LGBT Civil Rights and Activism

The federal government relies on an array of rules that affect married couples. The departments of defense and veterans affairs, for example, base their decisions on where the couple were married, not where they currently live. But the IRS and Social Security Administration examine where they live, not where they were married.

That means that if a couple is married in one of the 13 states where same-sex marriage is or will soon be legal but moves to one of the other states, they would lose benefits.

Many of the rules surrounding marriage benefits can be executed by a presidential order, although some may take an act of Congress. How these decisions are made do not just have a cultural impact, they will have financial significance.