Cantor Criticizes Obama For Decision To Stop Defending DOMA

BOSTON — WBUR's All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer spoke with U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican — who is addressing students at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government Thursday night — about the Obama administration's announcement Wednesday that it will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

The announcement was a surprise victory for supporters of gay rights. The Obama administration says it will enforce the law, but won't fight any legal challenges to it; instead, any defense would have to come from Congress.