On April 3, a federal judge ruled that denying insurance benefits to same-sex spouses is discriminatory.
When Christopher Nathan, a San Francisco federal court employee, tried to enroll his spouse in the federal government’s insurance plan, he was rejected on the grounds of the reactionary Defense of Marriage Act.
DOMA, which was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1996, prevents the federal government from recognizing same-same unions, thereby denying same-sex partners over 1,000 benefits provided to their heterosexual married counterparts.
The ruling of Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware flies in the face of DOMA, arguing that benefits to same-sex spouses cannot be denied based on “sexual orientation and gender” without violating “the federal court’s guarantee of a ‘discrimination-free workplace.’” The stage is now set for a legal collision.
Pro-LGBT legislation and rulings, like civil rights reforms of the 1960s, can be won based on the relative strength of the mass movement in the streets.
