The court declined to decide a case related to California’s Proposition 8, effectively allowing same-sex “marriages” there. The Obama administration has pledged to act swiftly to extend federal benefits to legally “married” same-sex couples. “ doma is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy, who authored the majority opinion. Striking down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act ( doma), signed into law by President Bill Clinton, the court ruled that legally “married” same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits. With two landmark rulings, the Supreme Court gave its support to “gay marriage” as a legal institution.