In a major win for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled on a key part of a federal law that limits the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples — deciding that the law violates citizen’s rights.
The Supreme Court also ruled against a California gay marriage ban, known as Proposition 8, clearing the way for gay marriage to again be legal in the state.
In the case Windsor v. United States, the federal 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which restricts federal marriage benefits and required inter-state marriage recognition to only opposite-sex marriages in the United States, was challenged after Edith Windsor of New York sued the government to get the federal estate tax deduction available to heterosexuals when their spouses die.
The court’s separate ruling on Proposition 8 clears the way for gay marriage in the state of California, however, does not affect the entire country.
See the ruling striking down DOMA below.
http://knightnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/12-307_g2bh.pdf
See the ruling on Proposition 8 below.
http://knightnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/12-144_8ok0.pdf
