BOSTON — The legal advocacy group that successfully argued for same-sex marriage in Massachusetts intends to file suit in Boston today seeking some federal benefits for spouses in such marriages.
The target is the Defense of Marriage Act, passed by Congress in 1996, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage. That law denies federal benefits, such as Social Security survivors’ payments, to spouses in such marriages.
Because same-sex marriage is allowed in only Massachusetts and Connecticut, the number of spouses who are denied such benefits is fairly small. But Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the group planning to file the federal suit, believes the number will grow as more states consider granting gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
