In a major victory for gay rights and same-sex activists, the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston has ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. DOMA defines marriage as an act between a man and a woman.

“In a unanimous ruling a three-judge panel agreed with a decision by a lower court in 2010 that DOMA is unconstitutional,” CNN is reporting. The law, according to the justices, interferes with the state’s rights to define marriage.