DOMA Is Unconstitutional

The United States Supreme Court issued their decision on gay marriage earlier today.  The Court ruled on California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage and the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA"), which denied federal benefits to lawfully married same-sex couples, finding that DOMA is unconstitutional and sending Proposition 8 back to California.

The ramifications of these decisions are immense.  By striking down Section 3 of DOMA, the Court has cleared the way for reconciling conflicting state laws on same-sex marriage with federal benefits and tax regulations.  In a 5-4 decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that DOMA violated gay couples right to liberty and equal protection, "[by] seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others..."  From a fiscal perspective, this decision also paves the way for same-sex couples to file joint taxes and claim a spousal share of Social Security benefits, as