La administracion Obama dijo el Miercoles que yo no defendera la constitucionalidad (no se si existe esa palabra) de la ley federal de 1996 que define el matrimonio como la union entre un hombre y una mujer, despues de dos anios de estar diciendo lo contrario.
U.S. Drops Defense of Law Banning Gay Marriage
By EVAN PEREZ
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration said Wednesday that it would not defend the constitutionality of a 1996 federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and woman, after two years making the opposite argument.
The legal turnabout marks a contrast with the Justice Department's argument in recent years that it generally is obligated to defend federal laws, even when the administration opposes them. The administration made that assertion in defending the law that previously banned openly gay people from serving in the U.S. military. Congress has since repealed the "don't ask, don't tell" law.
See the letter that Attorney General Eric Holder sent to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R., Ohio) regarding the Defense of Marriage Act.
..President Barack Obama decided to stop defending the marriage law after considering "a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination," the Justice Department said.
.Attorney General Eric Holder said the difference this time is that the latest challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, also known as DOMA, were filed in November in New York and Connecticut.
The federal courts in those states are part of the Second Circuit, which has different legal precedents on gay issues from other court jurisdictions that have heard previous challenges to the marriage law, Mr. Holder said in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner.
Previous cases on the marriage law were "considered in jurisdictions in which binding circuit court precedents hold that laws singling out people based on sexual orientation, as DOMA does, are constitutional if there is a rational basis for their enactment," Mr. Holder said.
Michael Steel, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner, said: "While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the president will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation."
Mr. Obama opposes the Defense of Marriage Act, and Mr. Holder said the new cases prompted a reassessment of the administration's legal strategy.
Mr. Holder said members of Congress could choose to defend the law in court in light of the Justice Department's decision to drop its defense.
Write to Evan Perez at
evan.perez@wsj.com