Massachusetts sues feds over DOMA

July 9, 3:23 AMInternational LGBT Issues ExaminerKelvin Lynch

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               MA Attorney General Martha Coakley

In what could be the first of many legal challenges by US states, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed suit in federal court today to overturn the part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denies federal spousal benefits for same-sex couples, according to the New York Times.

Coakley said the act interfered with states’ rights to define and regulate marriage as they saw fit. While same-sex couples can marry in Massachusetts  they are denied federal benefits like Social Security survivors’ payments, the right to file taxes jointly and guaranteed leave from work to care for a sick spouse.

“We cannot and should not be required to violate the equal-protection rights of our citizens in Massachusetts who choose to be married,” Coakley said, adding that the act forced the state “to disregard the marriages of same-sex couples when implementing federally funded programs.”

This marks the first time a state has challenged DOMA.  Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to legalize gay marraige in 2003.  Since then, five other states have followed - Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Maine.  California briefly allowed gay marriage in 2008 before the passage of Proposition 8.

One of the biggest problems same-sex couples face comes at tax time.  Unlike their heterosexual peers, same-sex partners must file two sets of taxes each year - as a couple for the state, and as individuals for the federal government.  In addition, same-sex couples are not exempt from inheritance tax, meaning that if the couple own a residence or other property together the surivivor is subject to an inheritance tax of up to 50% when one of them dies.  When a heterosexual spouse dies, the surviving spouse is not subject to inheritance on jointy-owned property and usually automatically becomes the sole owner.

The state’s suit is similar to one filed in March by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defender (GLAD), the legal advocacy group that helped Massachusetts become the first state to recognize same-sex marriage. That suit was filed on behalf of a group of same-sex couples and widowers and focuses more narrowly on equal protection as applied to certain benefits.

GLAD legal director Gary Busek predicted that the two suits would eventually be joined and said the state’s involvement would strengthen the case.  “To have the chief law enforcement officer of the commonwealth taking the position that we take — that the federal government discriminates against married same-sex couples — is a good thing,” Mr. Buseck said.

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