[ad_1]
Social Security survivor benefits will now be available to spouses and same-sex partners who were denied access due to previous bans on same-sex marriage.
The Justice Department and Social Security Administration announced on Monday that it had dismissed appeals filed by the then Trump administration in two class actions relating to Social Security survivor benefits for partners and spouses alike. sex.
In 2018, Lambda Legal, a nonprofit LGBTQ rights group, filed two class actions against the Social Security Administration: one on behalf of surviving same-sex partners who had been barred from legally marrying their loved ones because of of the prohibition of same-sex marriage. , and another on behalf of those who were able to marry but were barred from marrying for at least nine months – the minimum set by the Social Security Administration – due to the ban on same-sex marriage.
Lambda Legal filed one of the lawsuits on behalf of Helen Thornton, 66, whose partner, 27, Marge Brown, died of cancer in 2006. The two were unable to marry until death of Brown because Washington did not allow gay and lesbian couples. marry until December 2012. (He also did not recognize domestic partnerships until 2007.)
As a result, the Social Security Administration denied Thornton’s claim for survivors’ benefits when he first applied in 2015, shortly before his 60th birthday, according to court documents. After three years of appeals, Lambda Legal filed a complaint on its behalf.
In the second trial, Michael Ely, 68, was unable to marry his partner, James “Spider” Taylor, for most of their 43-year-old relationship because Arizona excluded same-sex couples from marriage. until October 2014. Ely and Taylor married as quickly as they could – in November 2014 – but Taylor died of cancer seven months later.
When Ely applied for survivors’ benefits in 2015, shortly after his 62nd birthday, the Social Security Administration rejected his claim on the grounds that he had not been married to Taylor for at least nine months, even though it was not. not possible due to Arizona law preventing same-sex marriage, according to court documents.
Last year, the Arizona and Washington federal district courts ruled that the exclusion of Thornton, Taylor and other members from their benefits lawsuits is unconstitutional.
The then Trump administration appealed both decisions, and when President Joe Biden took office, his administration did not immediately drop the charges. Since Monday, however, the Justice Department has abandoned them both.
“We applaud the Biden administration for upholding the constitutional rights of same-sex couples and for choosing the right side of the story,” said Peter Renn, legal counsel for Lambda. No one should continue to pay the price for past discrimination. Today’s development ensures that the door remains open for older people who have been wrongly excluded from essential benefits due to discriminatory laws. “
He added that survivor benefits are now equally available to everyone, “potentially including thousands of same-sex partners who could not marry their loved ones and who may have thought it was futile to apply.” .
Ély said in a report that it feels “like a huge weight has been lifted from my chest”.
“One of Spider’s last hopes was that I could access these benefits,†he said. “I can finally breathe a sigh of relief that these benefits are now finally secure, not only for me but for everyone who has found themselves in the same boat.
Until Lambda Legal’s lawsuits, even James Obergefell – the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide – was unable to receive survivor benefits because he and his partner, John Arthur, had only been legally married for three months. before Arthur’s death.
Thornton said it felt good to know the battle was officially over. She said she started receiving Social Security survivor benefits in January, following the US District Court ruling for the Western District of Washington last year, and that they already had made a big difference in his life.
“It’s already made a huge difference just being able to pay my bills and not having to worry so much about money,†she said. told NBC News. She added that she and Brown had a son together, so Thornton took time off. Brown made more money than she did and, as a result, was entitled to more Social Security, she said.
The two met through friends in 1977, started dating in 1979, and then had a son in 1984.
“She had a really funny sense of humor and had that kind of calm demeanor that really drew me to her,†Thornton said. “I was the exact opposite of her. I’m sort of not a calm, more sarcastic personality. So I think opposites definitely were.”
In a statement to Lambda Legal, she said she was relieved that she and “Margie” were not “treated as legal strangers, even in the event of death.”
She said she hopes more surviving spouses will hear about the ruling and apply for benefits now.
“I was really happy that we made it a class action lawsuit because obviously I didn’t want it to just benefit me,” she said over the phone. “It really didn’t make sense.”
She noted that same-sex marriage came “too late” for many same-sex couples, but it was not too late to address the issue of survivor benefits.
“I hope that all those who have been wronged by this problem, but have never dared to ask for benefits, will understand that this development is a game-changer,” she said in a statement. “The way is now finally open to everyone. “
[ad_2]
