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Lambda Legal Confident Ruling against DOMA Will Survive Appeal
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"DOMA is doomed, and efforts to extend this discriminatory law, while not unexpected, serve only to harm loving couples and families."
"We are confident Judge White's thorough and well-reasoned decision will stand the test of time."
(San Francisco, February 24, 2012) - Lawyers representing the majority leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives today filed a notice of appeal of the U.S. District Court's ruling Wednesday declaring a key section of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Tara Borelli issued the following statement:
"We are confident Judge White's thorough and well-reasoned decision will stand the test of time. However our opponents may recycle their failed arguments on appeal, the one thing we know is: DOMA is doomed, and efforts to extend this discriminatory law, while not unexpected, serve only to harm loving couples and families."
Judge Jeffrey S. White's ruling came in a case brought by Lambda Legal and Morrison & Foerster LLP on behalf of Karen Golinski, a federal court employee denied spousal health coverage for her wife. It was the latest victory in a battle that began in 2008, when Golinski, a 20-year employee of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sought to enroll her wife, Amy Cunninghis, in the employee health plan.
The case is Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management. A link to the BLAG filing is here.
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Press contact: Tom Warnke, Email: twarnke@lambdalegal.org
Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.