Today a brief was filed by the Obama Administration in a federal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  The brief was filed by the Justice Department in Smelt v. United States.  The Smelt case is a lawsuit brought in federal court in California by a married same-sex couple asking the federal government to give them equal treatment in federal programs.

Although in the brief the administration says DOMA should be repealed, it also says discrimination based on sexual orientation doesn't raise serious constitutional concerns. 

Additionally, the brief addresses the common arguement that sexual orientation affects parenting and the family nucleus by saying, "Since DOMA was enacted, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Medical Association, and the Child Welfare League of America have issued policies opposing restrictions on lesbian and gay parenting because they concluded, based on numerous studies, that children raised by gay and lesbian parents are as likely to be well-adjusted as children raised by heterosexual parents.”

Matt Coles, Director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, said, "In today’s brief, the administration says that it believes the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" is discriminatory. It might seem obvious that denying same-sex married couples all the federal protections that other married couples get is discrimination. But having the federal government finally admit it is a promising sign. "

Jenny Pizer, Lambda Legal Marriage Project Director, said, "While there is much to like in today’s brief filed by the Obama Administration, we are disappointed that it continues to argue that antigay discrimination does not deserve serious constitutional scrutiny. The brief relies on old decisions that no longer apply, and on low level court decisions that never would have controlled. Lambda Legal and other LGBT groups had serious conversations with the administration after the first brief was filed and we appreciate the progress made since then. But, clearly, serious conversation must continue."

Pizer continues with, "Still, the brief is an enormous improvement on the one filed by the Justice Department last June. It is important that the administration repudiated the defamatory claims by antigay groups that denying same-sex couples equality somehow benefits children, and also has stated outright what we all know: DOMA discriminates. It is not — as the prior brief said — a 'neutral,' nondiscriminatory policy that treats gay and straight people the same."

"These are significant changes in the administration's position that we welcome. At recent meetings with Department of Justice leadership and White House officials, attorneys from Lambda Legal and other groups discussed the serious constitutional and policy problems with the first brief. The administration listened to our concerns, and removed some of the offensive approaches taken before in defense of a statute the president has said he strongly opposes and wants to see repealed. DOMA must be repealed promptly on behalf of the thousands of American families hurting every day because their national government discriminates against them. We appreciate the statement released today by the President and call on him to continue to provide leadership toward repeal and an end to the discrimination against these American families."