WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's administration will no longer defend a 15-year-old U.S. law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, a major policy shift in favor of gay rights.
The issue of gay marriage has been a major personal conflict for Obama -- he has opposed it and instead favored civil unions -- and his policy reversal drew criticism from conservatives who said the move was a political one.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced the change on Wednesday after a detailed review in recent weeks.
He said the government now agreed with a U.S. judge in Boston who ruled in 2010 that banning gay marriages was unconstitutional.
