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DOMA Unconstitutional, DOJ Says

By Gina Passarella

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has deemed the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in a brief it filed in a Pennsylvania case regarding whether the wife of a former female Cozen O'Connor partner is able to collect the partner's profit-sharing plan benefits under federal law.

“This court should hold that Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutionally discriminates,” attorneys for the DOJ said in its brief in Cozen O'Connor v. Tobits. “Section 3 treats same-sex couples who are legally married under their states' laws differently than similarly situated opposite-sex couples, denying them the status, recognition and significant federal benefits otherwise available to married persons. Under well-established factors announced by the Supreme Court to guide the determination whether heightened scrutiny applies to a classification that singles out a particular group, discrimination based on sexual orientation merits heightened scrutiny.”

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