NEW YORK — A federal appeals court ruled today that the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA) unconstitutionally discriminates against married same-sex couples.
In striking down DOMA, the court held that government discrimination against lesbians and gay men now is assumed to be unconstitutional and that DOMA's defenders could not offer any good reason for treating married same-sex couples differently from all other married couples.
This is the first federal appeals court decision to decide that government discrimination against gay people gets a more exacting level of judicial review, known as "heightened scrutiny."
The law had been challenged by Edith "Edie" Windsor, who sued the federal government for failing to recognize her marriage to her partner Thea Spyer, after Spyer's death in 2009. Windsor and Spyer, who were a couple for 44 years, were married in Canada in 2007, and were considered married by their home state of New York.
"This law violated the fundamental American principle of fairness that we all cherish," said Windsor. "I know Thea would have been so proud to see how far we have come in our fight to be treated with dignity."
In her lawsuit, Windsor argued that DOMA violates the equal protection guarantee of the U.S. Constitution because it requires the government to treat same-sex couples who are legally married as strangers. Windsor's lawsuit was filed by the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union.
When Thea Spyer died in 2009, she left all of her property to Windsor, including the apartment they shared. Because they were married, Spyer's estate normally would have passed to her spouse without any estate tax at all. But because DOMA prevents recognition of the otherwise valid marriages of same-sex couples, Windsor had to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate taxes.
"Yet again, a federal court has found that it is completely unfair to treat married same-sex couples as though they're legal strangers," said James Esseks, Director of the ACLU LGBT Project. "Edie and Thea were there for each other in sickness and in health like any other married couple, and it's unfair for the government to disregard both their marriage and the life they built together and treat them like second-class citizens."
Windsor, a senior computer systems programmer, and Spyer, a clinical psychologist, met in the early 1960s, and lived together for more than four decades in Greenwich Village. Despite not being able to get legally married, they were engaged to each other in 1967. Spyer was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and Windsor helped her through her long battle with the disease. They were finally legally married in May 2007.
"We are pleased that the federal circuit that represents three states that provide their gay and lesbian citizens with the right to marry affirmed the decision of the district court," said Roberta Kaplan of Paul, Weiss, counsel to Ms. Windsor. "Given her age and health, we are eager for Ms. Windsor to get a refund of the unconstitutional tax she was forced to pay as soon as possible."
Windsor has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her case. The court has not yet decided whether to hear her case, or any of several other challenges to DOMA.
"Edie and Thea's home state of New York has long respected the marriages of same-sex couples and explicitly supports the freedom to marry," said Mariko Hirose, staff attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union. "It is only right that the federal government respect the state's decision and treat all married couples fairly."
For a copy of the decision, go to:
www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/windsor-v-united-states-united-states-court-appeals-2nd-circuit-decision
More on this case can be found at: www.aclu.org/edie
