Federal Law Blocks Congressman Studds' Gay Husband From Pension
Congressman Studds
"Compassionate Conservatism" at its best: [from Lowell Sun via Think Progress]
Gerry Studds, the nation's first openly gay congressman, pushed the country to another landmark development when he died Saturday: the federal government for the first time will deny death benefits to a congressman's gay spouse.The federal government does not recognize the 2004 Massachusetts' marriage between Studds and Dean Hara, and won't provide a portion of Studds' $114,337 annual pension to his surviving spouse.
The federal law, defined by the Defense of Marriage Act, not only trumps the Bay State's gay marriage law but reveals its limitations.
"A gay spouse will not receive any sort of pension or annuity or anything like that," said Chad Cowan, a spokesman for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which administers the congressional pension program under federal law.
"It's not anything that anybody in our office has seen before," he added.
Wives and husbands of deceased lawmakers have for years found financial comfort in their ability to collect more than half of the generous.
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