Federal Judge Strikes Down Defense of Marriage Act Insurance Provision

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A federal judge on Thursday delivered the latest legal blow to the
Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that a provision in the federal law that
has been used to limit same-sex spouses of state workers in California
from obtaining long-term care insurance is unconstitutional.

The San Jose Mercury News
explains that U.S. district judge Claudia Wilken banned the California
Public Employees’ Retirement System, known as CalPERS, from using DOMA
or a related tax provision from the Internal Revenue Service to deny
same-sex couples and domestic partners their insurance rights.

The system had refused to let gay spouses enroll in its
federally-approved program on the grounds they were excluded by DOMA, a
law that bars federal recognition of same-sex couples and one that has
been used to exclude gay and lesbian unions from various federal
benefits.

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