In a federal court brief filed July 1, the Department of Justice cited the Atlanta Police Department's raid on the Atlanta Eagle, a gay bar, as evidence of ongoing discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The Department of Justice filed the brief in the ongoing legal case involving federal employee Karen Golinski. The brief argues that the federal court should not dismiss her claim that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Golinski is suing the government for equal access to health benefits for her wife in a legal battle that has spanned some two years.
The brief, filed on behalf of the Office of Personnel Management and other defendants in the case, begins by saying "Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, 1 U.S.C. Section 7 ('DOMA'), unconstitutionally discriminates."
Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the DOJ would no longer defend DOMA in court over the constitutionality of Section 3 in several cases challenging the law.