Defense of marriage act

• WASHINGTON -- The U.S. appeals court in Boston became the first such court to strike down as unconstitutional the federal Defense of Marriage Act, ruling Thursday that it unfairly denies equal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.
(msnbc.com)
• Several times in its ruling, the appeals court noted that the case will probably end up before the high court, at one point saying, only the Supreme Court can finally decide this unique case.
(Chicago Tribune)
• The ruling struck down a major part of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, the law adopted in 1996 that denied federal benefits to same-sex couples.
(Los Angeles Times)
• The movement to obtain marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples in the U. S. is not new. Actually, it began in the early 1970s. The issue became more prominent in U. S. politics in 1993 when the Hawaii Supreme Court decided Baehr v.
(Examiner)
• Gay pop star Lance Bass and singer Nancy Sinatra have hailed U.S. appeals court officials in Boston, Massachusetts for declaring the controversial Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.
(Lance Bass And Nancy Sinatra Celebrate Unconstitutional Defense Of Marriage Ruling - Contactmusic.com)
• BOSTON (AP) – A U.S. appeals court Thursday declared that the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to married gay couples, a ruling all but certain to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
(Delaware Wave)
• This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world's most popular websites. The three-judge panel that heard the case for 1st Circuit were far from being new.
(YAHOO!)
• After the news broke of the First Circuit Court declaring the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, CNN hosted openly-gay Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.
(News Busters)