The Justice Department announcement came in response to two court cases previously filed by opponents of DOMA in 2009. In July 2010, a federal judge ruled in the plaintiff’s favor and Bush Administration Justice officials appealed — an appeal the Obama Administration plans to drop.

Following a recent announcement that the Obama Administration will no longer enforce a 14-year-old, pro-marriage law, several evangelical organizations have mobilized their members to lobby Congress.

A Republican-led Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996 and the bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The law, which defines marriage as a legal union between a man and woman, has faced several fronts of attack since passage, including court challenges and repeal attempts.

In late February, Attorney General Eric Holder released a Justice Department opinion that parts of the law were unconstitutional and announced the Obama Administration would no longer enforce the law. Critics of the decision say it will open the gates to legalization of same-sex marriage at the federal level.

The FRC Action, the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council (FRC), recently urged supporters to sign a petition condemning the Justice Department’s actions and commending the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for funding an effort to fight legal challenges to DOMA.

“This decision by President Obama and the Department of Justice is appalling,” said FRC president Tony Perkins in a press release.

“The President’s failure to defend DOMA is also a failure to fulfill his oath to ‘faithfully execute the office of President of the United States.’ What will be the next law that he will choose not to enforce or uphold?”