Mitch Perry
Although the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for same-sex marriage to come to Florida this week when they held parts of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional back in 2003, it was only Section 3 of the 1996 law that actually they actually tossed out as unconstitutional in Windsor v. United States.
Specifically, Section 2 of DOMA still stands on the books. That part of the law purports to allow states to refuse to recognize valid civil marriages of same-sex couples. Section 3 of the law carved all same-sex couples, regardless of their marital status, out of all federal statutes, regulations and rulings applicable to all other married people—thereby denying them over 1,100 federal benefits and protections.
Advocates say that there remains no uniform standard across the federal government for determining whether a couple’s marriage is valid for federal purposes. They say that the White House has advanced a broad implementation of the Windsor decision, ensuring that lawfully-married same-sex couples are fully recognized wherever they may live in areas like immigration, federal employee and service member spousal benefits and federal taxation. However, according to the Human Rights Campaign, there are a few areas, such as Social Security and veterans benefits, in which the law is uncertain.
The Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) would fully repeal DOMA in its entirety and ensure that every married couple has the certainty that every federal benefit and protection will flow from a marriage valid where it was performed, even if that couple moves or travels to another state. It’s been re-introduced in the Senate by Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in the House this week.
Every returning Senator who remains in Washington -42 in all – are adding their names as co-sponors, and that includes Florida Democrat Bill Nelson.
“Once again, Senator Nelson has proven to be a true champion for equality,” says Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida. “This week ushered in a new era in Florida, as we became the 36th state to permit loving same-sex couples to wed. The Respect for Marriage Act will ensure that all married couples throughout the nation will enjoy the rights and protections provided by the federal government.”
The bill does not require states that have not yet enacted legal protections for same-sex couples to recognize a marriage, nor does it obligate any person, state, locality or religious organization to celebrate or license a marriage between two persons of the same sex. This legislation only requires the federal government to equally apply its policy of looking to the states in determining what legal relationships are eligible for federal benefits.
