Lawsuit could make DOMA apply to private companies

Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

The lawsuit could force private companies to NOT recognize same sex spouses.


By Stephen C. Webster
Monday, March 12, 2012 16:46 EDT
The Raw Story

A lawsuit being heard this week in Pennsylvania could rewrite how the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is applied across civil society, and potentially spark a dramatic expansion of the law’s terms that would force private companies to not recognize same sex spouses.

The lawsuit boils down to benefits due to the spouse of Sarah Ellyn Farley, who died shortly after a legal same sex marriage to her wife, Jennifer Tobits, in Canada. Because the woman’s parents refused to acknowledge their daughter’s relationship with her wife, they claimed that DOMA requires death benefits accrued by their daughter at the Cozen O’Connor law firm be paid to them, instead of her spouse.

Responding to the suit, Cozen claimed something unique: that DOMA actually applies to private companies along with the federal government. In a counterclaim, Cozen asked the court to determine who should receive the payouts.

The case, Cozen O’Connor, P.C. v. Tobits et al (PDF), goes before a judge in Philadelphia on Monday.

“By making this novel argument, Cozen has pitted itself against countless employers across the nation, including many Fortune 500 companies that have provided equal benefits to their employees’ same-sex spouses for years,” the National Center for Lesbian Rights explained in an advisory. “Those companies have never interpreted DOMA as applying to their private benefit plans.”

To be or not to be ?

The Obama administration has said it does not agree with DOMA, and that it would not enforce the law or defend it in court The Administration has also taken steps to introduce non-discrimination policies across all federal agencies, including the military, and to extend federal benefits to same sex spouses.

This could be an anti-gay effort ??

The only thing ill say is what do u tell the kids when they start asking questions like why are two boys kissing and holding hands our moral fabric in this country is torn to shreds.

reply to post by ed1320


That they love each other just like mummy and daddy?
I wonder if this excuse was used back in the 60s and people said what do i tell my kids if i see an interracial couple kissing?

Why should the state be able to step in and say how a company chooses to give benefits? This is the same exact group of people that say that the government should not tell gay people they can't marry. It is a double standard.