Microsoft, Google, EA and others oppose US Defense of Marriage Act

The Defense of Marriage Act was passed in the US back in 1996, but that law is now being opposed by Microsoft and a number of other big companies and cities. This was revealed in an amicus brief filed earlier this month, but was not formally revealed until this week.
 

The amicus brief, which was filed in the US Ninth District Court of Appeals, is after the third portion of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Microsoft and the other companies included in the document state that the Act " ... forces us to discriminate against a class of our lawfully-married employees, upon whose welfare and morale our own success in part depends."

Other companies that joined in the amicus brief besides Microsoft include Google, Electronic Arts, eBay, and Zynga. Also included are the cities of New York, Boston, San Fransisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.

The Defense of Marriage Act has been in place for over 15 years but the Obama Administration has said that it opposes the third portion of the act and would not defend the third part of the act in court, feeling that it is unconstitutional