Dipping A Toe In The Water

Two federal employees of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals each married a person of the same sex during the time it was legally permitted in California. Each applied for health benefits coverage for their respective spouses and were denied because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (Wikipedia entry for more info). DOMA does not allow the federal government to treat same-sex relationships as marriage for any purpose.

In both cases the judges, one actually stating that DOMA was unconstitutional, ordered the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to submit the spouses' health benefits form to the appropriate insurance carrier.

Please read the orders concerning Karen Golinski and Brad Levenson for yourself.

It's important to remember that these were administrative hearings and not court cases. But they could very well go to court depending on the Administrative Office's responses.