Something else happened today while we were watching Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan. President Obama has determined that sexual orientation discrimination should be presumed unconstitutional and will no longer defend the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act.

Here are remarks from the civil rights community:

Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

"The decision by the Obama administration not to defend the discriminatory, so-called 'Defense of Marriage Act' is a tremendous step toward recognizing our common humanity and ending an egregious injustice against thousands of loving, committed couples who simply want the protections, rights and responsibilities afforded other married couples. We thank the Obama administration for having the integrity to recognize that this law should not be defended in court. Discrimination has no place in our society, and DOMA has only served to belittle our country's deeply held values of freedom and fairness. It's time to end DOMA once and for all."

and...

From the Human Rights Campaign:

“This is a monumental decision for the thousands of same-sex couples and their families who want nothing more than the same rights and dignity afforded to other married couples,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.  “As the President has stated previously, DOMA unfairly discriminates against Americans and we applaud him for fulfilling his oath to defend critical constitutional principles.”

HRC has engaged in an effort to encourage the administration to abandon its defense of the statute for years, including writing to the President directly and encouraging our members and supporters to contact the administration as well.

Under federal law, the Department of Justice must report to Congress its intent not to defend the statute and it is likely that anti-LGBT leaders in Congress will take up its defense.

“Congressional leaders must not waste another taxpayer dollar defending this patently unconstitutional law,” said Solmonese.  “The federal government has no business picking and choosing which legal marriages they want to recognize.  Instead Congress should take this opportunity to wipe the stain of marriage discrimination from our laws.”

DOMA, passed in 1996, denies married same-sex couples over 1,000 rights, benefits and responsibilities tied to marriage under federal law.  These include Social Security survivors’ benefits, family and medical leave, equal compensation as federal employees, and immigration rights, among many others.