Servicemembers Sue To Challenge DOMA and Obtain Equal Spousal Benefits

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network announced last week that it had filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a number of plaintiffs seeking the same benefits for same-sex spouses of current and former service members as is provided to opposite-sex spouses.  The complaint (full text) in McLaughlin v. United States, (D MA, filed 10/27/2011), asks the court to rule that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional as applied to military spousal benefits, and that the definition of "spouse" in federal statutes relating to military benefits is likewise unconstitutional. The complaint invokes the equal protection clause,the 10th Amendment's  principles of federalism, the fundamental right to marry, and the bill of attainder clause. Thursday's Christian Post reported on the case. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]