Federal Judge In CA Rules DOMA and Tax Code Unfair To Gay Couples

In another volley against the Defense of Marriage Act, a California judge ruled last night that DOMA unfairly prohibit same-sex couples from participating in the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) reports Metro Weekly.

Ruling on Dragovich v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, a class-action lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken ordered CalPERs not to use DOMA as a guideline because it “violates the equal protection rights of Plaintiff same-sex spouses,” as did a relevant section of the Internal Revenue Code. The court stated that “both provisions are constitutionally invalid to the extent that they exclude Plaintiff same-sex spouses and registered domestic partners from enrollment in the CalPERS long-term care plan.”