United States v. Windsor
Headline: Federal law denying recognition of state same-sex marriages is struck down, allowing same-sex spouses to collect federal benefits — immediate effect: Edith Windsor should receive an estate-tax refund and similar couples gain federal recognition.
Holding: The Court held that §3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition to state lawful same-sex marriages, violates the Fifth Amendment and ordered relief for the surviving same-sex spouse.
- Grants federally recognized marital benefits to legally married same-sex couples.
- Requires federal agencies to treat state-recognized same-sex marriages as marriages.
- Entitles the surviving spouse to the estate-tax refund ordered by the courts.
Summary
Background
Two women who lived in New York married in Canada in 2007. When one wife died in 2009, the surviving spouse tried to claim the federal estate-tax exemption that married spouses normally get. A federal law (the Defense of Marriage Act, §3) told federal agencies to treat "marriage" as only between a man and a woman, and the IRS denied the refund. The Justice Department declined to defend that federal law in court, and a group from the House of Representatives stepped in to defend it instead. Lower courts ruled for the surviving spouse and ordered a refund.
Reasoning
The core question was whether the federal law could refuse to recognize marriages that a State had declared lawful. The Court concluded that the law singles out legally married same-sex couples and treats them worse than other married couples, denying them a protected liberty and equal dignity under the Fifth Amendment. The Court explained that this federal rule undermined the State's choice to recognize the marriage and imposed a stigma and tangible disadvantages. The Court therefore affirmed the lower courts and found the federal definition in §3 unconstitutional.
Real world impact
Because the law applies across many federal programs, the decision means legally married same-sex couples are entitled to federal marital benefits they had been denied, including tax treatment and other federal programs. The specific result here orders the refund for the widow who brought the case, and it requires federal agencies to treat state-recognized same-sex marriages as marriages for federal purposes going forward.
Dissents or concurrances
Several Justices dissented, arguing either that the Court lacked power to decide because the Government agreed with the plaintiff, or that Congress acted reasonably in defining marriage for federal law and therefore §3 should be upheld.
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