Key Moments From the Hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act.

Key Moments From the Hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act.(NYTimes).

Justice Antonin Scalia It has not arisen very often in the past, because in the past, when I was at the Office of Legal Counsel, there was an opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel which says that the Attorney General will defend the laws of the United States, except in two circumstances:

Number one, where the basis for the alleged unconstitutionality has to do with presidential powers. When the presidential powers are involved, he's the lawyer for the President. So he can say, we think the statute's unconstitutional, I won't defend it.

The second situation is where no possible rational argument could be made in defense of it.

Now, neither of those situations exists here. And I'm wondering if we're living in this new world where the Attorney General can simply decide, yeah, it's unconstitutional, but it's not so unconstitutional that I'm not willing to enforce it, if we're in this new world, I -— I don't want these cases like this to come before this Court all the time.

And I think they will come all the time if that's — if that's — if that's the new regime in the Justice Department that we're dealing with. Hmmmm......I think Justice Scalia nailed it with the 'REGIME' remark.

House reinforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, strikes back on gay marriage.

House reinforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, strikes back on gay marriage.(Politico).By Seung Min Kim.Just hours after President Barack Obama publicly backed gay marriage, the House struck back and passed a measure aimed at reinforcing the Defense of Marriage Act. With a 245-171 vote, the House voted to stop the Justice Department from using taxpayer funds to actively oppose DOMA — the Clinton-era law defining marriage as between a man and a woman that the Obama administration stopped enforcing in February 2011. “It is not President Obama’s prerogative to decide which laws matter and which do not, nor his right to challenge constitutional amendments duly passed by the various states,” said the measure’s sponsor, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.). “The Justice Department is duty-bound to enforce DOMA and to not do so is a flagrant disregard for the Constitution and for the rule of law.” Huelskamp’s amendment was attached to a $51.1 billion spending bill that would fund DOJ and the Commerce Department, and major science agencies. Sixteen Democrats voted with the GOP for the amendment, while seven Republicans opposed it. Hmmm........Obama Blames “Founding Fathers” For Making It Difficult For Him To “Bring Change”But..."I will keep plotting"Read the full story here.