![Calpersx390](https://www.advocate.com/media-library/calpersx390.jpg?id=32718495&width=1200&height=876)
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
In another potential blow to the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal judge has ruled that three California gay couples may proceed with a lawsuit against the federal government over their exclusion from a long-term health care program.
The San Francisco Chroniclereports that U.S. district judge Claudia Wilken denied a request Tuesday by the Obama administration to dismiss a case brought by six plaintiffs, who are suing for federally approved long-term health benefits that they have been denied under the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). The couples married during the brief window of time in California when same-sex couples were allowed to do so prior to passage of Proposition 8.
Wilken rejected administration arguments that DOMA preserves the status quo, allowing for individual states to decide whether or not to permit gay marriage. DOMA further allows for a uniform federal policy for benefits and rights stemming from marriage, government attorneys argued.
But Wilken wrote in a 29-page order that DOMA "alters the status quo because it impairs the states' authority to define marriage, by robbing states of the power to allow same-sex civil marriages that will be recognized under federal law."
Attorney Claudia Center, who represents the couples, told The Advocate Thursday that she will be adding two plaintiffs, who are domestic partners under California law, and will move for class action certification of the suit.
In July, U.S. district judge Joseph L. Tauro in Boston ruled DOMA unconstitutional in two separate cases. While President Barck Obama has voiced support for legislative repeal of DOMA, the administration has appealed Tauro's ruling.
Read the full story here.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Joe Biden sends queer lawmakers & LGBTQ+ allies to Paris Olympics
July 24 2024 12:08 PM
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM
Four hours, 44,000 Black women, and one Zoom call
July 23 2024 2:17 PM
Record 1.2 million people show out for Cologne’s Pride parade
July 23 2024 10:51 AM
Here's how far-right activist Leonard Leo helped fund Bud Light boycott
July 23 2024 10:27 AM
Elon Musk’s comments about his trans daughter prove why she doesn’t speak to him
July 23 2024 9:16 AM