The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, according to SCOTUSblog.
Windsor v. U.S. challenged DOMA, asking whether the federal government could deny federal marriage benefits to legally-married same-sex couples.
Under DOMA, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, only heterosexual married couples were entitled to federal marriage benefits. That covers more than 1,100 provisions, including federal tax benefits, Social Security benefits, bankruptcy benefits, family medical leave protections and — the main issue in this case — inheritance rights.
DOMA was challenged by New York resident Edith Windsor, who legally married her longtime partner, Thea Spyer, in Canada in 2007. When Spyer died in 2009 and left Windsor her estate, the IRS demanded Windsor pay more than $350,000 in estate taxes because the federal government didn’t recognize their marriage. Had Windsor been married to a man, she wouldn’t have had to pay those taxes.
Since DOMA became law in 1996, 12 states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage. But under DOMA, even if a couple was considered legally married in their home state, they could not receive federal marriage benefits.
The court has yet to rule on the other same-sex marriage case it heard this term, Hollingsworth v. Perry. That case challenged California’s Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
For more info go to https://www.cnn.com/
That is sad. #pray
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