Gay couples nationwide are celebrating a significant, long-sought-after victory with the Supreme Court’s decision Wednesday to overturn part of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act. In their 5-4 ruling, the justices granted gay couples more equality with heterosexual couples at the federal level. It’s a landmark decision and a huge victory for the gay rights movement.
DOMA, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996 ”“ before any of the states legalized same-sex marriage ”“ defined marriage as only between one man and one woman. As such, it denied gay married couples a variety of federal benefits available to heterosexual married couples, including military family benefits, Social Security benefits, tax categories, hospital visitation rights and health care.
The challenge to DOMA that was heard by the Supreme Court was brought by Edith Windsor of New York, who was forced to pay more than $363,000 in estate taxes after her wife died in 2009 because the federal government did not recognize their marriage. The argument against DOMA, according to Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, is that “singling out certain types of legal marriages for unequal treatment violates the constitution’s ”˜equal protection’ promise.”
Windsor’s situation is certainly a glaring example of how marriage inequality can be injurious to someone who has lived their life as a committed spouse but is denied benefits due to their sex. Numerous examples of gay couples suffering or losing out in other ways, from rejected family medical leave time to care for a sick spouse, to inability to share insurance coverage or pensions, are heartbreaking and highlight how unfair and wrong DOMA is.
With the court’s decision, gay married couples now have access to all the same federal benefits as straight married couples, regardless of where they live. It also means gay couples can sponsor someone who is not a U.S. citizen to become their spouse and be naturalized, just as straight couples can.
The provision of the law that says no state is required to recognize gay marriages from any other state remains in place, so state marriage laws are now all that stands in the way of full equality for gay couples.
In the 12 states plus D.C. where gay marriage is legal, they now have full equal standing. In states where it is not legal, couples have to go elsewhere to get married, and while they will now have equal federal benefits, their marriage may not be recognized by their own state.
In another Supreme Court decision Wednesday, the justices affirmed a trial court’s declaration that California’s Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, which means state officials there can be expected to resume same-sex marriages soon.
It’s clear that as public opinion evolves, more and more states will come to recognize and legalize the loving unions of all consenting adults. Gay rights advocates in each of the states in which gay marriage is illegal have a long road ahead of them, particularly in the most conservative areas of the country, but history has shown that individual freedom tends to win out in this country.
Allowing adults to marry whomever they choose, with full legal recognition of their decision, is a basic tenet of personal freedom and equality, and we’re excited to be witnessing this moment in history when our nation is taking such an important step forward.
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Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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