By: Sarah

In reply to a.

To add onto what khadija said, the executive has a lot more leeway to interpret constitutional issues. This is debated, but some people think that if the president believes a law is unconstitutional, he doesn’t have to enforce it. It doesn’t work quite that way if he doesn’t like the law but has no constitutional basis to object.

It’s also worth noting that your concern about what happens if an asshole is in power is exactly why Obama defended DOMA in the past. He didn’t want to create precedent for the executive to do whatever the hell he wants. Giving Obama free reign is one thing, but we would regret it when a less gay-friendly president comes along. That’s why I personally have never taken much issue with his defenses of DOMA in court. I figured he didn’t really believe it, which he’s proven here.