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MarkC commented on the blog post Obama DOJ Stops Defending Defense of Marriage Act
>This sounds like complete double-talk
I think that it is actually a sound way to approach this issue. IANAL but it seems they will continue to argue for DOMA in circuits where there is precedent that any such law with rational basis is Constitutional, and will not argue for it in circuits like the Second where there is no such precedent, because Justice is taking the position that a more rigorous standard applies to laws that concern groups that have historically been discriminated against.
The idea is that they can’t make precedent themselves, and some circuits have established case law under which DOMA is Constitutional so they have to defend it. But their strategy is not just to drop DOMA, but to establish a more restrictive standard that will stop the next gay-bashing initiative that gains support.
What happens when the Second Circuit decides this case, ideally, would be that they accept this standard, and when it is appealed, the highest court chooses that standard as the universal one.
