Massachusetts Married Couples File Federal Suit Challenging the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

Several married same-sex couples filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Boston on Tuesday, March 3, challenging the 1996 Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Specifically, the plaintiffs in Gill, et al vs. Office of Personnel Management, et al challenge Section 3 of the Act which overrides a state’s determination that a same-sex couple is married and says that they are not married for purposes of all federal laws and programs. Under DOMA, the word ‘marriage’ means only the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to an opposite sex husband or wife. The law suit does not seek to force states to recognize gay marriages performed in other states, but demands that the federal government treat all married couples, as defined by the states, equally under federal law.

The plaintiffs each allege they have suffered a real and tangible harm under DOMA, including: (i) the denial of a passport in married name; (ii) denial of income and other tax benefits; (iii) denial of retirement and pension benefits; (iv) denial of social security benefits, and other federal rights and protections.

According to GLAD:

The federal rights and protections denied to committed gay and lesbian married couples and surviving spouses include some of the critical legal safety nets that couples count on when they marry and that help them fulfill their responsibilities to one another as they plan their lives and futures, have children, cope with the loss of a spouse, and for which they contribute their American tax dollars. It harms them, their children and their other dependents.

According to Scott Wu, one of the lead GLAD attorneys for the Plaintiffs:

Our legal argument is that [the portions of section three targeted in the lawsuit are] a violation of our federal government’s guarantee to treat citizens equally by refusing to recognize the marriages only of same-sex couples, and that principle of equality should apply in other contexts if we’re successful," said Wu. While GLAD believes the suit stands a strong chance of reaching the Supreme Court, Wu said it was too soon to tell how long it might take to get there.

You can meet the various plaintiffs by clicking here.