In a landmark victory for same-sex couples and advocates of equal rights everywhere, the Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional by a 5-4 vote. DOMA is the law barring the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages legalized by the states.
"The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion. "By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment."
Justice Kennedy delivered the court’s opinion, and was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
As the majority opinion was read, cries could be heard in the courtroom as the verdict was revealed. Several same-sex couples sitting in the audience rejoiced and wiped away tears.
DOMA, signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996, prevented same-sex couples whose marriages were recognized by their home state from receiving the hundreds of benefits available to other married couples under federal law.
Source: huffingtonpost.com
