A Washington Post article published Monday morning speculated about a possible Peyton Manning-Washington Redskins marriage. The Post’s Mike Jones quotes an anonymous team official who said that the Redskins, like just about anyone, would like to have Peyton Manning. but there are plenty of ifs. Manning is coming off neck surgery and moreover has not yet been released from the Indianapolis Colts, both potential deal-breakers.

But that doesn’t mean people aren’t talking. The Redskins official said,

No. 1, is he going to be released? No. 2, is he going to be healthy? No. 3, at the end of the day, is he willing to come back and play in the NFL. we don’t know those questions. I think everybody would want Peyton Manning, if he was healthy. You’d be crazy not to want Peyton Manning if he was healthy.

The article goes on to discuss the slim-pickings that is this year’s crop of free agent QBs. Drew Brees is the headliner, but he doesn’t figure to leave new Orleans; Alex Smith is a distant second, and he, too, is likely to re-sign with the 49ers. there is also Green Bay backup Matt Flynn; Kansas City journeyman Kyle Orton; ex-Redskin Jason Campbell; Donovan McNabb and Vince Young.

For more on the Redskins, visit Hogs Haven.

Peyton Manning: Washington Redskins Interested, But Questions Abound, According To Report

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Big Machine RecordsTaylor Swift is very mindful of her status as a role model for young girls, and the organization that keeps track of which celebrities are minding their manners has once again singled Taylor out.  the National League of Junior Cotillions ranks Taylor at #5 on its list of 2011′s best-mannered individuals “for inspiring young people with her music and her manners.”

Kate Middleton was this year’s #1 best-mannered individual with Justin Bieber coming in at #2 and Paula Abdul finishing at #3.  Kim Kardashian was named most ill-mannered person of the year “for making a private matter public and disrespecting the institution of marriage.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Taylor Swift Makes Best-Mannered Individuals List Again for 2011   – Music News – ABC News Radio

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If you have found someone that you believe is the perfect match for you, and you are seriously considering marriage, you might want to do a little bit of digging before you leap into a commitment that you might regret. You want to know as much as you can about the person you are with, but not everyone is fully honest about their past. If you do not have all the information you need to know about the person, how can you expect to have a long and healthy relationship? the truth is that you will not be able to – you need to protect yourself.

The best way that you can do this is by searching for divorce records online. even if the person claims that he or she has never been married, you might still want to search the records. You may be surprised to find that many people will lie about former marriages for any number of reasons. perhaps the person was married when they were very young and realized quickly that it was a mistake. Maybe he or she did something silly such as got married in Las Vegas during a weekend that they would rather forget. You will want to know about these things, and they will probably be easy to forgive.

However, some people have a shady past, and you can find this information out in the divorce records. You will be able to find out the places that the person lived, and you will be able to see the reason for the divorce in many cases. one of the most important things that you will be able to see are any restraining orders as well as their criminal record.

Another reason that you will want to check the divorce records is so that you can be sure that the person is really divorced. You do not want to involve yourself with someone who claims that his or her divorce is finalized only to find out that he or she was lying That would certainly put a damper on any future plans you might have.

You can find the information that you need easily. find an online service that offers access to these records, fill out the form, and pay the fee. within minutes, you will be able to find out everything you need to know about the person with whom you are considering spending the rest of your life.

Can You Search For Divorce Records?

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Celebrating your anniversary is an important event, mainly if it has a very significant and major event in somebody’s life or existence of an organization. the anniversaries are a perfect chance to celebrate people’s togetherness and beginning of something.

The historians have traced the birth of the silver and the golden anniversaries to the medieval Germanic Europe, where the silver or gold garlands were offered by the husband to his wife to celebrate their big day of their marriage.

Imagine you sitting in a warm cozy place along with your better half and surprises do not seem to stop. Sounds great a small special event for your love one at the time of the anniversary can do wonders and make the other person feel special. Even if you are in the giving end or the receiving end, it just makes you feel, wow Just two of you in a romantic restaurant with flowers, dim light and a bottle of Champaign are all you want and wish for. truly, this type of celebration will be cherished forever and bring you closer.

New York City is blessed with loads of romantic restaurants to allow the people to show their love to their better half. These restaurants give the perfect atmosphere to the people who are romantic. some of the best romantic restaurants in New York are:

Savoy: it is positioned in the 70 Prince St. amid Crosby and Lafayette Sts. 212-219-8570. this tenderly lit romantic restaurant feels similar to the country inn which is complete with a thriving fire at the time of winters. Dine on the great American food if you really want to impress someone as this place is among the most favorite place amid the true lovers.

One if by land, two if by sea: it is situated in the 17 Barrow St. amid 7th Ave. S. & W. 4th St. 212-228-0822. this restaurant is one of the most romantic restaurants in New York City. it is a warm cozy place with fireplaces, fresh flowers and candle light on each table which makes it look very romantic and sexy. Here you will find a very romantic atmosphere with soft slow piano music and great garden view. So prepare yourself for a superb and very special date.

The River Caf: it is situated in the 1 Water Street, Brooklyn. 718-522-5200. the River Caf is a perfect place to come if you are looking for a special place for your loved one. the view just makes you feel great and romantic. the lighting, flowers and the slow music makes it just perfect for a romantic celebration. the delicious food along with superb services makes it one of the best romantic restaurants in the New York City.

The city of New York has numerous restaurants that add more to your anniversary celebration. These restaurants have the aura of romance and a surprise romantic date can be the best gift for your better half. So, go and celebrate your anniversary in these restaurants which are cool, hip and sleep, yet very romantic.

Romantic Restaurants For Your Anniversary Surprise

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Actress Denise Richards has made her first public outing with her newly adopted daughter.

The Wild Things star surprised fans last week by revealing she had become a mum for a third time by adopting little Eloise Joni.

Richards, who is already mother to Sami, seven, and Lola, six, from her marriage to Charlie Sheen, has now stepped out with the tot for the first time, debuting her on Thursday as she ran errands in Calabasas, California.

The former Bond Girl was snapped carrying Eloise in a car infant seat as her two elder daughters walked along next to her.

CANOE — JAM! Movies: Richards shows off adopted daughter

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THE SHOT — Queer Rising activists shut down traffic today in Manhattan for a whopping one minute during a demonstration demanding marriage equality. Eight people were peacefully arrested. The 75-foot yellow banner that read "NY DEMANDS MARRIAGE EQUALITY NOW!"? Confiscated by police.

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Tagged: Marriage, NYC, Queer Rising, the shot

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Marriage Equality Activists Cause Minor Traffic Annoyance In NYC

“The administration has also taken the position that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation requires heightened constitutional scrutiny — that antigay laws are presumptively unconstitutional.  it is difficult to overstate the importance of this act of statesmanship by the President and the Attorney General,” says Pennsylvannia Law Professor Tobias Barrington Wolff.

Please see the official statements, reaction and background below.

STATEMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ON LITIGATION INVOLVING THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT

WASHINGTON – The Attorney General made the following statement today about the Department’s course of action in two lawsuits, Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States, challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and a woman:

In the two years since this Administration took office, the Department of Justice has defended Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act on several occasions in federal court.  each of those cases evaluating Section 3 was considered in jurisdictions in which binding circuit court precedents hold that laws singling out people based on sexual orientation, as DOMA does, are constitutional if there is a rational basis for their enactment.  while the President opposes DOMA and believes it should be repealed, the Department has defended it in court because we were able to advance reasonable arguments under that rational basis standard.

Section 3 of DOMA has now been challenged in the Second Circuit, however, which has no established or binding standard for how laws concerning sexual orientation should be treated.  In these cases, the Administration faces for the first time the question of whether laws regarding sexual orientation are subject to the more permissive standard of review or whether a more rigorous standard, under which laws targeting minority groups with a history of discrimination are viewed with suspicion by the courts, should apply.

After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny.  The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional.  Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in such cases.  I fully concur with the President’s determination.

Consequently, the Department will not defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA as applied to same-sex married couples in the two cases filed in the Second Circuit.  We will, however, remain parties to the cases and continue to represent the interests of the United States throughout the litigation.  I have informed Members of Congress of this decision, so Members who wish to defend the statute may pursue that option.  The Department will also work closely with the courts to ensure that Congress has a full and fair opportunity to participate in pending litigation.

Furthermore, pursuant to the President’s instructions, and upon further notification to Congress, I will instruct Department attorneys to advise courts in other pending DOMA litigation of the President’s and my conclusions that a heightened standard should apply, that Section 3 is unconstitutional under that standard and that the Department will cease defense of Section 3.

The Department has a longstanding practice of defending the constitutionality of duly-enacted statutes if reasonable arguments can be made in their defense.  at the same time, the Department in the past has declined to defend statutes despite the availability of professionally responsible arguments, in part because – as here – the Department does not consider every such argument to be a “reasonable” one.  moreover, the Department has declined to defend a statute in cases, like this one, where the President has concluded that the statute is unconstitutional.

Much of the legal landscape has changed in the 15 years since Congress passed DOMA.  The Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct are unconstitutional.  Congress has repealed the military’s Don’t ask, Don’t Tell policy.  several lower courts have ruled DOMA itself to be unconstitutional.  Section 3 of DOMA will continue to remain in effect unless Congress repeals it or there is a final judicial finding that strikes it down, and the President has informed me that the Executive Branch will continue to enforce the law.  but while both the wisdom and the legality of Section 3 of DOMA will continue to be the subject of both extensive litigation and public debate, this Administration will no longer assert its constitutionality in court.

__________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                              AG

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011                                                             (202) 514-2007

WWW.JUSTICE.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

LETTER FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CONGRESS ON LITIGATION INVOLVING THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT

WASHINGTON – The Attorney General sent the following letter today to Congressional leadership to inform them of the Department’s course of action in two lawsuits, Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States, challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and a woman. A copy of the letter is also attached.

The Honorable John A. Boehner

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC  20515

Re:  Defense of Marriage Act

Dear mr. Speaker:

After careful consideration, including review of a recommendation from me, the President of the United States has made the determination that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), 1 U.S.C. § 7, as applied to same-sex couples who are legally married under state law, violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment.   Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 530D, I am writing to advise you of the Executive Branch’s determination and to inform you of the steps the Department will take in two pending DOMA cases to implement that determination.

While the Department has previously defended DOMA against legal challenges involving legally married same-sex couples, recent lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of DOMA Section 3 have caused the President and the Department to conduct a new examination of the defense of this provision.  In particular, in November 2011, plaintiffs filed two new lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA in jurisdictions without precedent on whether sexual-orientation classifications are subject to rational basis review or whether they must satisfy some form of heightened scrutiny.  Windsor v. United States, no. 1:10-cv-8435 (S.D.N.Y.); Pedersen v. OPM, no. 3:10-cv-1750 (D. Conn.).  Previously, the Administration has defended Section 3 in jurisdictions where circuit courts have already held that classifications based on sexual orientation are subject to rational basis review, and it has advanced arguments to defend DOMA Section 3 under the binding standard that has applied in those cases.

These new lawsuits, by contrast, will require the Department to take an affirmative position on the level of scrutiny that should be applied to DOMA Section 3 in a circuit without binding precedent on the issue.  As described more fully below, the President and I have concluded that classifications based on sexual orientation warrant heightened scrutiny and that, as applied to same-sex couples legally married under state law, Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional.

Standard of Review

The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the appropriate level of scrutiny for classifications based on sexual orientation.  it has, however, rendered a number of decisions that set forth the criteria that should inform this and any other judgment as to whether heightened scrutiny applies:  (1) whether the group in question has suffered a history of discrimination; (2) whether individuals “exhibit obvious, immutable, or distinguishing characteristics that define them as a discrete group”; (3) whether the group is a minority or is politically powerless; and (4) whether the characteristics distinguishing the group have little relation to legitimate policy objectives or to an individual’s “ability to perform or contribute to society.”  See Bowen v. Gilliard, 483 U.S. 587, 602-03 (1987); City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr., 473 U.S. 432, 441-42 (1985).

Each of these factors counsels in favor of being suspicious of classifications based on sexual orientation.  first and most importantly, there is, regrettably, a significant history of purposeful discrimination against gay and lesbian people, by governmental as well as private entities, based on prejudice and stereotypes that continue to have ramifications today.  Indeed, until very recently, states have “demean[ed] the[] existence” of gays and lesbians “by making their private sexual conduct a crime.”  Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 578 (2003).

Second, while sexual orientation carries no visible badge, a growing scientific consensus accepts that sexual orientation is a characteristic that is immutable, see Richard A. Posner, Sex and Reason 101 (1992); it is undoubtedly unfair to require sexual orientation to be hidden from view to avoid discrimination, see Don’t ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, Pub. L. no. 111-321, 124 Stat. 3515 (2010).

Third, the adoption of laws like those at issue in Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996), and Lawrence, the longstanding ban on gays and lesbians in the military, and the absence of federal protection for employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation show the group to have limited political power and “ability to attract the [favorable] attention of the lawmakers.”  Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 445.  and while the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act and pending repeal of Don’t ask, Don’t Tell indicate that the political process is not closed entirely to gay and lesbian people, that is not the standard by which the Court has judged “political powerlessness.”  Indeed, when the Court ruled that gender-based classifications were subject to heightened scrutiny, women already had won major political victories such as the Nineteenth Amendment (right to vote) and protection under Title VII (employment discrimination).

Finally, there is a growing acknowledgment that sexual orientation “bears no relation to ability to perform or contribute to society.”  Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677, 686 (1973) (plurality).  recent evolutions in legislation (including the pending repeal of Don’t ask, Don’t Tell), in community practices and attitudes, in case law (including the Supreme Court’s holdings in Lawrence and Romer), and in social science regarding sexual orientation all make clear that sexual orientation is not a characteristic that generally bears on legitimate policy objectives.  See, e.g., Statement by the President on the Don’t ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (“It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed.”)

To be sure, there is substantial circuit court authority applying rational basis review to sexual-orientation classifications.  We have carefully examined each of those decisions.  Many of them reason only that if consensual same-sex sodomy may be criminalized under Bowers v. Hardwick, then it follows that no heightened review is appropriate – a line of reasoning that does not survive the overruling of Bowers in Lawrence v. Texas, 538 U.S. 558 (2003).  others rely on claims regarding “procreational responsibility” that the Department has disavowed already in litigation as unreasonable, or claims regarding the immutability of sexual orientation that we do not believe can be reconciled with more recent social science understandings.  and none engages in an examination of all the factors that the Supreme Court has identified as relevant to a decision about the appropriate level of scrutiny.  Finally, many of the more recent decisions have relied on the fact that the Supreme Court has not recognized that gays and lesbians constitute a suspect class or the fact that the Court has applied rational basis review in its most recent decisions addressing classifications based on sexual orientation, Lawrence and Romer.  but neither of those decisions reached, let alone resolved, the level of scrutiny issue because in both the Court concluded that the laws could not even survive the more deferential rational basis standard.

Application to Section 3 of DOMA

In reviewing a legislative classification under heightened scrutiny, the government must establish that the classification is “substantially related to an important government objective.”  Clark v. Jeter, 486 U.S. 456, 461 (1988).  Under heightened scrutiny, “a tenable justification must describe actual state purposes, not rationalizations for actions in fact differently grounded.”  United States v. Virginia , 518 U.S. 515, 535-36 (1996).  “The justification must be genuine, not hypothesized or invented post hoc in response to litigation.”  Id. at 533.

In other words, under heightened scrutiny, the United States cannot defend Section 3 by advancing hypothetical rationales, independent of the legislative record, as it has done in circuits where precedent mandates application of rational basis review.  Instead, the United States can defend Section 3 only by invoking Congress’ actual justifications for the law.

Moreover, the legislative record underlying DOMA’s passage contains discussion and debate that undermines any defense under heightened scrutiny.  The record contains numerous expressions reflecting moral disapproval of gays and lesbians and their intimate and family relationships – precisely the kind of stereotype-based thinking and animus the Equal Protection Clause is designed to guard against.  See Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 448 (“mere negative attitudes, or fear” are not permissible bases for discriminatory treatment); see also Romer, 517 U.S. at 635 (rejecting rationale that law was supported by “the liberties of landlords or employers who have personal or religious objections to homosexuality”); Palmore v. Sidotti, 466 U.S. 429, 433 (1984) (“Private biases may be outside the reach of the law, but the law cannot, directly or indirectly, give them effect.”).

Application to Second Circuit Cases

After careful consideration, including a review of my recommendation, the President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a heightened standard of scrutiny.  The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA, as applied to legally married same-sex couples, fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional.  Given that conclusion, the President has instructed the Department not to defend the statute in Windsor and Pedersen, now pending in the Southern District of New York and the District of Connecticut.  I concur in this determination.

Notwithstanding this determination, the President has informed me that Section 3 will continue to be enforced by the Executive Branch.  to that end, the President has instructed Executive agencies to continue to comply with Section 3 of DOMA, consistent with the Executive’s obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, unless and until Congress repeals Section 3 or the judicial branch renders a definitive verdict against the law’s constitutionality.  this course of action respects the actions of the prior Congress that enacted DOMA, and it recognizes the judiciary as the final arbiter of the constitutional claims raised.

As you know, the Department has a longstanding practice of defending the constitutionality of duly-enacted statutes if reasonable arguments can be made in their defense, a practice that accords the respect appropriately due to a coequal branch of government.  however, the Department in the past has declined to defend statutes despite the availability of professionally responsible arguments, in part because the Department does not consider every plausible argument to be a “reasonable” one.  “[D]ifferent cases can raise very different issues with respect to statutes of doubtful constitutional validity,” and thus there are “a variety of factors that bear on whether the Department will defend the constitutionality of a statute.”  Letter to Hon. Orrin G. Hatch from Assistant Attorney General Andrew Fois at 7 (Mar. 22, 1996).  this is the rare case where the proper course is to forgo the defense of this statute.  moreover, the Department has declined to defend a statute “in cases in which it is manifest that the President has concluded that the statute is unconstitutional,” as is the case here.  Seth P. Waxman, Defending Congress, 79 N.C. L.Rev. 1073, 1083 (2001).

In light of the foregoing, I will instruct the Department’s lawyers to immediately inform the district courts in Windsor and Pedersen of the Executive Branch’s view that heightened scrutiny is the appropriate standard of review and that, consistent with that standard, Section 3 of DOMA may not be constitutionally applied to same-sex couples whose marriages are legally recognized under state law.  If asked by the district courts in the Second Circuit for the position of the United States in the event those courts determine that the applicable standard is rational basis, the Department will state that, consistent with the position it has taken in prior cases, a reasonable argument for Section 3’s constitutionality may be proffered under that permissive standard.  our attorneys will also notify the courts of our interest in providing Congress a full and fair opportunity to participate in the litigation in those cases.  We will remain parties to the case and continue to represent the interests of the United States throughout the litigation.

Furthermore, pursuant to the President’s instructions, and upon further notification to Congress, I will instruct Department attorneys to advise courts in other pending DOMA litigation of the President’s and my conclusions that a heightened standard should apply, that Section 3 is unconstitutional under that standard and that the Department will cease defense of Section 3.

A motion to dismiss in the Windsor and Pedersen cases would be due on March 11, 2011.  please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Sincerely yours,

______________________________________

i DOMA Section 3 states:  “In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.”

ii See, e.g., Dragovich v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2011 WL 175502 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 18, 2011); Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, 699 F. Supp. 2d 374 (D. Mass. 2010); Smelt v. County of Orange, 374 F. Supp. 2d 861, 880 (C.D. Cal.,2005); Wilson v. Ake, 354 F.Supp.2d 1298, 1308 (M.D. Fla. 2005); In re Kandu, 315 B.R. 123, 145 (Bkrtcy. W.D. Wash. 2004); In re Levenson, 587 F.3d 925, 931 (9th Cir. E.D.R. plan Administrative Ruling 2009).

iii while significant, that history of discrimination is different in some respects from the discrimination that burdened African-Americans and women.  See Adarand Constructors, inc. v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200, 216  (1995) (classifications based on race “must be viewed in light of the historical fact that the central purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment was to eliminate racial discrimination emanating from official sources in the States,” and “[t]his strong policy renders racial classifications ‘constitutionally suspect.’”); United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515, 531 (1996) (observing that “‘our Nation has had a long and unfortunate history of sex discrimination’” and pointing out the denial of the right to vote to women until 1920).  In the case of sexual orientation, some of the discrimination has been based on the incorrect belief that sexual orientation is a behavioral characteristic that can be changed or subject to moral approbation. Cf. Cleburne, 473 U.S. at 441 (heightened scrutiny may be warranted for characteristics “beyond the individual’s control” and that “very likely reflect outmoded notions of the relative capabilities of” the group at issue); Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000) (Stevens, J., dissenting) (“Unfavorable opinions about homosexuals ‘have ancient roots.’” (quoting Bowers, 478 U.S. at 192)).

iv See Equality Foundation v. City of Cincinnati, 54 F.3d 261, 266–67 & n. 2. (6th Cir. 1995); Steffan v. Perry, 41 F.3d 677, 685 (D.C. Cir. 1994); Woodward v. United States, 871 F.2d 1068, 1076 (Fed. Cir. 1989); Ben-Shalom v. Marsh, 881 F.2d 454, 464 (7th Cir. 1989); Padula v. Webster, 822 F.2d 97, 103 (D.C. Cir. 1987).

v See, e.g., Lofton v. Secretary of the Dep’t of Children & Family Servs., 358 F.3d 804, 818 (11th Cir. 2004) (discussing child-rearing rationale); High Tech Gays v. Defense Indust. Sec. Clearance Office, 895 F.2d 563, 571 (9th Cir. 1990) (discussing immutability).  As noted, this Administration has already disavowed in litigation the argument that DOMA serves a governmental interest in “responsible procreation and child-rearing.”  H.R. Rep. no. 104-664, at 13.  As the Department has explained in numerous filings, since the enactment of DOMA, many leading medical, psychological, and social welfare organizations have 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.

vi See Cook v. Gates, 528 F.3d 42, 61 (1st Cir. 2008); Citizens for Equal Prot. v. Bruning, 455 F.3d 859, 866 (8th Cir. 2006); Johnson v. Johnson, 385 F.3d 503, 532 (5th Cir. 2004); Veney v. Wyche, 293 F.3d 726, 732 (4th Cir. 2002); Equality Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, inc. v. City of Cincinnati, 128 F.3d 289, 292-94 (6th Cir. 1997).

vii See, e.g., H.R. Rep. at 15–16 (judgment [opposing same-sex marriage] entails both moral disapproval of homosexuality and a moral conviction that heterosexuality better comports with traditional (especially Judeo-Christian) morality”); id. at 16 (same-sex marriage “legitimates a public union, a legal status that most people  . . . feel ought to be illegitimate” and “put[s] a stamp of approval . . . on a union that many people . . . think is immoral”); id. at 15 (“Civil laws that permit only heterosexual marriage reflect and honor a collective moral judgment about human sexuality”); id. (reasons behind heterosexual marriage—procreation and child-rearing—are  “in accord with nature and hence have a moral component”); id. at 31 (favorably citing the holding in Bowers that an “anti-sodomy law served the rational purpose of expressing the presumed belief . . . that homosexual sodomy is immoral and unacceptable”); id. at 17 n.56 (favorably citing statement in dissenting opinion in Romer that “[t]his Court has no business . . . pronouncing that ‘animosity’ toward homosexuality is evil”).

THIS IS FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN:

Administration Drops Defense of Discriminatory DOMA Law

HRC praises move as rare and extraordinary step for same-sex couples and their families

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, today praised the Obama Administration’s decision not to continue its defense of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) in court.  DOMA denies federal recognition and benefits to legally married same-sex couples and purports to allow states to deny recognition to those couples as well.

“This is a monumental decision for the thousands of same-sex couples and their families who want nothing more than the same rights and dignity afforded to other married couples,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.  “As the President has stated previously, DOMA unfairly discriminates against Americans and we applaud him for fulfilling his oath to defend critical constitutional principles.”

HRC has engaged in an effort to encourage the administration to abandon its defense of the statute for years, including writing to the President directly and encouraging our members and supporters to contact the administration as well.

Under federal law, the Department of Justice must report to Congress its intent not to defend the statute and it is likely that anti-LGBT leaders in Congress will take up its defense.

“Congressional leaders must not waste another taxpayer dollar defending this patently unconstitutional law,” said Solmonese.  “The federal government has no business picking and choosing which legal marriages they want to recognize.  Instead Congress should take this opportunity to wipe the stain of marriage discrimination from our laws.”

DOMA, passed in 1996, denies married same-sex couples over 1,000 rights, benefits and responsibilities tied to marriage under federal law.  these include Social Security survivors’ benefits, family and medical leave, equal compensation as federal employees, and immigration rights, among many others.

Background memo pdf: http://www.hrc.org/documents/DOMA.pdf

Information on HRC’s blog: http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2011/02/decision-time-obama-administration-faces-new-legal-question-in-same-sex-marriage-lawsuits/

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. by inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

REACTION FROM FREEDOM TO MARRY:

President Calls for Heightened Scrutiny in DOMA Litigations; DOJ Will not Defend Discriminatory Law

(New York, NY, February 23, 2011) – Today the Obama Administration called for heightened scrutiny in the federal lawsuits challenging the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” and called on the Department of Justice not to defend the discriminatory law.  Below is a statement from Evan Wolfson, President and Founder of Freedom to Marry, the campaign to win marriage nationwide:

“Freedom to Marry applauds the President and the Attorney General for acknowledging that sexual orientation discrimination has no place in American life and must be presumed unconstitutional, recognizing that discriminatory laws like so-called DOMA must be looked at with skeptical eyes, not rubber stamped.

“The Administration today acknowledges that there is no legitimate reason for this discrimination and therefore it cannot be defended under the Constitution.  this a momentous step forward toward Freedom to Marry’s goal of ending federal marriage discrimination and fully protecting all loving and committed couples.”

Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.

UPDATE (9:51AM PACIFIC) FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES:

Suits on Same-Sex Marriage may Force Administration to take a Stand

WASHINGTON — President Obama has balanced on a political tightrope for two years over the Defense of Marriage Act, the contentious 1996 law barring federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Now, two new federal lawsuits threaten to snap that rope out from under him.

Mr. Obama, whose political base includes many supporters of gay rights, has urged lawmakers to repeal the law. but at the same time, citing an executive-branch duty to defend acts of Congress, he has sent Justice Department lawyers into court to oppose suits seeking to strike the law down as unconstitutional.

The two lawsuits, however, have provoked an internal administration debate about how to sustain its have-it-both-ways stance, officials said. Unlike previous challenges, the new lawsuits were filed in districts covered by the appeals court in New York — one of the only circuits with no modern precedent saying how to evaluate claims that a law discriminates against gay people.

That means that the administration, for the first time, may be required to take a clear stand on politically explosive questions like whether gay men and lesbians have been unfairly stigmatized, are politically powerful, and can choose to change their sexual orientation.

“Now they are being asked what they think the law should be, and not merely how to apply the law as it exists,” said Michael Dorf, a Cornell University law professor. “There is much less room to hide for that decision.”

James Esseks, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer helping with one case, said the new suits could be game-changing.

The Obama legal team has not yet decided what path to take on the lawsuits, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the internal deliberations. but the Justice Department must respond by March 11. The debate has arisen at a time when mr. Obama has signaled that his administration may be re-evaluating its stance.

As a candidate, mr. Obama backed civil unions for gay people while opposing same-sex marriage. but last month, after Congress — in the final hours before Republicans took control of the House — repealed the law barring gay men, lesbians and bisexuals from serving openly in the military, he told The Advocate, a magazine that focuses on gay issues, that his views on marriage rights “are evolving.”

“I have a whole bunch of really smart lawyers who are looking at a whole range of options,” mr. Obama said, referring to finding a way to end the Defense of Marriage Act. “I’m always looking for a way to get it done, if possible, through our elected representatives. that may not be possible.”

Since 2003, when the Supreme Court struck down laws criminalizing gay sex, the legal landscape for same-sex marriage has shifted. Eight states now grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples or recognize such marriages if performed elsewhere. but under the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal government cannot recognize those relationships.

That has raised a crucial question: is it constitutional for the federal government to grant certain benefits — like health insurance for spouses of federal workers, or an exemption to estate taxes for surviving spouses — to some people who are legally married under their state’s laws, but not to others, based on their sexual orientation?

The Constitution declares that everyone has a right to equal protection by the law. but many laws treat some people differently from others. Courts uphold such policies as constitutional if they can pass a test showing that the discrimination is not invidious.

A law singling out an ordinary class — like owners of property in a district with special tax rates — gets an easy test. it is presumed valid, and a challenge is dismissed unless a plaintiff proves that the law advances no conceivable rational state interest.

But a law focusing on a class that has often been subjected to unfair discrimination — like a racial group — gets a hard test. it is presumed invalid and struck down unless the government proves that officials’ purpose in adopting the law advances a compelling interest.

Gay-rights groups contend that the marriage act ought to be struck down under either test. Last year, a federal judge in Massachusetts agreed, saying it was unconstitutional even under the easy test’s standards.

But the Obama administration, which appealed that ruling, contends that a plausible argument exists for why the act might be constitutional. Justice Department officials say they have a responsibility to offer that argument and let courts decide, rather than effectively nullifying a law by not defending it.

Justice officials have argued that the marriage act is justified, under the easy test’s standards, by a government interest in preserving the status quo at the federal level, allowing states to experiment. and in its brief appealing the Massachusetts ruling, the department stressed seven times that a “binding” or “settled” precedent in that circuit required the easy test.

But for the new lawsuits, no such precedent exists. The Obama team has to say which test it thinks should be used. Courts give a class the protection of the hard test if it has been unfairly stigmatized and if its members cannot choose to leave the class, among other factors. by those standards, it could be awkward, especially for a Democratic administration, to proclaim that gay people do not qualify for it.

But under a hard test, the administration’s argument for upholding the marriage law would be weaker, legal specialists say, in part because when lawmakers enacted it in 1996, they mentioned only in passing an interest in preserving the federal status quo as states experimented.

Some conservatives have accused the administration of throwing the fight by not invoking other arguments, like morality. and in particular, lawmakers’ primary focus in 1996 was “encouraging responsible procreation and child-rearing.”

But the administration’s filings in other cases disavowed that rationale, noting that infertile heterosexuals may marry and citing studies that children raised by same-sex parents are as likely to be well-adjusted as those raised by heterosexuals.

M. Edward Whelan III, a former Bush administration lawyer, said the Obama team’s rejection of the children-based rationale amounted to “sabotage.”

Another possible path, legal specialists say, would be to urge the judges to adopt the easy test because courts elsewhere have done so, without laying out any full legal analysis of how to think about gay people as a class.

Gay-rights supporters, however, call that option dishonest: those cases largely derived from decisions before the Supreme Court’s 2003 sodomy ruling. The premise that it was constitutional to criminalize gay sex short-circuited appraisal of protections for gay people from lesser forms of official discrimination.

“We think there is only one answer the government and the court can come to if they apply the test conscientiously, and that is that the government must have to prove why it needs to treat gay people differently,” said mr. Esseks, the A.C.L.U. lawyer.

“And if the government has to have a real reason, as opposed to a made-up reason, we don’t think there is any way that the government wins.”

John Schwartz contributed reporting from New York.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: February 2, 2011

An article on Saturday about a debate within the Obama administration over legal challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, misstated one of the factors considered by judges in discrimination cases. They are more likely to strike down a law if it discriminates against a class of people (for example, a racial minority) who cannot choose to leave the class— not people who have the option of leaving it.

(Front page Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Breaking: Obama Admin. Tells Its Attorneys to Stop Defending DOMA

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Divorce Lawyer Dominic Barbara has spaghetti thrown at his head, screams “Mayday!” and then calls for a divorce.

NewsDay

Divorce lawyer Dominic Barbara, wife in a marital splat – er, spatBY ANN GIVENS

Dominic Barbara, who has made a mint litigating other people’s messy divorces, got into his own marital spat earlier this week when his wife threw a plate of spaghetti at his head, police records show.

The divorce and defense lawyer, who helped make Long Island infamous by representing the likes of Joey Buttafuoco and Jessica Hahn, suffered a small gash on his forehead when the woman who is both his third and his fourth wife broke the plate on his head, according to police and court documents.

The couple ended a five-year marriage in 2007, and remarried each other that same year. Barbara, 63, would not comment on whether they are planning to divorce again now.

Leslie Barbara, 44, also a divorce lawyer, was arrested and charged with second-degree menacing after the incident Monday.

She spent the night in jail, and Dominic himself bailed her out Tuesday morning, both sides said.

But she was promptly rearrested when police said she violated a restraining order by going back to the couple’s Glen Cove home, court documents show.

The usually flamboyant Barbara said only, “I hope she gets the help she needs.”

In the courtroom, however, Barbara is known to pull outrageous stunts to win settlements for his clients.

“I am literally bigger than life,” he once told Newsday. “the reputation is that if you try a case with me I’m going to — kill you.”

Leslie Barbara’s lawyer, Randy Zelin, of Westbury, would not discuss the spaghetti-throwing incident except to say that he plans to fight the charges and that he is “confident that at the end of the day justice is going to be done.”

Zelin said a misunderstanding led to his client’s second arrest. he said a Glen Cove City Court judge gave Leslie Barbara permission to have her car picked up from the couple’s home. he said in his client’s exhaustion after a night in jail, she misunderstood and went to get the car herself. Police arrested her there.

Divorce Lawyer Dominic Barbara Has Spaghetti Thrown At His Head

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Get those wedding bells ready! Reese Witherspoon is heading to the altar.

The 34-year-old blond beauty is engaged to her boyfriend, Jim Toth, a rep for the actress confirmed to Access Hollywood.

PLAY IT NOW: Reese Witherspoon Talks ‘How Do You Know’

“They are engaged and they are extremely happy,” the rep told the Access on Tuesday.

The Academy Award-winning actress began dating Jim, 40, an agent at Creative Artists Agency (where Reese is a client), in January.

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This will be the second marriage for the “How Do You Know” star. In 2007, she and actor Ryan Phillippe divorced after seven years of marriage and two children – Ava, now 11, and Deacon, now 7.

Reese’s new fianc has reportedly “bonded” with the actress’ children, a source told Us Weekly, which was first to report the news

The source reportedly claimed that Jim stayed with Reese’s kids while she shot the upcoming “This Means War” in Vancouver.

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“Ava and Deacon are happy with him,” the source added.

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Reese was previously linked to “Love and other Drugs” star, Jake Gyllenhaal.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: (Legally) Blonde & Beautiful Reese Witherspoon!

The couple reportedly dated from March 2007 until December 2009, following her divorce from Ryan.

Reese originally filed for divorce from Ryan on November 8, 2006, citing “irreconcilable differences,” but the divorce was not finalized until October 2007.

The former spouses met at Reese’s 21st birthday party in 1997 and began dating shortly thereafter.

In April 1998, Ryan and Reese filmed “Cruel Intentions.” they were married in June 1999 in Charleston, South Carolina.

Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:VIEW THE PHOTOS: Reese Witherspoon & Ryan PhillippePLAY IT NOW: Reese Witherspoon On Her Success: I Feel ‘Very Blessed’

MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Reese Witherspoon – Engagements – Ryan Phillippe – Movies – Jake Gyllenhaal

Reese Witherspoon Engaged To Boyfriend Jim Toth

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Courtney and David married in 1999 after meeting on a range of exciting stories of the 1996 Wes Craven “Scream”. Duo often complain that their relationship was a long romance between the world’s troubled Hollywood. David claims that he refused to heroin, cocaine and speed in a collision with a warning from Courtney. “I knew it would not happen to me with the drug problem, and I want to grow old with them,” Arquette said in an interview in 2003.

Couple play the role of brand in the fourth installment of the next series “the Scream”, which is scheduled to hit theaters in April 2011.

Courtney Cox

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