Defending the defense of marriage

When President Obama had his Justice Department chief announce that the administration no longer found the Defense of Marriage Act defensible (which is as as loaded with contradictions as it sounds), some members of Congress took up the cause.

Of course, it’s the House of Representatives. The one former Speaker Nancy Pelosi called “the people’s house.”  Which makes good sense, since each time the marriage issue has been taken to the ballot, Americans have upheld traditional marriage laws defining the institution of marriage as between one man and one woman. All 31 out of 31 times.

So the House is taking on the government’s traditional duty to defend federal law in court.

Moreover, since the Justice Department declared in February that it will not defend DOMA in court, the funding it would have used for DOMA defenses should now be “diverted” to the House to cover its legal expenses, House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said Monday in a letter to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat.

Mrs. Pelosi — who opposes any defense of DOMA — replied to Mr. Boehner that she still wants to know what the litigation will cost.

Which makes one wonder how Mrs. Pelosi’s concern about costs and spending was applied in the battle over federal funding of Planned Parenthood.