Boehner Says House Republicans Will Defend DOMA in Court

U.S. Attorney General Eric holder's announcement last week that the Obama administration considers part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional and will no longer defend it in court has put House Speaker John "Snooki" Boehner in an awkward position. He can defend a law that is likely to be overturned, just to pacify the far right, or he can choose not to and piss off an important part of the Republican base.

It's sort of the mirror image of what Obama has been doing to the LGBT community until recently.

So far this year, the nation's top-ranking tanning booth junkie has tried to steer clear of social issues and stay focused on the economy. Boehner's response to the DOJ's decision takes issue with the administration's choice not to defend DOMA, not same-sex marriage.

TPMmuckraker report:

Boehner has criticized the Obama administration's decision, but he's focused more on the legal decision not to defend laws than he has on the actual social issue at hand. He's indicated that the House might step in to defend the law and said he'll make a final decision by Friday.

One group that is pushing Boehner to defend the law is the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which has been fundraising off the Obama Administration's decision last week that part of the law was unconstitutional.

Like at least one of the groups that maintains DOMA is unconstitutional, NOM's Maggie Gallagher also anticipates congressional intervention, telling TPM that they "fully expect the House to intervene" and that they were encouraged by Boehner's comments (she declined to answer any additional questions except via e-mail).

A fundraising e-mail from NOM states that the Obama Administration and Massachusetts must agree by March 18 on a plan for how the pending DOMA litigation will proceed.

"That's right, when President Obama declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional last week, the Court ordered the administration to get together with the plaintiffs to develop a plan for the litigation - Eric Holder sitting down with Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley to plan the future of DOMA!" the e-mails say.

"If Congress doesn't step up quickly to defend DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act may soon be history - the victim of an administration that is deliberately undercutting the very laws it is duty-bound to defend." (That's not quite right -- there've been a number of instances when the Justice Department has decided not to defend a law passed by Congress.)

Related articles

• John Boehner: Congress Likely To Take Over Defense Of DOMA (outsidethebeltway.com)
• Watch: John Boehner Suggests House Will Defend Constitutionality of Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (towleroad.com)
• John Boehner: House Likely To Defend DOMA (huffingtonpost.com)
• Obama's move on DOMA thaws chill with gays (politico.com)
• Is Joe Solmonese Worried About John Boehner Defending DOMA? (queerty.com)