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POINTERS
HUGE WINS FOR GAY
RIGHTS MOVEMENT
HUFFINGTON
06.30-07.07.13
The gay rights movement won two huge victories this week in the Supreme Court. The
justices ruled on Wednesday in a 5-4 vote that the Defense of Marriage Act, which bars the
federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, is unconstitutional. In praising the
decision, President Obama said that DOMA had been “discrimination enshrined in law.” The
court also cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California, ruling that the activists who
put Proposition 8 on the 2008 ballot didn’t have the standing to defend the law in federal
courts. On Tuesday, the court dealt a major blow to the civil rights movement by striking
down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, a decision that will allow states with a history of
discriminatory behavior to change their election laws without getting federal approval.