Commentary

Freedom to Marry: President Obama Announces Plan to Ensure Social Security for All Married Gay Couples


New York –-(ENEWSPF)–February 2, 2015.  President Barack Obama’s budget proposal includes a change to the Social Security Act that would allow legally married same-sex couples to receive the full array of protections even if they live in one of the 14 states that doesn’t respect their marriage.

Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, released the following statement:

“Once again, President Obama has demonstrated his commitment to fairness and freedom for all Americans, including same-sex couples and their families. His proposal to ensure equal Social Security benefits would fix a crucial gap in federal protections for same-sex couples.President Obama’s leadership in helping bring the freedom to marry to all Americans will be a shining part of this president’s legacy.  Of course, the only way to ensure same-sex couples nationwide have all the protections of marriage is for the Supreme Court to put the country on the right side of history by ending marriage discrimination throughout the United States, leaving no family and no state behind.”

Currently, same-sex couples who are legally married but live in one of the 14 states that do not respect their marriage are ineligible for Social Security survivor benefits.  This can mean a significant drop in benefits after the death of a spouse, a hardship that non-gay married couples do not face. This includes widow Arlene Goldberg, who lives in Florida and was forced from her home after the death of her spouse. Goldberg was featured in a national TV ad by Freedom to Marry last year.

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Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.

Source: www.freedomtomarry.org

Related Article:

Remarks by President Obama on the FY2016 Budget, Feb. 2, 2015


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