With President Barack Obama and congressional leaders unlikely to overturn the federal Defence of Marriage Act anytime soon, LGBT leaders are increasingly turning to the federal courts to help chip away at the anti-gay law, reports The Bay Area Reporter in the US.
The latest assault on the legislation, which bans the federal government and its agencies from recognizing same-sex marriages deemed valid at the state level, involves LGBT employees of the state of California who are suing the California Public Employees' Retirement System for excluding them and their partners from the pension fund's long-term care plan.
While CalPERS will cover opposite-sex spouses under its long-term care plan, it does not extend the same coverage to a same-sex spouse or registered domestic partner and cites DOMA for the exclusion. As explained in her agency's response to the lawsuit, CalPERS Chief Executive Officer Anne Stausboll stated, "They have no choice but to follow federal tax law."
More on this lawsuits chip away at DOMA
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