U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa L. Bryant today held in a federal case in Connecticut that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act — the federal definition of marriage — is unconstitutional.

Bryant, in a case brought by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, follows several other federal judges over the past two years to have reached the same conclusion. Federal judges in Massachusetts, California and New York also have found DOMA's provision defining "marriage" and "spouse" as only being unions of one man and one woman in all federal laws unconstitutional.

NEW YORK -- Yet another federal court has ruled the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, aka DOMA, is unconstitutional.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court ruling that found DOMA was unconstitutional, sticking another hole in the federal law that discriminates against legally married gay and lesbian couples.

The ruling by a three-judge panel was authored by Judge Michael Boudin, who was nominated by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican. It involves two closely-watched cases: