I'm watching the news with my mouth half-hanging open these days:
There was a peaceful Egyptian revolution. For realz. Egyptian citizens began protesting and demonstrating on January 25th, and on Feb 11th (2.11.11)
Feb 23rd, President Barack Obama directed the Department of JUSTICE to stop defending DOMA in court. (HOLY SHIT!) In a letter sent to Speaker Boehner, Attorney General Eric Holder explained that the Obama administration has determined that Section 3 of the law is unconstitutional:
From Wikipedia:
- Section 2. Powers reserved to the states:
No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship.
In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife
- Section 3. Definition of 'marriage' and 'spouse':
So, like, this worked as a law when where there were no states that had legalized marriage equality. And when there were some "civil unions" out there, it was okay to say you can't call them marriages
basically, under "heightened scrutiny" the government won't defend something with hypothetical arguments that increasing amounts of evidence show to be inaccurate or at least unsubstantiated.
Or as Katy text'd me earlier: "obama just said FU to DOMA (Ain't that some shit?)"
Aint that some shit indeed!
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