House Speaker John Boehner said on
Wednesday that he was “disappointed” in a Supreme Court ruling
striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
The ruling means that federal agencies
must recognize the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
“While I am obviously disappointed in
the ruling, it is always critical that we protect our system of
checks and balances,” Boehner told reporters. “A robust national
debate over marriage will continue in the public square, and it is my
hope that states will define marriage as the union between one man
and one woman.”
After the Obama administration decided
it would no longer defend the law in court, Boehner spent millions
defending it in more than a dozen separate challenges, some of which
will continue.
Other congressional Republican leaders
echoed Boehner's sentiments, saying that the fight had shifted to the
states.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said
that “the marriage debate will continue in the states.”
And Texas Senator John Cornyn added:
“It sounds to me that that battle will be moving to the states.”
Those sentiments had many wondering
whether the GOP, which has previously used the issue to gin up its
base, was waving the white flag.