DOMA, The Challenges Ahead

DOMA, The Challenges Ahead

For the record, President Obama's decision to stop enforcing section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court is a huge deal. What is perhaps an even bigger deal is the rationale behind the Obama decision: he, along with Attorney General Eric Holder, chose to end the court enforcement of section 3 of DOMA because they believe it to be unconstitutional. This administration's decision sets an interesting precedent, should DOMA ever be challenged in court. In the meanwhile, however, Obama has effectively suspended section 3 of the policy by eliminating the only viable means of prosecuting it.
DOMA was enacted in 1996 as a major piece of the big push for the conservative social agenda during the Clinton administration. As a definer of federal marriage law, DOMA attempts to legally end any national campaign for marriage equality by defining marriage as, in section 3, an institution exclusively between a man and a woman.
Over the past year, President Obama has proved himself to be a powerful if lethargic LGBT ally, and what the Obama administration did last week took a lot of political courage. After all, with the upcoming presidential election and an increasingly socially conservative right, many presidents would have simply put it off. However, simply dropping the court defense of DOMA is not enough, as it can still act as a court defense for those who attempt to hinder equality.
President Obama must find the political courage to go further than he has. If he truly believes DOMA to be unconstitutional, then he should challenge it in court, not simply abandon his defense of it.