Friday June 26 marks the thirteen-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in United States v. Windsor, which struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. Passed in 1996, DOMA had federally defined marriage strictly as the union between one man and one woman, denying legally married same-sex couples vital federal benefits, ranging from Social Security survival payouts to joint tax filings. The high court’s 5-to-4 decision ruled the federal ban unconstitutional, declaring that it imposed a disadvantage and a stigma on same-sex couples. Legal experts say the ruling laid the direct legal groundwork for the total legalization of marriage equality nationwide just two years later.
