Today's court decision finding DOMA to be unconstitutional is a thing of beauty. The case involves a federal employee, Ms. Golinski, whose partner was denied insurance benefits by her federal employer. The justification for denying these benefits was the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The first thing the Court examined was whether gay men and lesbians as a class should be subject to heightened scrutiny—a legal designation which means that they should be afforded heightened protections. To qualify for this status the Court examined several criteria: (1) a history of invidious discrimination; (2) ability to contribute to society; (3) whether the characteristics of the class are immutable; and (4) the political power of the class.

While any one of the factors alone is sufficient to grant the class heightened scrutiny, the Court found that the class of gay men and lesbians met all of the factors.