Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, has filed a legal brief challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Just two days after New York started marrying gay couples, Schneiderman challenged the constitutionality of the law, which he says violates the equal protection rights of gay and lesbian couples. The brief was submitted in the federal case Windsor v. United States, in which Edith Windsor has sued the government over the collection of estate taxes that she was forced to pay after the death of her wife, Thea Spyer. This was one of the cases that led the Obama administration to stop defending the constitutionality of DOMA, even as it continues to enforce it. Since New York’s passage of the law doubled the amount of gay and lesbian couples allowed to marry in the United States, it makes sense Schneiderman would want a say in the issue. (Not to mention, thanks to Cuomo and no thanks to Eliot Spitzer, the NYAG gig is finally a stepping stone to national politics!)
