Executive Summary: 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.
On October 29, 2012, the Supreme Court announced that it has now
scheduled all same-sex marriage cases currently pending before the
Court for consideration at its November 20, 2012 scheduling
conference. Those cases include eight petitions dealing
directly with DOMA, one petition dealing with California's
"Proposition 8" ban on same-sex marriage, and one
petition
