The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a section of the Defense of Marriage Act finding that the provision defining marriage as between one man and one woman violates the equal protection clause. The court ruled in favor of Edith Windsor, a lesbian who was seeking an estate tax deduction after the death of her spouse. Windsor was set to pay estate taxes in excess of $300,000, because the federal government did not recognize her Canadian marriage.
The Court found that homosexuals compose a class that is subject to heightened scrutiny and the class is quasi-suspect (rather than suspect) because: there has been a history of discrimination, that “homosexuality is a sufficiently discernible characteristic to define a discrete minority class;” and gays and lesbians do not have political power to protect themselves from discrimination at the hands of the majority.
The Court concluded by stating that government deals with marriage on a civil status and “is not concerned with holy matrimony.” A state can only enforce or terminate a marriage but “cannot sanctify or bless it.”
This case could be the one that makes it to the Supreme Court.
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