In a post below, Orin notes that many federal statutes define the meaning of the term “property,” even though property is generally defined under state law. If this is so, Orin understandably wonders, how could there be a problem with Congress defining marriage for purposes of federal law in DOMA?
In a recent op ed, Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman argues that striking down the Defense of Marriage Act on federalism grounds – as advocated in an amicus brief I signed along with several other federalism scholars, including co-bloggers Jonathan Adler, Randy Barnett, and Dale Carpenter – would lead to “litigation chaos”:
