Last year, near this time, in our series on “Love & the Law,” we questioned whether the U.S. Supreme Court would embrace love again. The answer, a year later, is “Yes.”
Today, June 26, 2013, the Court ruled that Section 3 of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), defining marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, was unconstitutional. Still, as many of my colleagues have pointed out the Court did not rule the entire act unconstitutional. And while some may consider a gut rehab, a complete do-over, it is not. Questions go unanswered about states that still have mini-DOMAs on their books and states that have Civil Unions or Domestic Partnerships but don’t provide same-sex marriages. But for now, we’ve decided to postpone the legal analysis for a week and savor the celebration. It’s a wonderful testament to love and a befitting ruing for Pride Week.
Score one for love.