The plaintiffs in Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management have their first hearing today in federal court. This is the first federal hearing in a direct attack on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which currently allows the federal government and other states to ignore marriages performed in states that have recognized same-sex marriage. It means that if a same-sex couple is married in Massachusetts, for example, their marriage is not recognized by the federal government or most states that do not perform same-sex marriage themselves, such as Maine.
The lawsuit seeks to overturn DOMA on the grounds that it violates the equal protection clause of the US Constitution. This lawsuit is long overdo and is being lead by GLAD’s Mary Bonauto, who also lead the marriage equality victory in Massachusetts and is a native Mainer, currently living in Portland. I had hoped she would sue the State of Maine for the civil rights violations of Question 1, but overturning DOMA is much more important – many legal experts have pointed out that this lawsuit has the greatest chance of affecting national change, ie: federal government and nationwide recognition of marriage equality.
Some of you are already familiar with Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the pending challenge to Prop.8, which is expected to go all the way to the US Supreme Court. The arguments of both sides in that case have already been heard and we await a decision by US District Cout Judge Vaughn Walker, who recently created a media frenzy by publicly outing himself as gay. Either one of these lawsuits could potentially result in nationwide, federally-recognized same-sex marriage. Without exception, all civil rights have historically been granted by the high courts or Congress. In ruling to legalize same-sex marriage in DC, the DC Council recently affirmed their position that the majority does not have a right to vote on the basic human rights of others, particularly minorities (which is exactly what we did here in Maine). Importantly, Congress had the opportunity to reverse this decision but did not – it could be said that Congress affirmed the rights of same-sex couples.
It will be very interesting to follow the progress of these lawsuits. It is clear that the momentum for GLBT rights – equal rights – has gained a critical mass. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is coming under heavy fire every day and the Pentagon has already softened the existing rules of DADT. The Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Federal Student Non-Discrimination Act will make federal law reflect the same non-discrimination policies we have here in Maine (since 2005) and several other states. It’s about time!