United States v. Windsor

In United States v. Windsor, a 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act based on the following reasoning by Justice Kennedy, who penned the decision:

“

The responsibility of the States for the regulation of domestic relations is an important indicator of the substantial societal impact the State’s classifications have in the daily lives and customs of its people. DOMA’s unusual deviation from the usual tradition of recognizing and accepting state definitions of marriage here operates to deprive same-sex couples of the benefits and responsibilities that come with the federal recognition of their marriages. This is strong evidence of a law having the purpose and effect of disapproval of that class. The avowed purpose and practical effect of the law here in question are to impose a disadvantage, a separate status, and so a stigma upon all who enter into same-sex marriages made lawful by the unquestioned authority of the States. The history of DOMA’s enactment and its own text demonstrate that interference with the equal dignity of same-sex marriages, a dignity conferred by the States in the exercise of their sovereign power ...

”

United States v. Windsor, 133 S. Ct. 2675, 2693 (2013) (Kennedy, J., for the court).