White, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said the Defense of Marriage Act includes a requirement to "unfairly restrict benefits." But he said he was ruling only on a question of judicial authority and not on the constitutionality of the law.

He gave Golinski until April 15 to recast her suit in a way that might overcome the procedural obstacles. Her lawyer, Jenny Pizer of the gay rights group Lambda Legal, said she would refile the case as a challenge to the 1996 law.