"This week is not going to be the sweeping victory for gay
rights that many supporters and advocates hoped for," says
Reason.com's Damon W.
Root. "However, I think the Defense of Marriage Act is in
trouble, which is definitely a win for gay rights." Root, who
writes frequently about legal issues, attended both days
of oral arguments at the Supreme Court this week for two cases
pertaining to same-sex marriage.
Today's case, United States v. Windsor, looks at
whether the Defense Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Fifth
Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. Signed by President Bill
Clinton in 1996, the law denies federal marriage benefits to
same-sex couples.
"What we saw today," says Root, "was Justice Kennedy really
ready to strike down the law as an overreach of federal power, and
many of the liberal justices ready to go right along with him."
Root sat down with Reason magazine's Katherine
Mangu-Ward to discuss what today's proceedings—and yesterday's
arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which looked at the
constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage—mean for
gay rights and personal freedoms.
About 5.30 minutes. Camera by Jim Epstein and Joshua Swain,
and edited by Epstein.
Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube
Channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes
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