This afternoon, following a meeting of his hastily convened five-member Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced that Congress will defend Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which President Obama has declared unconstitutional. “Today, after consultation with the Bipartisan Leadership Advisory Group, the House General Counsel has been directed to initiate a legal defense of this law,” Boehner said in the statement. “This action by the House will ensure that this law’s constitutionality is decided by the courts, rather than by the President unilaterally.”

The two Democrats on the panel — Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD) voted against intervening — while the three Republicans — Reps. Boehner, Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — supported the move. Following the meeting, Pelosi tweeted this proclamation:

Democrats have accused Republicans of wasting taxpayer dollars on trying to uphold the Constitutionality of the law, but over the weekend former Solicitor General and current Proposition 8 attorney also Ted Olson suggested that Republicans may lack standing to defend the law. “I don’t know. … It’ll be interesting to see whether they have legal standing to do it. That’s another tough question,” Olson told Metro Weekly’s Chris Geidner. It’s unclear if Republicans “will be able to intervene as a party to various DOMA challenges or be limited to filing briefs as an amicus curiae, or friend of the court.”

Significantly, Republicans have remained somewhat muted about their appeal and have avoided the temptation of specifically addressing the implications or so-called dangers of same-sex marriage. Republicans have been trying to focus their message on the economy and are avoiding a discussion of DOMA with a general public that supports marriage equality in increasing numbers. The decision not to hold a vote on the issue on the House floor or announce this panel’s decision in a more prominent manner only reaffirms this perception.

On Monday, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) attempted to side-step my question about how Newt Gingrich’s divorces would effect his ability to lead on “family issues” — which he is emphasizing in the early stages of his exploratory bid for president. Santorum — who has always been quick to judge gay people or supporters of a woman’s right to choose — refused to pass judgment on the former Speaker, saying only, “I think that’s for people of Iowa and other places to decide.”

But in a 2008 interview with SIRIUSXM’s Michelangelo Signorile at the 2007 GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, Santorum admitted that divorce is actually more disruptive to families than same-sex unions and praised Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for speaking frankly about his failures:

SIGNORILE: Sarah Palin, her daughter is the product of a Christian Conservative family and her daughter is obviously somebody who is now in a very difficult situation and they are dealing with it. How does gay marriage factor into that as something that helped break down the family. It seems to me that here’s an example of people who espouse Christian conservative values and they are heterosexual, nothing about gay marriage in that and yet conservatives are always focused on gay marriage as something that breaks down the family.

SANTORUM: Well, I would say that first and foremost the thing that his broken down the family is divorce, has had the biggest impact on family disintegration in America and is a huge problem. And I think you’re right in suggesting that folks who are marriage advocates don’t go out and say look, we need… John McCain, to his credit, said that his greatest failure in his life was his divorce… [divorce] hurts families, it hurts children, it hurts moms, it huts dads. It’s a destructive and coercive element in our society with respect to families.

Listen:

Earlier this week, Gingrich also tried to justify his divorces, telling the Christian Broadcasting Network that he engaged in his affairs because he was overworked and overcome with patriotism for America “There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate,” he said. “And what I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn’t trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them.”

As Steve Benen reminds us, in April of 2009, Gingrich offered this gem, “The Democratic Party has been the active instrument of breaking down traditional marriage.” I wonder if Santorum agrees.

Maryland’s same-sex marriage bill is expected to receive a final vote on Friday, while a civil unions measure is advancing in Colorado. That’s in today’s marriage watch:

- MARYLAND: The full House began debating the same-sex marriage bill this morning and rejected a series of amendments that would have allowed abortion centers to discriminate against same-sex couples, permitted parents to pull their children out of classrooms that discussed same-sex marriages, and made passage of the bill contingent on voter approval. A third reading of the bill is expected tomorrow, with final passage on Friday.

- COLORADO: On Monday, in a vote of 6-3, a Senate Committee approved a bill that would establish civil unions in the state. Critics of SB 172 condemned sodomy and the “gay lifestyle,” frequently reading from Leviticus. The measure is expected to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, “but its outcome is uncertain in the Republican-controlled House.” Colorado’s constitution, however, defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

- KANSAS: Two state representatives argued that being gay or lesbian should remain a crime in Kansas and made a “successful motion in the Kansas Legislature’s Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee to keep the criminalization of gay and lesbian relationships on the books.” Their action removed key language from HB2321, proposed by the Kansas Judicial Council, “which would have resolved inconsistencies in Kansas criminal code, as well as remove unconstitutional laws.”

- RHODE ISLAND: House Speaker Gordon Fox, an openly gay Democrat, said recently that he is “doing everything in his power” to advance a same-sex marriage bill. The House Judiciary Committee may consider the legislation later this week, although it’s unclear that it has enough votes to pass.

– NEW YORK: New York governor Andrew Cuomo will hold a meeting with advocates of marriage equality today to strategize how to pass a same-sex marriage bill. Cuomo has previously said that he hopes to sign such legislation by June of this year.

– MINNESOTA: A district judge rejected a case arguing that the state’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) “violates same-sex couples’ rights to due process, equal protection, religious freedom and freedom of association.” “Unless and until” the state Supreme Court overrules a 1971 decision limiting marriage to a man or a woman or repeals DOMA, District Judge Mary Dufresne wrote, “Same-sex marriage will not exist in this state.” The plaintiffs promise to appeal the decision.

For a complete overview of the latest developments in the marriage battleground states of Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, California, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, and New Mexico, click here.