'08 DOMA

A U.S. judge in Boston has ruled that the federal ban on marriage equality [Defense of Marriage Act] is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage. The law was enacted by Congress in 1996 - when it appeared Hawaii would legalize marriage equality and opponents worried that other states would be forced to recognize such marriages.

Massachusetts could lose millions in funding - due to the Defense of Marriage Act - if it allows Army veteran Darrel Hopkins [65] and his husband Tom Casey Hopkins [58] to be buried in a veterans’ cemetery in Winchendon. The couple has approval from the Massachusetts state Department of Veterans’ Services to be buried in the cemetery.

The Boston Globe reports:

The Washington Post reports:

President Obama made clear that he favors the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA], and intends to ask Congress to repeal the 13-year-old law that denies benefits to domestic partners of federal employees and allows states to reject same-sex marriages performed in other states.