Via the New York Daily News: More than 100 House members, including Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, have signed on to a friend of the court brief in the case against the Defense of Marriage Act.

Also called an amicus brief, the filing is submitted by a party who's not a plaintiff or defendant on a case but wants to provide information about it.

The Defense of Marriage Act, passed during the Bill Clinton administration, defines marriage at the federal level as between a man and a woman.

It can complicate things for gay couples, even in states like New York, where gay marriage is legal. Here's a bit more about the case from the Washington Post.

"Lesbians and gay men have been unable to obtain basic protection from discrimination," the brief states, rendering DOMA unconstitutional.

Mr. Owens said in 2011 that he would sign on as a sponsor of a bill to repeal DOMA, which means he's involved with the effort in two branches of government. His decision came after New York's decision to permit gay marriages in the state. Here's my story from that time.

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