Even though the Defense of Marriage Act was struck by the Supreme Court last year, Obama still made good on his promise of extending marriage benefits enjoyed by regular couples to same-sex couples.
With this development, the President of Freedom to Marry, Wolfson said, “Gay couples who are married, like non-gay married couples, now share in the crucial federal safety-net of protections and responsibilities, even in states that continue to discriminate. But because of ongoing marriage discrimination in 31 states, hundreds of thousands of couples continue to face the cruel denial of important Social Security and veterans’ benefits. Congress should move swiftly to pass curative legislation for our veterans and seniors.”
Federal agencies such as the Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Affairs Department will offer the same benefits that heterosexual couples have been enjoying for a number of years.
Apart from this, employees of the Defense department who are in same-sex marriages will now receive all benefits as normal spouses would while the Internal Revenue Service recognizes same-sex marriages too. Federal immigration laws will now apply to both gay as well as straight marriages as well.
While there will be certain legal restrictions involved, there is no doubt that federal agencies will now treat both same-sex and normal couples in the same way.
This announcement by Obama is very important because same-sex couples will obtain benefits in states that do not agree in recognizing same-sex marriages- 31 states in all.
Same sex marriages are now legal in 19 states as well as the District of Columbia.