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| Romney's record in Massachusetts attacked by Democrats - US politics live | Romney's record in Massachusetts attacked by Democrats - US politics live |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 12.36pm: Because it's lunch time, here are what sandwiches tailor-made for individual US states look like. | |
| 12.20pm: The circus-like event on the steps of the Massachusetts state house – as Romney supporters attempted to drown out a press conference by the Obama campaign's David Axelrod attacking Romney record as governor of Massachusetts – prevailed until the end. | |
| Axelrod managed at least one good joke. Saying he was happy Romney started creating jobs in Massachusetts, he quipped: "Too bad it's for hecklers." | |
| 11.54pm: More background on the First US Circuit Court of Appeals decision today, which ruled unconstitutional those portions of the Defence of Marriage Act barring married gay couples from receiving the federal benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. | |
| The unanimous ruling from the panel of three judges was narrow and pointedly did not address Doma's most controversial aspects: recognition of gay marriages performed in other states, or whether same-sex couples have a right to marry under the US constitution. | |
| That aside, gay rights groups are celebrating the ruling, especially Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the Boston-based group of lawyers that brought one of the lawsuits on behalf of gay married couples. Lee Swislow, GLAD's executive director, told AP today: | |
| We've been working on this issue for so many years, and for the court to acknowledge that yes, same-sex couples are legally married, just as any other couple, is fantastic and extraordinary. | |
| 11.30am: The writing is on the wall for the Defense of Marriage Act, says the Human Rights Campaign after today's ruling by the Court of Appeals first circuit: | 11.30am: The writing is on the wall for the Defense of Marriage Act, says the Human Rights Campaign after today's ruling by the Court of Appeals first circuit: |
| This ruling is a historic victory for loving gay and lesbian couples and their children," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "For the first time, a federal appeals court has recognized that our constitution will not tolerate a law that forces the federal government to deny lawfully-married same-sex couples equal treatment. The writing is clearly on the wall for the demise of this unjust and indefensible law that hurts real families. | This ruling is a historic victory for loving gay and lesbian couples and their children," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "For the first time, a federal appeals court has recognized that our constitution will not tolerate a law that forces the federal government to deny lawfully-married same-sex couples equal treatment. The writing is clearly on the wall for the demise of this unjust and indefensible law that hurts real families. |
| Under Doma, lawfully-married gay couples are denied more than 1,100 rights, benefits and responsibilities under federal law, including Social Security survivor benefits, federal employee health benefits for spouses, the right to sponsor a foreign-born partner for immigration and the ability to file joint tax returns. | Under Doma, lawfully-married gay couples are denied more than 1,100 rights, benefits and responsibilities under federal law, including Social Security survivor benefits, federal employee health benefits for spouses, the right to sponsor a foreign-born partner for immigration and the ability to file joint tax returns. |
| 11.11am: Meanwhile, back at the Massachusetts State House, the Mitt Romney campaign's counter-rally-protest didn't last long. | 11.11am: Meanwhile, back at the Massachusetts State House, the Mitt Romney campaign's counter-rally-protest didn't last long. |
| PRESIDENT OBAMA: Pro-Romney group hangs around Mass. State House, presumably to jeer Axelrod... #mapoli twitter.com/globeglen/stat… | PRESIDENT OBAMA: Pro-Romney group hangs around Mass. State House, presumably to jeer Axelrod... #mapoli twitter.com/globeglen/stat… |
| On the scene is the Boston Globe's ace correspondent and political editor Glen Johnson, who is tweeting the scene. | On the scene is the Boston Globe's ace correspondent and political editor Glen Johnson, who is tweeting the scene. |
| Johnson reports that cheers of "Fired up and ready to go" from the Obama supporters are met with retort of "Mitt, Mitt, Mitt" from the Romney camp. "Chaos building," he notes. | Johnson reports that cheers of "Fired up and ready to go" from the Obama supporters are met with retort of "Mitt, Mitt, Mitt" from the Romney camp. "Chaos building," he notes. |
| 11am: It seems like all of today's news is coming out of Boston today – with Democratic US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren issuing a statement on her claims to Native American heritage. | 11am: It seems like all of today's news is coming out of Boston today – with Democratic US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren issuing a statement on her claims to Native American heritage. |
| Warren's – so far unsubstantiated – claims to Native American lineage has become an issue in her election battle against incumbent Republican senator Scott Brown. In an attempt to defuse the subject, Warren said late last night: | Warren's – so far unsubstantiated – claims to Native American lineage has become an issue in her election battle against incumbent Republican senator Scott Brown. In an attempt to defuse the subject, Warren said late last night: |
| I let people know about my Native American heritage in a national directory of law school personnel. At some point after I was hired by them, I also provided that information to the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard. My Native American heritage is part of who I am, I'm proud of it, and I have been open about it. | I let people know about my Native American heritage in a national directory of law school personnel. At some point after I was hired by them, I also provided that information to the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard. My Native American heritage is part of who I am, I'm proud of it, and I have been open about it. |
| The Boston Globe reports: | The Boston Globe reports: |
| Warren's statement is her first acknowledgment that she identified herself as Native American to the Ivy League schools. While she has said she identified herself as a minority in a legal directory, she has carefully avoided any suggestion during the last month that she took further actions to promote her purported heritage. | Warren's statement is her first acknowledgment that she identified herself as Native American to the Ivy League schools. While she has said she identified herself as a minority in a legal directory, she has carefully avoided any suggestion during the last month that she took further actions to promote her purported heritage. |
| When the issue first surfaced last month, Warren said she only learned Harvard was claiming her as a minority when she read it in the Boston Herald. | When the issue first surfaced last month, Warren said she only learned Harvard was claiming her as a minority when she read it in the Boston Herald. |
| Warren's new statement came after the Globe asked her campaign about documents it obtained Wednesday from Harvard's library showing that the university's law school began reporting a Native American female professor in federal statistics for the 1992-93 school year, the first year Warren worked at Harvard, as a visiting professor. | Warren's new statement came after the Globe asked her campaign about documents it obtained Wednesday from Harvard's library showing that the university's law school began reporting a Native American female professor in federal statistics for the 1992-93 school year, the first year Warren worked at Harvard, as a visiting professor. |
| 10.44am: The full decision from the First US Court of Appeals, ruling section three of the Defence of Marriage Act unconstitutional, is now online. | 10.44am: The full decision from the First US Court of Appeals, ruling section three of the Defence of Marriage Act unconstitutional, is now online. |
| The ruling – authored by Judge Michael Boudin for the three judge panel – comes in two cases: Gill v Office of Personnel Management, brought by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders on behalf of married Massachusetts same-sex couples denied federal rights and benefits, and Massachusetts v Department of Health and Human Services, brought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts itself. | |
| The case will almost certainly end up before the Supreme Court, as the appellate court notes in its decision today – and places a stay on its ruling: | The case will almost certainly end up before the Supreme Court, as the appellate court notes in its decision today – and places a stay on its ruling: |
| Anticipating that certiorari will be sought and that Supreme Court review of Doma is highly likely, the mandate is stayed, maintaining the district court's stay of its injunctive judgment, pending further order of this court. | Anticipating that certiorari will be sought and that Supreme Court review of Doma is highly likely, the mandate is stayed, maintaining the district court's stay of its injunctive judgment, pending further order of this court. |
| Here's one highlight from the decision: | Here's one highlight from the decision: |
| To conclude, many Americans believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and most Americans live in states where that is the law today. One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage. Under current Supreme Court authority, Congress' denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest. | To conclude, many Americans believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and most Americans live in states where that is the law today. One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage. Under current Supreme Court authority, Congress' denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest. |
| The three judges on the panel were unanimous in supporting the ruling. Two of the three were Republican appointees: Judge Michael Boudin was appointed by George HW Bush, while Judge Juan Torruella was appointed by Ronald Reagan. Chief Judge Sandra Lynch was appointed by Bill Clinton. | |
| 10.34am: The Associated Press files a quick write-through on the decision to rule section three of Doma unconstitutional out of Boston this morning: | |
| An appeals court ruled Thursday that a law that denies a host of federal benefits to gay married couples is unconstitutional. | An appeals court ruled Thursday that a law that denies a host of federal benefits to gay married couples is unconstitutional. |
| The First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, discriminates against gay couples. | The First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, discriminates against gay couples. |
| The appeals court agreed with a lower court judge who ruled in 2010 that the law is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns. | The appeals court agreed with a lower court judge who ruled in 2010 that the law is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns. |
| During arguments before the court last month, a lawyer for gay married couples said the law amounts to "across-the-board disrespect." The couples argued that the power to define and regulate marriage had been left to the states for more than 200 years before Congress passed DOMA. | During arguments before the court last month, a lawyer for gay married couples said the law amounts to "across-the-board disrespect." The couples argued that the power to define and regulate marriage had been left to the states for more than 200 years before Congress passed DOMA. |
| An attorney defending the law argued that Congress had a rational basis for passing it in 1996, when opponents worried that states would be forced to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere. The group said Congress wanted to preserve a traditional and uniform definition of marriage and has the power to define terms used to federal statutes to distribute federal benefits. | An attorney defending the law argued that Congress had a rational basis for passing it in 1996, when opponents worried that states would be forced to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere. The group said Congress wanted to preserve a traditional and uniform definition of marriage and has the power to define terms used to federal statutes to distribute federal benefits. |
| 10.25am: To explain why the first circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the Defence of Marriage Act is significant – given the multiple federal court cases on gay marriage working their way through the legal system right now – it is because this is the first decision from the federal appellate level. | 10.25am: To explain why the first circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the Defence of Marriage Act is significant – given the multiple federal court cases on gay marriage working their way through the legal system right now – it is because this is the first decision from the federal appellate level. |
| There are three other cases on the constitutionality of gay marriage awaiting decisions from federal appeals court – all of them being decided by the ninth circuit, which includes the challenge to California's Proposition 8 constitutional amendment and the Doma challenge upheld by a federal judge in California last week. | There are three other cases on the constitutionality of gay marriage awaiting decisions from federal appeals court – all of them being decided by the ninth circuit, which includes the challenge to California's Proposition 8 constitutional amendment and the Doma challenge upheld by a federal judge in California last week. |
| 10.18am: Some actual news out of Boston, rather than presidential campaign jostling: the First US Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (Doma) – which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman – discriminates against gay couples. | 10.18am: Some actual news out of Boston, rather than presidential campaign jostling: the First US Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (Doma) – which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman – discriminates against gay couples. |
| This is a big deal and sets up another Supreme Court showdown over gay marriage. | This is a big deal and sets up another Supreme Court showdown over gay marriage. |
| Doma was passed in 1996 during the Clinton administration. Massachusetts, though, has allowed gay marriage since May 2004. In 2010, a federal judge in Massachusetts declared Doma unconstitutional, on the grounds that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage. | |
| 10.06am: There are scenes of some amusement on the steps outside the Massachusetts state house, as Romney campaigners and supporters try to squat on the site of the Obama campaign's press conference scheduled to start shortly. | 10.06am: There are scenes of some amusement on the steps outside the Massachusetts state house, as Romney campaigners and supporters try to squat on the site of the Obama campaign's press conference scheduled to start shortly. |
| 9.30am: Mitt Romney's record as governor of Massachusetts gets the full glare of the presidential campaign today, as the Obama team holds a high-profile press conference in the Bay State this morning. | 9.30am: Mitt Romney's record as governor of Massachusetts gets the full glare of the presidential campaign today, as the Obama team holds a high-profile press conference in the Bay State this morning. |
| David Axelrod will hold the press conference on the steps on the Massachusetts capital at 10.30am ET – with the Romney campaign holding its own pre-butal press conference at the same venue half an hour earlier. | David Axelrod will hold the press conference on the steps on the Massachusetts capital at 10.30am ET – with the Romney campaign holding its own pre-butal press conference at the same venue half an hour earlier. |
| To prepare for the dueling press briefings, here's a video released last night by the Obama campaign, attacking Romney's claims to be a job creator and tax cutter, from his time in Massachusetts. | To prepare for the dueling press briefings, here's a video released last night by the Obama campaign, attacking Romney's claims to be a job creator and tax cutter, from his time in Massachusetts. |
| Here is a summary of some of the latest developments from Ryan Devereaux: | Here is a summary of some of the latest developments from Ryan Devereaux: |
| • The Obama campaign has launched a new attack against Mitt Romney, targeting the GOP candidate's record as governor of Massachusetts. Obama's senior strategist, David Axelrod, issued a detailed memo claiming that during his tenure in Massachusetts: "Romney campaigned for governor on the promises of more jobs, decreased debt and smaller government. When he left office, however, state debt had increased, the size of government had grown, and over his four years, Massachusetts's record of job creation was among the worst in the nation." This morning the president's team will hold a press conference to promote their claim that Romney failed as a governor. The attack is accompanied by a new video from the Obama team entitled Broken Promises, which features Massachusetts politicians complaining about Romney's time as governor. | • The Obama campaign has launched a new attack against Mitt Romney, targeting the GOP candidate's record as governor of Massachusetts. Obama's senior strategist, David Axelrod, issued a detailed memo claiming that during his tenure in Massachusetts: "Romney campaigned for governor on the promises of more jobs, decreased debt and smaller government. When he left office, however, state debt had increased, the size of government had grown, and over his four years, Massachusetts's record of job creation was among the worst in the nation." This morning the president's team will hold a press conference to promote their claim that Romney failed as a governor. The attack is accompanied by a new video from the Obama team entitled Broken Promises, which features Massachusetts politicians complaining about Romney's time as governor. |
| • Former president George Bush will visit the White House today for the ceremonial unveiling of his official presidential portrait. President Obama has repeatedly reminded voters of the problems he inherited following Bush as means to bolster his re-election efforts. White House spokesman Jay Carney, however, says the there will be no politics coming from Obama's side today and even suggested the two men may be able to bond over serving as president. | • Former president George Bush will visit the White House today for the ceremonial unveiling of his official presidential portrait. President Obama has repeatedly reminded voters of the problems he inherited following Bush as means to bolster his re-election efforts. White House spokesman Jay Carney, however, says the there will be no politics coming from Obama's side today and even suggested the two men may be able to bond over serving as president. |
| • Bush's former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice endorsed Mitt Romney's bid for president last night at a fundraising event in California. Many have suggested Rice would make an excellent running mate for Romney. As an African American and a woman, she could help the former governor appeal to two demographics he's struggled to connect with. As a key member of Bush's foreign policy team, some believe Rice would be an asset. | • Bush's former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice endorsed Mitt Romney's bid for president last night at a fundraising event in California. Many have suggested Rice would make an excellent running mate for Romney. As an African American and a woman, she could help the former governor appeal to two demographics he's struggled to connect with. As a key member of Bush's foreign policy team, some believe Rice would be an asset. |