Hot on the heels of the December repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell President Obama has made another shift in policy firmly in the direction of equal rights for gays and lesbians. In a statement today Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that his office will pretty much cease defending the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)—though it won't stop enforcing it until it is repealed or struck down in court:

After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional. Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases. I fully concur with the President’s determination.


And just in case you weren't clear on the President's opinion, Holder spells it out in the last paragraph of his letter:

Much of the legal landscape has changed in the 15 years since Congress passed DOMA. The Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct are unconstitutional. Congress has repealed the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Several lower courts have ruled DOMA itself to be unconstitutional. Section 3 of DOMA will continue to remain in effect unless Congress repeals it or there is a final judicial finding that strikes it down, and the President has informed me that the Executive Branch will continue to enforce the law. But while both the wisdom and the legality of Section 3 of DOMA will continue to be the subject of both extensive litigation and public debate, this Administration will no longer assert its constitutionality in court.

Unsurprisingly, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is very happy about this announcement and just put out the following statement:

Today is another historic step for equality in our nation. The announcement that the White House and the US Department of Justice will no longer assert the constitutionality of discrimination based on sexual orientation sends a powerful message to all Americans. I applaud President Obama and Attorney General Holder for their leadership and commitment to equality for the LGBT community. While there remains much to accomplish, we should stop for a moment and be proud that our community has come together to successfully advocate for what is right for America. I thank all of those who worked so diligently to overturn DOMA including Lambda Legal, ACLU, GLAD, NCLR, HRC and Freedom to Marry. But let me be very clear, we will not stop working until every LGBT American has the same rights and dignity as every other American. Congress should waste neither its time, nor its limited resources trying to protect this discriminatory law.

Happy February 23rd everybody!