 The US Court of Appeals in the 9th circuit ruled on November 18 that it is against the US Constitution to deny federal benefits to the legal spouse of a federal employee based on sex or sexual orientation.
A Deputy Federal Public Defender in California was denied federal benefits for his legal spouse, during the period that same sex marriage was legal in California, on the grounds that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prohibited the provision of benefits to same sex spouses.
An excerpt of the ruling:
"In sum, to the extent that the application of DOMA serves to preclude the provision of health insurance coverage to a same-sex spouse of a legally married federal employee because of the employee's and his or her spouse's sex or sexual orientation, DOMA, as applied, contravenes the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional."
This ruling may not strike down DOMA, but it's another step toward the equitable treatment of legally married same-sex couples.
Read the entire ruling here (It's quite interesting):
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/11/18/0980172o.pdf
|
