Legal Alert: Second Circuit Finds DOMA Unconstitutional

On October 18, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which defines marriage as “a legal union between one man and one woman,” is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. The Second Circuit (Connecticut, New York, and Vermont) joins the First Circuit (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island) in holding that DOMA’s definition of marriage unconstitutional.[1] The ruling sets the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court potentially to hear the issue in the coming months.