Another question - could people use the DOMA decision as away to challenge laws in states where gay marriage is legal.

I mean, could a couple sue saying the law violates their Fifth amendment rights and use the DOMA ruling as some kind of precedent that it was overturned on a federal level?

Based on what I've heard of the DOMA decision, I'd say yes, but not directly. The Supreme Court placed a heightened scrutiny standard for laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation. Which means that you need a better reason to discriminate on that basis than to discriminate on (most) other bases. So if I were arguing to overturn a state ban on marriage equality, I'd argue the hell out of that decision.

I may be able to explain the Prop 8 decision. Standing is one of those concepts that's easy to state but often tricky to apply in a particular case. Standing is basically "why do you care?" Taken to an absurdity, it means you can't sue if I get into a car accident with my next door neighbor. One of the principles of standing is that you can't challenge a law simply because you're a taxpayer who doesn't want your taxes spent on X, Y, or whatever.

Here's a good plain english summary of both decisions by Marcia Coyle: [link]

WAHOOOOO!!!

For *federal* purposes. If you move to a state that does not recognize your marriage, it still won't.

OK, thanks. Hmm.

Damn, y'all, I woke up early to exercise before it got too hot, but I am GLUED to the laptop.

Woot! Traveling through Utah. Take that LDS!

Jilli: Dammit, Anne Rice. You make it difficult to be a fan of your bombastic vampire books.

Cass: I honestly pretend that she doesn't exist as a person. She wrote the earlier books, then something started taking over her brain in the later ones so they are kinda Anne Rice books but also not really and now what I think of as "Anne Rice" is gone. There are only the books. Primarily the early ones or ones that have David Talbot.

So... like V.C. Andrews?

Google "gay marriage", it made me smile.

It works if you just google "gay," too.

Very good news to wake up to, both the Texas filibuster ending successfully despite shenanigans and the DOMA decision. Bunches of people I know are going to be benefited by the last, and I have a significant number of TX friends who have valid reason to be proud of their state.

Not so sure about the Australian news: is that good or bad?

DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.

Oh, hell yeah!