The Supremes and the Defense of Marriage Act
However Justices Rule, Issues Remain
By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD, NYT
If the Supreme Court strikes down the law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, same-sex couples across the country will undoubtedly gain access to a broad range of federal benefits.
But a victory for gay rights in either of the two monumental cases being presented to the justices next week will not necessarily resolve all the complicated financial and legal issues that now confront same-sex couples. Gay couples would probably still need to contend with a patchwork of state laws, many of which don’t recognize their unions and, perhaps even more important, their legal relationship to their children.
Much rides on how the opinions are ultimately written, something we probably won’t know until June (and that assumes the court decides to issue opinions on the merits in both cases). But even if the part of the Defense of Marriage Act that denies federal benefits to same-sex couples were overturned, many gay people would still need to travel to another state to get married, whereas opposite-sex couples can just run down to their local county clerk’s office.
And even then, some legal experts say, more work will most likely need to be done — either through the courts or Congress — to ensure that the marriages of people living in states hostile to gay marriage are recognized for federal purposes.
(More here.)
If the Supreme Court strikes down the law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, same-sex couples across the country will undoubtedly gain access to a broad range of federal benefits.
But a victory for gay rights in either of the two monumental cases being presented to the justices next week will not necessarily resolve all the complicated financial and legal issues that now confront same-sex couples. Gay couples would probably still need to contend with a patchwork of state laws, many of which don’t recognize their unions and, perhaps even more important, their legal relationship to their children.
Much rides on how the opinions are ultimately written, something we probably won’t know until June (and that assumes the court decides to issue opinions on the merits in both cases). But even if the part of the Defense of Marriage Act that denies federal benefits to same-sex couples were overturned, many gay people would still need to travel to another state to get married, whereas opposite-sex couples can just run down to their local county clerk’s office.
And even then, some legal experts say, more work will most likely need to be done — either through the courts or Congress — to ensure that the marriages of people living in states hostile to gay marriage are recognized for federal purposes.
(More here.)
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