Obama administration stops defending anti-gay marriage law

Feb 23, 2011, 20:39 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama's administration said Wednesday it will no longer defend before the courts a law that bars gay marriages from being recognized by the federal government.

The legal move represents a significant shift for Obama, who at a press conference in December said his position on same-sex marriages was 'constantly evolving.' The US public also remains sharply divided on the long-running emotive issue.

Gay marriages are recognized in only five US states - Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont. Congress in 1996 also passed the 'Defence of Marriage Act' that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, preventing same-sex couples from receiving the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples.

The federal law has been challenged in courts as discrimination that violates the US Constitution. Obama had said that he, too, opposes the law, but his administration has until now defended it before judges because it is government policy.

But Obama on Wednesday directed his Justice Department to stop defending the law as constitutional in future court cases. Attorney General Eric Holder said the government would still enforce it until the courts settle the matter or Congress changes the law.

'While both the wisdom and the legality of (the law) will continue to be the subject of both extensive litigation and public debate, this administration will no longer assert its constitutionality in court,' Holder said.

It represents the second major shift on gay rights for the administration in the past few months, after Obama in December successfully lobbied Congress to end a ban on gays serving in the military.

The move was welcomed by gay rights groups, who have complained during much of Obama's term that the administration moved too slowly in opening up their rights. Some conservatives by contrast criticized the decision for stoking the fires of a controversial issue at a time when politicians should be more focused on reviving the economy.

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