Boehner Forms Bipartisan Group to Defend DOMA in Court

House Speaker John Boehner is outraged about the Obama administration's announcement last week that it was abandoning its legal support for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). So now Boehner is moving toward formally defending the act in court, The Hill reports.

Speaker John Boehner

The DOMA allows states and the federal government to legally ignore same-sex marriages consummated in other states. Boehner pledged that the House would act to defend DOMA, and on Friday he announced the formation of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, a five-member unit to consider instructing the House's Office of the General Counsel to defend DOMA in court.

The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group includes the speaker, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer.