Interesting Take on DOMA

[Quicksilver264]

"To understand the harm that could be done by an unlimited federal power to define the terms of domestic-relations law, Young recalls when a few states, venturing beyond the national consensus, began experimenting with no-fault divorce. Suppose, Young says, Congress passed a statute refusing recognition, for purposes of federal law, of any divorce where neither party made a showing of fault:

“The couple would continue to be treated as married for purposes of federal income tax, health care programs and veterans’ benefits. Imagine the chaos this would wreak in the administration of state programs, and the pressure it would impose on states not to experiment with divorce law.”

articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-20/opinions/37870263_1_doma-defense-of-marriage-act-general-police-power

That is very hard logic to argue against from a Federalism perspective.

Also, there have been quite a few divorce cases where one of the Covenant Marriage states has been drawn into a nasty legal fight over a no-fault divorce initiated in another non-covenant State, while one spouse was still a resident of the covenant State.

While the Covenant Marriage State did not have to abide by the financial settlement regarding matters within its own borders, both it and the Federal Government did have to recognize a dissolution of the Marriage for tax purposes.

I’m interested why not a single opponent of same-sex Marriage has ever brought up 1) Williams v. North Carolina, and 2) divorces being granted in circumvention of Covenant Marriage States’ law in interstate divorce cases.

One can argue that DOMA has effectively nullified Covenant Marriage because no other non-Covenant State is required to recognize it.

 

[Robert_Bay]

opinion, not a news article