Federal judge finds DOMA denial of benefits unconstitutional

[Daily Kos]

Daily Kos Wrote:Karen Golinski (right) with her wife, Amy Cunninghis

Karen Golinski is a staff attorney at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and all she has wanted for years (seriously, read the procedural history of the case) is what any federal employee wanted: the right to enroll her spouse in the super-awesome federal employee health benefits plan. Thing is, though, Karen's spouse is a woman, legally married under California law, and under Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act:

In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word “spouse” refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.

This case has a unique procedural history, having first been ruled upon by 9th Cir Chief Judge Alex Kozinski in his internal admini [...]

Read more at Daily Kos