Jewish Groups Hail Court Decision on Gay Marriage
Three Jewish groups welcomed a U.S. court’s decision declaring as unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act, which restricts the definition of marriage to that between a man and a woman.
The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in New York handed down its decision on Oct. 18. The act was passed in 1996 by both houses of Congress by large majorities.
“This decision reaffirms that the principle of equal treatment means that same-sex couples are entitled to all of the federal rights, protections and benefits of civil marriage,” the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement.
The Reform movement in its statement noted that several of its constituent bodies had joined the ADL in a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the claim of Edith Windsor, who sued the government for forcing her to pay estate taxes after her wife died, even though spouses are exempt under the law from such taxes.
“We oppose DoMA because of our unequivocal support for equal rights for all people, including the right to a civil marriage license, reflecting our understanding that the stamp of the Divine is present in each and every human being,” the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center said in a statement.
Also praising the court was the National Council for Jewish Women, which had opposed passage of the law.
Opponents of gay marriage rights have suggested that they will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.