In the first of a pair of same-sex marriage rights cases decided today, the Supreme Court of the United States declared portions of DOMA (the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act") unconstitutional.  Although there were some concerns about jurisdiction in this case due to the executive branches failure to defend DOMA vigorously the court determined there was jurisdiction and that DOMA is unconstitutional under the equal liberty of persons protected by the Fifth Amendment. Known as the DOMA case, everything you need to know about United States v. Windsor  is summarized below: Prior to reaching SCOTUS here is what happened: Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, two women, met in New York City in 1963 and began a long-term relationship. Windsor and Spyer registered as domestic partners when New York City gave that right to same-sex couples in 1993. In 2007, Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, then residents of New York, were married in Ontorio Canada. Under the laws of the State o...