The justices against the ruling stated that DOMA does not prevent any state from allowing same-sex marriage or from giving same-sex couples the same rights and privileges that other couples have. DOMA simply defines a certain class of persons to whom federal law will extend certain special benefits to. Congress and DOMA used marital status as a way to define this certain class, because Congress viewed marriage as an important part of our society. If Congress has the power to pass DOMA, then Congress also has the power to define the category of people to whom the law applies. 2. What was the dissenting argument?