Feds to expand legal benefits, services for same-sex marriages

Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis, left, and Stephen Justesen acknowledge the crowd after being married in Salt Lake City

In a major milestone for gay rights, the United States government plans to expand recognition of same-sex marriages in federal legal matters, including bankruptcies, prison visits and survivor benefits.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department will issue a memo Monday that recognizes same-sex marriages “to the greatest extent possible under the law.”

The federal expansion will include 34 states where same-sex marriage isn’t legal, but the new federal benefits being extended to those states will apply only where the U.S. government has jurisdiction, Holder said.

For example, a same-sex couple legally married in Massachusetts can now have their federal bankruptcy proceeding recognized in Alabama, even though it doesn’t allow same-sex marriages. In the past, the U.S. government could challenge the couple’s joint bankruptcy because Alabama doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.

Holder’s announcement was revealed in an advance copy of a Saturday night speech at the Human Rights Campaign’s gala in New York City. At its blog, the advocacy group cheered what it called a “landmark announcement” that it “will change the lives of countless committed gay and lesbian couples for the better.”

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