“Activist judge! Liberal! Waaaaaaaaaaah!” (That may or may not be a direct quote from the NOM offices this morning.)
Sadly, no. A black Republican church-going judge, appointed by George W. Bush, has ruled that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional:
The ruling by Judge Vanessa L. Bryant, an appointee of President George W. Bush, stems from the lawsuit Pedersen et al v. Office of Personnel Management et al, filed by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) in November 2010 in the Federal District Court in Connecticut.
“Section 3 of DOMA obligates the federal government to single out a certain category of marriages as excluded from federal recognition,” Judge Bryant wrote, “thereby resulting in an inconsistent distribution of federal marriage benefits as all marriages authorized by certain states will receive recognition and marital benefits, whereas only a portion of marriages authorized by other states will receive federal recognition and benefits.”
It’s funny because it’s such a no-brainer. It’s also funny (and great) because a judicial consensus really seems to be forming around these issues. Every time the Religious Right argues for bigotry in court, they dig their hole deeper.
But yes, please, Religious Right, come up with a way to slur this judge as somehow activist and un-American. We’re waiting.
