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White House Calls Marriage Law Unfair to Gays
...but it's still defending DOMA in court
By Kevin Spak
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Posted Aug 17, 09 12:58 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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The Obama administration wants to give the Defense of Marriage Act the boot, the Justice Department said in court filings today, but that won’t stop the department from defending the law in court. The administration believes DOMA, which prevents federal recognition of gay marriage and denies gay federal employees marriage benefits, “is discriminatory and should be repealed,” says a department spokeswoman.
But, in a move that has infuriated Obama’s gay supporters, the department is still battling a lawsuit challenging the law, saying a reasonable argument can be made that DOMA is constitutional, reports the AP. “The Justice Department cannot pick and choose which federal laws it will defend based on any one administration’s policy preferences,” says the spokeswoman.