Lesbian Widow Urges Supreme Court To Declare DOMA Unconstitutional

Edith Windsor made her case to the Supreme Court in a filing Tuesday, telling the justices that the Defense of Marriage Act's dictate that the federal government cannot recognize her marriage to a woman is unconstitutional and should be struck down.
"As this court has already recognized, laws burdening lesbians and gay men that were 'once thought necessary and proper' may in fact 'serve only to oppress,'" lawyers for Windsor wrote, quoting from two earlier opinions supporting equal rights for gays and lesbians that were written by Justice Anthony Kennedy — likely a key vote in Windsor's case.