Feb. 23, 2011 – US President Barack Obama Declares Defense of Marriage Act Unconstitutional, Directs Department of Justice to Stop Defending the Law in Court

“President Obama, in a major legal policy shift, has directed the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act — the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages — against lawsuits challenging it as unconstitutional.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday saying that the Justice Department will now take the position in court that the Defense of Marriage Act should be struck down as a violation of gay couples’ rights to equal protection under the law.

‘The President and I have concluded that classifications based on sexual orientation warrant heightened scrutiny and that, as applied to same-sex couples legally married under state law,’ a crucial provision of the act is unconstitutional, Mr. Holder wrote.”