinking that will soon permit gays to serve openly in the military eventually will bring about a national consensus for same-sex marriage. Changes in attitudes among military leaders, servicemembers, and the public allowed the repeal by Congress of the “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy, Biden noted in a nationally broadcast interview on Christmas Eve. “I think the country’s evolving,’’ he said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.’’ And I think you’re...

WASHINGTON - The next battleground over gay marriage could be the US Capitol. A preliminary vote by the District of Columbia's city council to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere puts the issue on a path to Congress, which has final say over D.C.'s laws. That could force lawmakers to take up the politically dicey debate after years of letting it play out in the states. "Let's be clear, this is a new era," gay D.C. council member David Catania said yesterday, expressing optimism that the city's law would clear Congress after a final council...

Every member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, except for Senator Scott Brown, appears in a new "It Gets Better" video aimed at helping gay teenagers who are contemplating suicide or struggling with depression. "I know you may feel that even the people who are closest to you can't understand what you're going through," Senator John F. Kerry says as he starts the piece. "But I can tell you, you're not alone," continues Representative Edward J. Markey, dean of the delegation.

THE FIGHT over same-sex marriage - a topic undiscussed 20 years ago, a shocking proposition a decade ago - will soon be over. It will take some years more, and battles remain, but the outcome of the war is clear. This may seem a remarkable claim, given the federal Defense Of Marriage Act, the 2008 rejection of same-sex marriage by California voters, and the laws of a majority of states, all of which aim to preserve traditional, heterosexual marriage. And there are still more than a few politicians who indulge in homophobia, most notably Michele Bachmann, who recently became...