Feds back same-sex marriages in Utah

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration Friday said it would recognize as lawful the marriages of 1,300 same-sex couples in Utah, even though the state government is refusing to do so.

Wading into the fast-moving legal battle over samesex marriage rights in one of America’s most socially conservative states, the administration posted a video on the Justice Department’s website making the announcement. Attorney General Eric Holder said the federal government would grant federal marriage benefits to the same-sex couples who rushed to obtain marriage licenses after a federal judge last month struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage.

“I am confirming today that, for purposes of federal law, these marriages will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages,” Holder said in thevideo. “These families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their status as the litigation unfolds.”

The Justice Department’s intervention added a further sense of whiplash to the dispute, which began Dec. 20 when U.S. District Court Judge Robert Shelby ruled Utah’s constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman violated the federal Constitution.

As same-sex couples flooded county clerk’s offices in Utah, the state government asked a higher court to block the order while it appealed the ruling. A federal appeals court declined to do so, and the marriages continued. On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a stay, bringing a halt to further same-sex marriageswhile the litigation continues. That decision effectively left those same-sex couples in legal limbo.

On Wednesday, the office of the governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, said the state would not recognize as lawful the same-sex marriages already licensed while it pressed forward with its appeal of the ruling. But Holder said the federal government would not do likewise. He invoked as a historic call for equality a June ruling by the Supreme Court that struck down a ban on federal recognition of same-sex marriages that are legal under state law, saying the Justice Department was “working tirelessly to implement it in both letter and spirit.”

“In the days ahead, we will continue to coordinate across the federal government to ensure the timely provision of every federal benefit to which Utah couples and couples throughout the country are entitled - regardless of whether they are in same-sex or opposite-sex marriages,” Holder said. “And we will continueto provide additional information as soon as it becomes available.”

Herbert’s office said Friday that the Justice Department’s decision “comes as no surprise” and that state agencies would treat such couples as married when they are administering federal, though not state, benefits. No examples were listed.

Several federal benefits are accorded to legally married couples, including filing jointly for federal income taxes; exemption from estate taxes and eligibility for some Social Security claims if one spouse dies; eligibility for health and life insurance for spouses of federal employees; the ability to sponsor a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen for a family-based immigration visa; and eligibility for survivor benefits for spouses of soldiers and diplomats.

Information for this article was contributed by Jack Healy of The New York Times and by Del Quentin Wilber and Jennifer Oldham of Bloomberg News.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 01/11/2014

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