Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, issued the comment below about the Obama administration’s announcement today that it no longer will defend the Defense of Marriage Act.

“Today’s decision is clearly based more on politics than the law because numerous federal courts have upheld the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.  Given the substantial record in the courts and the administration’s acknowledgement that arguments can be made to defend the law, it’s hard to see how the announcement isn’t simply a roundabout expression by the President of support for same-sex marriage, which he said during the campaign that he opposed.  I voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in Congress, which President Clinton signed into law, defining marriage as between one man and one woman and preventing states from being forced to honor the decisions of other state courts.”