A federal judge on Thursday found the national Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. The 1996 law bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage. But U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro ruled that it violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution, denying benefits to one class of married people – homosexual unions – but not others.
One case was brought by Attorney General Martha Coakley, the other by the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
Read more on Courthouse News. You can read the opinion in Letourneau v. Office of Personnel Management here (pdf).
There’s lots of commentary on this ruling, including these posts over on the Volokh Conspiracy.