House Dems enter fight in Calif. case against DOMA

A group of 132 House Democrats — led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) — filed on Tuesday a friend-of-the-court brief against the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" to assist litigation challenging the anti-gay law.

The brief was filed before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Golinski v. U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Lambda Legal and Morrison & Foerster filed the suit on behalf of Karen Golinski, a court employee at the U.S. Ninth Circuit of Court of Appeals who’s seeking partner benefits for her spouse, but was denied them because of DOMA.