[ChuckF]

Originally Posted by Stephen Maturin

In a separate lawsuit, the same judge ruled that the DOMA definition of marriage violated the Tenth Amendment -- the wingnut's best friend -- "by intruding on areas of exclusive state authority" and the Spending Clause "by forcing the Commonwealth [of Massachusetts] to engage in invidious discrimination against its own citizens in order to receive and retain federal funds in connection with two joint federal-state programs." Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. United States Dep't of Health & Human Servs. (pdf, 36 pages).

lols

While many conservative organizations immediately decried a federal judge's decision last week to invalidate the federal ban on recognizing gay marriages, tea party groups have been conspicuously silent on the issue.

The silence is by design, activists with the loosely affiliated movement said, because it is held together by an exclusive focus on fiscal matters and its avoidance of divisive social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Privately, though, many said they back the decision because it emphasizes the legal philosophy of states' rights.

Exclusive focus yo.