Praxis I Reading Practice Test

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DOMA and Its Demise

Many same-sex couples, as well their allies, celebrated when “The Defense of Marriage Act”, known as DOMA, was overturned by the Supreme Court in the summer of 2013. Homosexual couples, who were legally recognized as a (1) union in their state of residence, were finally able to enjoy the same benefits at the national level that their heterosexual counterparts have always enjoyed. Nevertheless, the United States has a long way to go before marriage equality is universal.

DOMA was a (2) federal law that was first enacted in 1996 by the Clinton Administration. It sought to block same-sex couples that were legally married (in states that recognized same-sex marriages), from receiving federal marriage benefits. Under DOMA, the government determined that the word “spouse” was to refer to a heterosexual married couple, thus effectively excluding same-sex spouses from the laws applicable to opposite-sex spouses. Therefore, heterosexual married couples were protected under federal law and homosexual married couples were left unprotected.

Countless same-sex couples felt (3) discriminated against under DOMA and believed that the law was (4) unconstitutional. The Obama Administration, years later, decided it would no longer justify DOMA in court. During the first year of Obama’s second term in office, the law was struck down, and now same-sex couples, who reside in states like Hawaii and Iowa, share the same federal benefits as opposite-sex couples. However, until all of the states in the Union make same-sex marriage legal, the US will not get first place in the (5) race toward equality for everyone.

In paragraph 2, why does the author include the information that the Clinton Administration sought to block same-sex couples from receiving federal marriage benefits?

  1. To explain why DOMA was a federal law.
  2. To support the claim that DOMA was unconstitutional.
  3. To provide evidence that the federal government didn’t support same-sex marriage.
  4. To show that DOMA left homosexual married couples unprotected.
Explanation

Answer: C - To provide evidence that the federal government didn’t support same-sex marriage. Although answer D is true, it is NOT why the author includes the information about blocking same-sex couple benefits. The federal government and the Clinton Administration, at the time, are one in the same. Another tip is to match “sought to block” and answer C’s “didn’t support”.

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