Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is joining a growing chorus seeking to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act, sending a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Eddie Windsor’s legal team who is challenging to overturn the measure.

Schneiderman includes an interesting argument in the brief. He writes that the federal government redefined marriage when it approved the law. And he argues the law is an improper intrusion from the federal government on the traditional role of marriage, adding that it discriminates against same-sex couples.

The U.S. Justice Department announced earlier in the year it would no longer defend the DOMA.

“The federal Defense of Marriage Act clearly violates the principle of equal justice under law as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and improperly intrudes on the traditional role of states in defining marriage,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “The State of New York has long recognized out-of-state, same-sex marriages and the enactment of the Marriage Equality Act further cements our state’s position on this critical civil rights issue My office will fight every day to defend the fundamental guarantee of equal protection under law for all New Yorkers.”

The brief filed by Schneiderman comes a year after the AG pledged to fight to overturn the law during his campaign. It also comes two days after the same-sex marriage law took effect in New York. Thousands of gay couples have already been married in cities and towns across the state.

10-Cv-8435 Windsor v United States Amicus NY State

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