(Image Source: The New York Times ) BY CHARESSE JAMES Anchor By Candice Aviles One month before the Supreme Court’s constitutional showdown over the Defense of Marriage Act, the Obama administration called for the court to strike down the law — and open the door for more rights for gay couples. Via MSNBC : “The obama administration has decided to not defend that law. … They will not defend it. It is house republicans specifically who are defending that law in court at the direction of house speaker John Boehner.” The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which was signed into law during the Clinton administration, defines marriage as between one man and one woman and has been deemed unconstitutional in lower courts. The Supreme Court agreed to hear one of those cases, U.S. v. Windsor, in March. In that case, Edith Windsor was forced to assume an estate tax bill much larger than other married couples would have to pay. Because her decades-long partner was a woman, the federal government did not recognize the same-sex marriage in legal terms, even though her home state of New York did. In a statement , Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Department of Justice will stop defending the policy because it has now been challenged in the Second Circuit, " which has no established or binding standard for how laws concerning sexual orientation should be treated. " "...The President has concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny. The President has also concluded that Section 3 of DOMA … fails to meet that standard and is therefore unconstitutional...” But the real question — will the administration's position carry any weight with the justices? Via CNN : “Did they decide rightly or wrongly? … Should it be applied nationally? I think those are the questions, not a popularity contest on which lawyer represents which side.” The Obama administration has not filed a brief on California's Proposition 8 case, which the Supreme Court is also deciding. The court’s ruling on that case could bring marriage equality back to the Golden State, and possibly the entire nation. They have until Feb. 28 to file.