down doma, defense of marriage act. the move is not unexpected, but peter doocy is following that for us, live in washington. hi, peter. >> reporter: hi, jamie, and in that brief filed yesterday the solicitor general makes crystal clear, the obama administration thinks that the defensive marriage act, law passed in 1996, quote. denies to tens of thousands of same sex couples legally married under state law, an arare of important federal benefits that are available to legally married opposite sex couples, and jamie, this represents part of a broader shift toward insuring gay rights. and president obama made sure everybody knows they're an important part. >> our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law. >> a little more than a month into his second term,