Friday, August 18, 2006

Pitfalls of "States Rights" approach to marriage

Most of us in this country work for employers based out-of-state. Because of the Defense of Marriage Act, passed by a Republican Congress and signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, LGBT people who live in a marriage equality state like Massachusetts can still be denied spousal benefits.

Nurse alleges antigay bias at hospital - The Boston Globe

Ciulla and her partner, Diane Trudel, were married on Oct. 1, 2005, more than a year after the landmark Goodridge decision was handed down by the state's Supreme Judicial Court, making Massachusetts the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
...
Martee J. Harris, a corporate vice president for human resources at Essent [based in Tennessee], testified that she had contacted brokers for Blue Cross some time after same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts and ordered them to use the federal definition of marriage in administering benefits.