For Immediate Release
July 8, 2010
Contact: Lisa Barstow (617) 480-1719

WOBURN-Kris Mineau, president of Massachusetts Family Institute, released the following statement after Judge Joseph Tauro ruled Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional:

"In another blatant example of a judge playing legislator, a Boston-based federal judge has struck down the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton in 1996.

"Same-sex marriage activists have tried time and time again to win public approval of their agenda, and they have failed each time. This is why their strategy is to force same-sex 'marriage' through judicial fiat, as they did here in Massachusetts and other states.

"Americans overwhelmingly believe marriage to be the union of one man and one woman. Just two days ago the Governor of Hawaii vetoed a bill that would have redefined marriage through civil unions, upholding the will of the people of her state. Forty-five states have laws supporting traditional marriage, with thirty of thirty having affirmed traditional marriage in their state constitutions.

"DOMA has withstood prior challenges, and I am confident that an appeals court, and ultimately the Supreme Court, will uphold the government's right to define marriage, strengthening and protecting children and families."