House Republicans Drop DOMA Defense

After spending more than $3 million dollars of taxpayer money defending the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group announced today it will stop defending the law in several ongoing court challenges.

Sunnivie Brydum

Sunnivie is the managing editor of The Advocate, and an award-winning journalist whose passion is covering the politics of equality and elevating the unheard stories of our community. Originally from Colorado, she and her spouse now live in Los Angeles, along with their three fur-children: dogs Luna and Cassie Doodle, and "Meow Button" Tilly.

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Sunnivie Brydum

July 18 2013 4:11 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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Nearly a month after a decisive ruling from the Supreme Court declaring a key section of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, the Republican-led congressional committee that's been defending the law in court announced today that it is abandoning its support for DOMA and legislation like it around the country.

Lawyers for the Republican-led House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group announced Thursday that in light of the June 26 Supreme Court ruling in Windsor v. U.S., they are withdrawing their legal defense of DOMA, according to BuzzFeed's Chris Geidner.

The announcement came as part of BLAG's latest filing in a federal case from Massachusetts that challenges the constitutionality of the military's statutory definition of spouse as "a person of the opposite sex" in Title 38 of the U.S. Code. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued Wednesday that the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA effectively decides the case in favor of their clients -- a lesbian judge advocate general, Maj. Shannon McLaughlin, and her wife, Casey, -- in the case brought by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and Chadbourne & Park.

"The Supreme Court recently resolved the issue of DOMA Section 3's constitutionality," wrote BLAG's attorneys, according to Geidner. "While the question of whether 38 U.S.C. SS 101(3), (31) is constitutional remains open, the House has determined, in light of the Supreme Court's opinion in Windsor, that it no longer will defend that statute. Accordingly, the House now seeks leave to withdraw as a party defendant."