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Edith Windsor Comments on Decision by the House of Representatives to Defend "Defense of Marriage Act"

On February 23, 2011, as a result of Edie's case, the U.S. Attorney General announced that, having concluded that laws that treat gay men and lesbians differently should be subject to a form of heightened scrutiny, Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional and the Department of Justice would no longer defend it in court.

"I am obviously disappointed that the House of Representatives has decided to defend a law (DOMA) that is so clearly unjust, leaving me with a $363,000 estate tax bill that I should never have had to pay," said Ms. Windsor.

Ms. Windsor, who shared four decades with her late spouse, Thea Spyer, filed a lawsuit against the federal government on November 9, 2010 for refusing to recognize their marriage. In the lawsuit, Ms. Windsor alleges that DOMA violates the equal protection guarantee of the U.S. Constitution because it recognizes marriages of heterosexual couples for the purpose of federal law, but not those of same-sex couples. When Thea died in 2009, Edie was the sole beneficiary of Thea's estate. Because they were married, Thea's estate ordinarily would have passed for the benefit of Edie, her spouse, without the payment of any estate tax. But because of DOMA, Edie had to pay more than $363,000 in federal estate tax.

Roberta A. Kaplan, an attorney for Ms. Windsor, added, "We remain as determined as ever to move forward with Edie's case as quickly as possible so that the court can determine that all marriages should be treated equally and that DOMA is unconstitutional."

Edie Windsor's lawsuit was filed by the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, together with the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Renée Soto/Meghan Stafford, 212-687-8080