In a move that bolsters efforts to legalize gay marriage in the U.S., a federal appeals court in New York became the latest to strike down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law which defines marriage as being exclusively between a man and a woman.

The 2-1 decision by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday follows a similar ruling by a federal appeals court in Boston declaring the law unconstitutional. It is one of several cases related to gay marriage that are working their way through the court...