Obama administration "There is, however, no fundamental right to marriage-based federal benefits"

[FreeState]

US: Mass. can't force gay marriage benefits
By DEVLIN BARRETT (AP) – 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON — States that allow gay marriage can't force the federal government to provide benefits to those couples, the Obama administration argued Friday in court papers in a lawsuit by Massachusetts.

The Justice Department is at odds with Massachusetts — the first state to allow gay marriage — over a 1996 federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Massachusetts sued in July, saying that law is discriminatory and deprives gay couples in the state of some federal spousal benefits.
The Obama administration agrees the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is discriminatory and wants it repealed, but says it has an obligation to defend laws enacted by Congress while they are on the books and can be reasonably defended.

The law "does not prohibit gay and lesbian couples from marrying, nor does it prohibit the states from acknowledging same-sex marriages," according to the court filing by Assistant Attorney General Tony West.

Massachusetts, the filing continues, is trying to claim individuals have a right to federal benefits based on marital status.
"There is, however, no fundamental right to marriage-based federal benefits," according to the 36-page filing.

..snipp...

Those benefits include federal income tax credits, employment benefits, retirement benefits, health insurance coverage and Social Security payments, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also argues that the federal law requires the state to violate the constitutional rights of its citizens by treating married heterosexual couples and married same-sex couples differently when determining eligibility for Medicaid benefits and when determining whether the spouse of a veteran can be buried in a Massachusetts veterans' cemetery.
Besides Massachusetts, five other states — Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Iowa — have legalized gay marriage.

Disappointed once again.

[TheWraith]

1. Justice department filings != Obama administration policy.

The Justice department is tasked with defending federal laws in court. Period. They don't get to pick and choose the laws they defend. The Obama administration has repeatedly said they support the repeal of DOMA.

[FreeState]

3. Thats all in the OP - but "They don't get to pick and choose the laws they defend" not true

Look marijuana etc. They choose what they defend and what they prosecute.

[katandmoon]

4. So then why is DOJ not prosecuting Bush/Cheney for war crimes?

[sui generis]

5. unfortunately they also support "states rights"

on the topic of marriage. It's a mad, mad world, playing verbal hopscotch with people's lives and families, in America, in the 21st century.

Oh well, it can't always be someone else's fight; so if it's our fight to win, we're doing it for ourselves, for our children, and for the generations that follow, and to honor those who were brave enough to lead us here.

[donco6]

8. How many times has that been debunked already?

And yet, here it is again.

[Politicub]

9. You are wrong. They prioitize and make determinations about what to defend

I'm sick of this lie continually being perpetuated on DU.

[rd_kent]

2. When I was in the military, I was sure that when Mass. legalized gay marriage

that it would signal the end of the prohibition against gays in the military. Here is why I thought that......

A man or woman service member that just got married in Mass. brings the marriage certificate to the command administrative department and files a copy, stating that they are now eligible for the increased benefits ones gets when married. (more money for housing, family separation pay, medical/dental benefits for the spouse, etc..) I figured that if the Admin Dept accepted just ONE marriage certificate from Mass. that they would have to accept ALL of them, regardless of whether the spouses were same sex or not. NOT to accept one while accepting another would be DISCRIMINATION, which is illegal........and that would be the end of that.

I am surprised even now, with so many more states allowing gay marriage, that this approach has not been tried.

[WillParkinson]

6. Someone on 365gay.com posted this:

Gee…..

Mass. gay couples cannot claim federal benefits – and yet they CAN violate the DOMA by legally marrying in defiance of Federal law.

Color me confused – and disgusted.

[Unvanguard]

7. Their marriages are not in defiance of federal law. DOMA does not prohibit same-sex marriage.

It only prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage, which, since the states have principal authority over marriage, is not the same thing.