Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Department of Health & Human Services, No.1:09-cv-11156-JLT (D. Mass. July 8, 2010), U.S. District Court held Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional under Tenth Amendment.

Excerpts:

1. DOMA Exceeds the Scope of Federal Power

Congress’ powers are “defined and limited,” and, for that reason, every federal law “must be based on one or more of its powers enumerated in the Constitution.”126 As long as Congress acts pursuant to one of its enumerated powers, “its work product does not offend the Tenth Amendment.”127 Moreover, “[d]ue respect for the decisions of a coordinate branch of Government demands that we invalidate a congressional enactment only upon a plain showing that Congress has exceeded its constitutional bounds.”128 Accordingly, it is for this court to determine whether DOMA represents a valid exercise of congressional authority under the Constitution, and therefore must stand, or indeed has no such footing…

That same-sex marriage is a contentious social issue, as the government argues, does not alter this court’s conclusion. It is clear from the record evidence that rules and regulations regarding marital status determinations have been the subject of controversy throughout American history. Interracial marriage, for example, was at least as contentious a subject. But even as the debate concerning interracial marriage waxed and waned throughout history, the federal government consistently yielded to marital status determinations established by the states. That says something. And this court is convinced that the federal government’s long history of acquiescence in this arena indicates that, indeed, the federal government traditionally regarded marital status determinations as the exclusive province of state government…

That the government views same-sex marriage as a contentious social issue cannot justify its intrusion on the “core of sovereignty retained by the States,”157 because “the Constitution ...divides power among sovereigns and among branches of government precisely so that we may resist the temptation to concentrate power in one location as an expedient solution to the crisis of the day.”158 This court has determined that it is clearly within the authority of the Commonwealth to recognize same-sex marriages among its residents, and to afford those individuals in same-sex marriages any benefits, rights, and privileges to which they are entitled by virtue of their marital status. The federal government, by enacting and enforcing DOMA, plainly encroaches upon the firmly entrenched province of the state, and, in doing so, offends the Tenth Amendment. For that reason, the statute is invalid…

Read complete document:

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/files/massachusetts-doma-decision.pdf

"For Richer, For Poorer: Same-Sex Couples and the Freedom to Marry as a Civil Right," DMI E-Journal, by Wolfson, Evan, - (Drum Major Institute for Public Policy) 2003
http://www.drummajorinstitute.org/library/article.php?ID=5518
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/09/for-richer-for-poorer-same-sex-couples.html


Same-Sex Marriage: A Selective Bibliography of the Legal Literature
by Paul Axel-Lute
Rutgers School of Law–Newark
http://law-library.rutgers.edu/SSM.html


California Prop 8, Aug, 4, 2010 - Deep misunderstanding - "We the People" means - US Constitution – DANGERS of majority rule - a reflection of prejudice, intolerance, ignorance, panic and crude self-interest…
by Geoffrey R. Stone - Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-oped-0808-stone-20100808,0,2223308.story
Geoffrey R. Stone is a law professor at the University of Chicago.


Anti-gay marriage DVDs - UNSUBSTANTIATED - Nienstedt (Minnesota) & Benedict XVI, gay marriage, like Galileo Against Nature law – “It is Common Sense” ??? -> Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/09/nienstedt-minnesota-benedict-xvi-gay.html

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN

California - Prop 8 judgment, August 4, 2010 - Gay marriage
“Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians.”
Judge Vaughn Walker
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/08/gay-marriage-religious-beliefs-that-gay.html


On Prop 8, it's the evidence, stupid
By Lisa Bloom - CNN.com
and related links:
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-prop-8-its-evidence-stupid-by-lisa_18.html


American Academy of Pediatrics
The Effects of Marriage, Civil Union, and Domestic Partnership Laws on
the Health and Well-being of Children – 2006
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/118/1/349

Gay marriage -> Restoring "Hope of Love" To Children In Early Childhood -> Marriage Equality – March 23, 2010 – Fr. Marty Kurylowicz

Marriage Equality, like Galileo, is the truth about the facts of growing up gay. Marriage Equality will not become a reality until people learn that its most vital purpose is that it restores the “hope of love” to children in early childhood – essential to their development and well-being for life. Without Marriage Equality we teach children how to hate love and how to be mean and indifferent to people as adults. With all due respect, without Marriage Equality we would teach them in much the same way as has been shown by Benedict XVI and the hierarchy, especially in their lack of care and protection of children for decades. http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/03/restoring-hope-of-love-to-children-in_23.html

SEXUAL CONVERSION THERAPIES
Jack Drescher, M.D.
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/08/sexual-conversion-therapies-jack.html


The Power of Marital Love – Marriage Equality – Maine 2009 – Minnesota 2010

It must be remembered that the importance and meaning of marriage is more than procreation. Two people pledging their love to each other is not just for themselves, because that is not a marriage. By being in love, two become one and they are better equip to be the best for everyone in world their families, friends, co-workers and beyond. In this way all marriages are contributing to the procreation of children by their enriching the social environment that children will be born into. I think that love; true love like energy is never lost, a bit like Einstein, maybe.

Gay Marriage - Truth Will Set Us Free
Not Ignorance and Fear
by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
http://fathermartykurylowicz.blogspot.com/2010/09/power-of-marital-love-marriage-equality.html

“Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.”

Erik Erikson