Fed Judge: Denying Same-Sex Benefits Discriminates
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge in San Francisco says the denial of insurance benefits to same-sex spouses is discriminatory.
The ruling Tuesday involves 38-year-old federal court law clerk Christopher Nathan and 39-year-old Thomas Alexander, who were married in 2008 when same-sex marriages were legal in California. Voters later approved Proposition 8, overturning the state Supreme Court ruling that had legalized same-sex marriages.
Nathan was turned down when he tried last year to enroll Alexander in the federal government's health insurance plan. A 1996 law bars federal recognition of same-sex unions.
The San Francisco Chronicle (http://bit.ly/Hioa2M) reports that Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware ruled that denial of insurance benefits based on the sexual orientation and gender of Nathan's spouse is discriminatory.