PRESS RELEASE by the DOMA PROJECT
SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN ANTI-GAY
“DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT” IN HISTORIC RULING
MARRIAGES OF SAME-SEX COUPLES NOW RECOGNIZED
BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
Gay American Citizens Can Now Sponsor Foreign-Born
Spouses for Green Cards, Ending Immigration Nightmare
In a groundbreaking and historic ruling, the Supreme Court of the
United States has placed itself on the right side of history and found
Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be an unconstitutional
exercise of federal authority and a violation of the equal protection
guarantee of the U.S. Constitution in a 5-4 decision authored by Justice
Kennedy. Originally signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996,
DOMA has denied lawfully married gay and lesbian couples from the
benefits and protections of more than 1,100 federal provisions. These
wide-ranging benefits include all of immigration law and the right of an
American citizen to sponsor his or her spouse for a green card and to file a
fiancé(e) visa petition to bring his or her partner to the United States.
Writing for the Court, Justice Kennedy stated unequivocally that,
"The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the
purpose and effect to disparage and injure those whom the State, by its
marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity. By seeking to
displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages
less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth
Amendment."
The DOMA Project has filed over 70 green card and fiancé(e) visa
petitions for same-sex couples since its inception in 2010. The sole basis for
denial by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) was Section 3 of DOMA. After today's ruling, that obstacle has, at
long last, been removed.
Lavi Soloway, gay rights attorney and co-founder of the DOMA
Project, offers his view on the ruling:
"Today’s historic ruling puts millions of lesbian and gay Americans and their families
on equal footing under federal law. By ending thediscrimination against married same-sex couples,
the Supreme Court has extended the promise of equality granted by the U.S. Constitution to all
Americans regardless of sexual orientation. Beginning today, lesbian and
gay Americans will be able to file green card petitions for their foreign-born
spouses and fiancé(e) visa petitions to bring their partners to the United
States. The federal government will no longer stand in the way of lesbian
and gay binational couples who seek nothing more than to build a life
together in the United States. The Supreme Court’s ruling is the
culmination of years of the tireless efforts of courageous and determined
couples who stood up for the right to be together, and fought back against
a government that sought to tear apart their families. We expect the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services to begin approving green card
petitions for married lesbian and gay couples immediately.”
The defeat of DOMA effectively means the end to deportation of
spouses of gay and lesbian Americans who will now be eligible for green
cards. It will reunite same-sex couples who have been torn apart and
forced to live in separate countries, including many cases in which parents
have been separated from their minor children, and it will end the exile of
gay and lesbian Americans who have been forced to live abroad in order to
be with the person they love. With Section 3 of DOMA gone, our
family-based immigration laws will now treat all families equally,
regardless of sexual orientation.
....
I've been weeping (happy tears) all morning for every binational couple who's life this will change.