Judge Rules Three California Same Sex Married Couples Lawsuit Against Treasury Department And State Public Employees Retirement System Can Continue

Three married gay and lesbian couples in which one partner is a California state employee have won the right to fight for the equal right to buy long-term care insurance from the state’s pension fund, the San Jose Mercury News reporting that Tuesday United States District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland ruled that the couples can continue with a lawsuit they filed in April against the United States Treasury Department and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, known as CaiPERS. Wilken said that the two federal laws used to deny the same sex spouses the right to purchase long-term care insurance “do not bear a rational relationship to a legitimate government interest.” The two laws referenced are the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same sex marriage, and a section of the Internal Revenue Code that denies same sex spouses from receiving favourable tax treatment for insurance plans. Judge Wilken did not explicitly strike down the Defense of Marriage law, but said it could not be used as a basis for dismissing the lawsuit, turning down a bid by the United States Justice Department for dismissal, and stating that the case can proceed to trial. All three of the same sex couples were married in the small five-month window in 2008 between May and November were same sex marriage was legal in California.