On July 8, 2010, Tauro issued his rulings in both "Gill" and "Massachusetts", granting summary judgment for the plaintiffs in both cases. He found in "Gill" that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act violates the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In "Massachusetts" he held that the same section of DOMA violates the Tenth Amendment and falls outside Congress' authority under the Spending Clause of the Constitution. Those decisions were stayed after the DOJ filed an appeal on October 12, 2010.