I heard yesterday, I think, that Obama had decided not to defend DOMA in court. I must admit, I'm very conflicted on this, on several levels.
On the one hand, I think DOMA must go. I think it's pointlessly discriminatory, and doesn't actually help anyone (though the homophobes certainly will claim it helps them. And I suppose if their peace of mind is a priority, I can't really argue with that).
But it isn't the President's place to decide that a law is unconstitutional; this is part of why the courts exist. Plus, the DoJ is basically admitting that Obama is giving them an order. Given that a significant part of the why the DoJ exists is to make sure that the executive branch is actually following the law, the President giving them orders certainly sounds like the DoJ doesn't believe in their own mandate. And that disturbs me greatly.
If the President does something clearly illegal, who else is going to pursue it? If the President is calling all the shots, then it seems to be nobody.
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