The Unintended Consequences of Laws

Last week I mentioned a FindLaw column dealing with the Marriage Protection Act. The MPA would deprive the federal courts (including the Supreme Court) of the jurisdiction "to hear or decide any question pertaining to" the Defense of Marriage Act or the MDA itself. The idea is to keep the courts from recognizing gay marriages from state to state. However, FindLaw columnist Vikram Amar today points out that the MDA, even if it is constitutional, won't accomplish the goals of the law's backers. That's because suits to seek recognition of gay marriages from other states would not be brought under MDA or DOMA, but rather the Fourteenth Amendment and the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution. The MDA would only succeed in preventing the sued states from asserting DOMA as a defense.