Attorney General challenges DOMA sidebar

The state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman challenged the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by filing papers in federal court on Tuesday, July 26.
The law does not recognize same-sex marriages that are valid under state law. In a brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the attorney general argues that the law violates same-sex couples’ right to equal protection required by the U.S. Constitution.
“The federal Defense of Marriage Act clearly violates the principle of equal justice under law as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and improperly intrudes on the traditional role of states in defining marriage,” Schneiderman said in a statement.
The attorney general filed the brief in support of Edie Windsor, who was married to her partner, Thea Spyer, in Canada in 2007. When Spyer died two years later, the federal government refused to recognize the couple’s marriage and taxed Windsor’s inheritance.
Windsor then filed suit against the government challenging the constitutionality of DOMA and requesting a repayment of the taxes she paid. – Vishal Persaud