House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi slammed Speaker John Boehner's decision to intervene in a case challenging a federal anti-gay marriage law today, charging his decision is discriminatory against gay and lesbian members of the military.
The Ohio Republican today directed the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to intervene in McLaughlin v. Panetta.
According to Metro Weekly, the suit is a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act by eight current and former members of the armed forces. This is the second DOMA case BLAG has become involved in at the behest of Boehner.
"Without a vote or any specific authorization ... [BLAG] is intervening in yet another case," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said.
"The men and women of the U.S. armed forces risk their lives for the country they love and don't deserve to face prejudice," Hammill added.
Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck defended the Speaker’s decision.
"A majority of the BLAG believes the constitutionality of this statute ... should be determined by the judicial branch not through a unilateral decision of the president," Buck said.
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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