In 2011, the Justice Department took the unusual step of announcing that it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that banned federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Two years later, the Supreme Court struck down part of the law, but that does not lessen the unusual nature of the action by Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.
As states address their own statutes and constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, many state attorneys general have followed the Obama administration’s precedent by announcing they will not defend their state’s ban in court. Defenders of traditional marriage argue that such an approach flouts the will of the people, as expressed through referenda and laws passed by elected representatives.
