Today, the Supreme Court ruled Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. This means that the federal government cannot deny federal benefits (and obligations) to gay couples if they live in a state that recognizes gay marriage. In the majority opinion [pdf], Justice Kennedy ruled that Section 3 is “a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.”
[DOMA] imposes a disability on the class by refusing to acknowledge a status the State finds to be dignified and proper. DOMA instructs all federal officials, and indeed all persons with whom same-sex couples interact, including their own children, that their marriage is less worthy than the marriages of others. 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.
Continued...