Wa Po Praises DOJ for Gentler Brief

The Obama administration seems to have learned its lesson on defending current federal laws, like the Defense of Marriage Act, with which it does not agree, TheWashington Post editorial board wrote on Monday.

The board's editorial commended the U.S. Justice Department's second, mitigated brief on the issue, which defended the federal government's stance on current law while making it clear that the president disapproves of the law.

"These same sound legal arguments were made in an administration brief that was filed in June," the editorial read. "But they were obscured by the firestorm over a legal citation of a case involving incest and the untrue assertion that DOMA didn't single out gay men and lesbians for discrimination. That mistake was not repeated. In fact, the third paragraph of the latest brief states plainly that 'this Administration does not support DOMA as a matter of policy, believes that it is discriminatory, and supports its repeal.' We wholeheartedly support the Obama administration in this -- and eagerly await its push to change the law."

The brief was in reference to the case Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer v. United States of America, in which a gay couple is suing for federal recognition of their state-sanctioned marriage.