Republican group appeals ruling striking down federal gay marriage ban [View all]
Moving swiftly, gay marriage foes on Friday appealed a San Francisco federal judge's order this week finding the federal government's ban on same-sex marriage benefits unconstitutional.
In court papers, a group of congressional Republicans defending the federal gay marriage ban revealed they are appealing the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 9th Circuit will become the second federal appeals court to now consider the legality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a 16-year-old law known as DOMA.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, a Republican appointee of former President George W. Bush, concluded the federal law violates equal protection rights because it denies the same benefits available to heterosexual couples.
The ruling came in the case of Karen Golinski and Amy Cunninghis, a San Francisco couple married in the brief window of time when gay marriages were legal in California prior to the 2008 passage of Proposition 8. Golinski, a lawyer for the 9th Circuit, argued in her lawsuit that she was unable to secure health benefits because of DOMA's restrictions.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20036850
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