Judges & the Courts

This term, the Supreme Court will decide United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry. Windsor challenges Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which prohibits the federal government from recognizing marriages between same-sex couples, and Hollingsworth challenges the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment that revoked same-sex couples’ right to marry in that state.  This fact sheet explains why Section 3 of DOMA and Proposition 8 should be subjected to heightened scrutiny under the Constitution and struck down.