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Defense of Marriage Act ruled unconstitutional by judge
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February 23, 2012
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"A judge on Wednesday declared the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and ordered the federal government to ignore the statute and provide health benefits to the wife of a lesbian federal court employee.
"'This ruling, the first to come after the Justice Department announced it would no longer defend this discriminatory statute in court, spells doom for DOMA,' said Tara Borelli, a staff attorney for the national gay rights advocacy group Lambda Legal."