Obama Appointees Question the Value of Marriage

The Obama administration is looking for a fight over the definition of marriage. That means asking more than 100 Democratic members of the House and Senate to repudiate their votes for the Defense of Marriage Act within 12 months of next year's midterm election. That's political poison for members in swing districts and purple or red states.

Apparently, the administration doesn't much care about public opinion or electoral consequences. On Friday, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. delivered a lecture at the University of Maine where he reiterated President Obama's intent to push for repeal of the law defining marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman for purposes of federal laws. In August, Justice Department spokesman Tracy Schmaler said much the same thing, arguing the "act is discriminatory and should be repealed."