Appeals Court Rules Against Defense of Marriage Act

A federal appeals court ruled unanimously Thursday that the Defense of Marriage Act, passed by Congress in 1996, discriminates against married same-sex couples by denying them the same federal benefits afforded to heterosexual couples.

The decision will have no immediate effect because it anticipates an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

In upholding an earlier decision by a lower court, Thursdays ruling, by a three-judge panel of the First United States Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, is the first time an appeals court has declared the federal law...