[Emphasis added is mine]
A group of congressional Republicans defending the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will appeal this week’s District Court ruling against the law to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier this week, District Judge Jeffrey White, a George W. Bush appointee, found DOMA violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause because it denied benefits to gay and lesbian couples. Some justices on the Ninth Circuit have previously ruled that the law is unconstitutional, although those cases did not establish a binding precedent.
via Republican Lawmakers Appeal DOMA Ruling To Ninth Circuit | ThinkProgress.