DOJ brief shows path to DOMA's constitutionality

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a brief Friday with the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor arguing, among other things, that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, but only under “heightened constitutional scrutiny,” as described in this legal analysis. The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Austin R. Nimocks:

“The Supreme Court has made clear that defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman is constitutional as a matter of public policy. Thus, Congress and President Clinton acted constitutionally when DOMA was enacted. The wisest course is for the Supreme Court to resist demands to prematurely end the national debate over the future of marriage. The Court should respect the freedom of both Congress and citizens to affirm a bedrock social institution that diverse cultures and faiths have honored throughout the history of Western Civilization.”