The justices struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),
a 1996 law passed by Congress that barred recognition of same-sex marriages and
thereby denied more than 1,100 benefits to married gay and lesbian couples.
They also declined to rule in the case of Proposition 8, which barred same-sex
marriage in California, saying supporters of the ban didn't have the legal
standing to lodge an appeal of a lower court’s decision against the measure.
That should allow weddings in the Golden State to resume in July.`
84-year-old Edie Windsor, the New York lesbian widow who
challenged DOMA, and two gay couples from California who challenged Proposition
8. Windsor launched her lawsuit after
getting a bill for $363,000 in estate taxes after her wife, Thea Spyer, died in
2009 – two years following the couple's marriage in Canada. She noted that if
her spouse had been named “Theo,” she wouldn't have received that bill.
This law has affected other couples like Patrick Bova, 75
and Jim Darby, 81 who will celebrate 50 years together in two weeks. Their state, Illinois has recently failed to
pass same-sex marriage. As an advocate
for equality in health outcome this could affect issues like family leave where
immediate family can take off time to be with a family member. Death benefits, pensions, health insurance
that is usually left to a spouse.
The victory means the federal government must recognize the
marriages of gay and lesbian couples married in the 12 states that allow
same-sex marriage, plus the District of Columbia, and give them the same
benefits that they had been previously denied under the struck-down law, the
Defense of Marriage Act (or DOMA).
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