District Court Rules That Same-Sex Married Couples May File Joint Returns

A federal district court in Massachusetts recently rendered an important decision in the continuing legal conflict over same-sex marriage. In Gill v Office of Personnel Management, No 09-10909-JLT (D. Mass. 7/8/10), a district just held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, P.I. 104-199 (DO...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Tax Adviser 2010-11, Vol.41 (11), p.751
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Couples
Court decisions
Court hearings & proceedings
Equal rights
Federal court decisions
Heterosexuality
Income tax returns
Income taxes
Law
Marital status
Same sex marriage
State court decisions
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Summary:A federal district court in Massachusetts recently rendered an important decision in the continuing legal conflict over same-sex marriage. In Gill v Office of Personnel Management, No 09-10909-JLT (D. Mass. 7/8/10), a district just held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, P.I. 104-199 (DOMA), is unconstitutional, violating equal protection principles of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process clause. If this decision is ultimately upheld, same-sex married couples will be allowed many of the same federal benefits afforded to their heterosexual married counterparts - at least within Massachusetts, the jurisdiction of the court - including the ability to file joint federal income tax returns. The plaintiffs in Gill v Office of Personnel Management - seven same-sex married couples and three survivors of same-sex spouses - sought to challenge the constitutionality of DOMA. The judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that the government had no basis for denying benefits to same-sex married couples. In addition, the court found that Congress had no legitimate interest in applying a uniform definition of marriage for purposes of determining federal rights, benefits, and privileges. Thus, the plaintiffs were entitled to the federal benefits they sought. This would include allowing them to file joint federal income tax returns.
ISSN:0039-9957