DOJ appeals DOMA

DOJ appealed DOMA yesterday. Here's the scoop from Metro Weekly:

In a move expected by most legal observers, the U.S. Department of Justice this afternoon filed notices of appeal in two cases striking down the federal definition of marriage, contained in the Defense of Marriage Act, as unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro had ruled on July 8 in the cases, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Massachusetts v. Department of Health and Human Services, that Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional on several grounds, finding that the marriage definition violated the equal protection and due process guarantees, as well as the Spending Clause and Tenth Amendment.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, which argued the Gill case on behalf of the plaintiffs, issued a statement moments after the government's filing.
"We fully expected an appeal and are more than ready to meet it head on," Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director, said in the statement. "DOMA brings harm to families like our plaintiffs every day, denying married couples and their children basic protections like health insurance, pensions, and Social Security benefits. We are confident in the strength of our case."

The White House issued no comment on the filing and directed questions to DOJ.
The filing of the notice means that the record of the trial court case will be sent to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Once the record is complete, DOJ will have 40 days to file its brief. GLAD or Massachusetts, depending on the case, will then have 30 days to file its brief. The government then has 14 days to file a reply brief.

Okay, got it. However, this is causing gays to fall out in fits. The National Stonewall Democrats laid some Real Talk carpet on this cold floor.

“Today’s filing is just that: a filing. No new legal arguments were made and nothing was argued before the court. There are those in the community who will call for the Department of Justice to not appeal the lower court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) at all, but doing so would mean that the ruling would stand and affect only people living within the District of Massachusetts. In order for the ruling to overturn DOMA nationwide, it needs to be won in a higher court and the way for it to be heard in the higher court is for it to be appealed by the Department of Justice.

“The midterm elections in three weeks offer a stark reality for LGBT and ally voters. We can elect candidates who believe, like we do, that DOMA should be repealed or we can elect those who don’t. The fastest way for DOMA to be repealed is to elect pro-equality candidates committed to its repeal. And given the fact that the Republicans stated in their ‘Pledge to America’ that they are against marriage equality, I think it’s fair to assert that only pro-equality Democrats will get the job done.”

We will see how this turns out. But y'all know me, I'm not throwing a fit until the fat lady sings.