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Massachusetts Gay Couples Sue For Benefits Afforded To Heterosexuals
 
March 3, 2009 1:51 p.m. EST
 
 
Julie Farby - AHN Reporter
 
Boston, MA (AHN) - Massachusetts State Police trooper Mary Ritchie, her spouse for almost five years Kathleen Bush, and more than a dozen others are suing the federal government, claiming that the Defense of Marriage Act discriminates against gay couples and is thus unconstitutional.
Ritchie and her spouse, Kathleen Bush, are among one of the many gay couples to seek legal recourse for access federal benefits that other married couples receive, such as pensions and health insurance. Ritchie says she and Bush have paid nearly $15,000 more in taxes than they would have if they had been able to file joint returns.
Other plaintiffs include Dean Hara, the widower of former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of the House of Representatives.
Hara was denied any portion of Studds' $114,000 pension after the Democratic congressman died in 2006, even though the two married in 2004 after being together for 14 years.
"I am not being treated the same as any other surviving spouse of any other federal employee or public servant who has served this country for 27 years, when I have been legally married," Hara said.
The lawsuit was being filed Tuesday in federal court in Boston by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the same anti-discrimination group that brought a successful legal challenge leading to Massachusetts legalizing gay marriage in 2004.
Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only two states that allow gay marriage. Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and New Hampshire allow civil unions, and California voters overturned a court ruling to allow same-sex marriage in November. However, the state still does offer domestic partnerships, while Hawaii is also considering a bill to allow same-sex civil unions. . The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which President Obama has pledged to appeal, was enacted by Congress in 1996. The new lawsuit challenges only the portion of the law that prevents the federal government from affording Social Security and other benefits to same-sex couples.
President Barack Obama has also pledged to work to reverse the Department of Defense Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that prevents openly gay people from serving in the military.
  
    
      
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