20131776 Club
Kennedy writes for a 5-4 court: DOMA's federal marriage ban violates the Constitution
Edith Windsor, who owed $363,053 in estate taxes a heterosexual widow would not have paid, wins; federal benefits open at once to legally married same-sex couples.
Edith Windsor had been with Thea Spyer for forty-two years when Spyer died in 2009 — and because the federal government didn't recognize their 2007 Toronto marriage, Windsor owed $363,053 in estate taxes a heterosexual widow would not have paid. On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Windsor's favor, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act violated the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee. Federal benefits — joint tax filing, Social Security survivor payments, military and immigration benefits — became immediately available to legally married same-sex couples nationwide…
