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Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management et al.

Pending • Massachusetts • Federal • Federal Discrimination • Marriage • Representing Plaintiff(s)

Update: On November 17, 2009,GLAD filed a motion in opposition to the government’s Motion to Dismiss, and filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in the case. Read more information here.

Update: GLAD filed…

Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management et al.

Update: On November 17, 2009,GLAD filed a motion in opposition to the government’s Motion to Dismiss, and filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in the case. Read more information here.

Update: GLAD filed an amended complaint in the Gill suit on July 31, 2009.

On July 8, 2009, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed suit challenging DOMA Sec 3. Read more here.

On May 27, 2009, as a result of GLAD’s legal challenge on behalf of Gill plaintiffs Keith and Al Toney,  the U.S. State Department announced a change in policy regarding the issuance of passports to people who have changed their name after marrying someone of the same sex, so that they may now receive a passport in their new name.  Keith applied for his new passport on June 22.  Read more here.

On March 3, 2009, GLAD filed the first concerted, multi-plaintiff legal challenge to Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management et al. targets the denial of certain federal rights and protections to married same-sex couples in Massachusetts.  GLAD lawsuits brought marriage equality to Massachusetts (2004) and Connecticut (2008), the only states where same-sex couples can currently legally marry.  This suit, filed today in federal District Court in Boston, addresses the use of DOMA Section 3 to deny spousal protections in Social Security, federal income tax, federal employees’ and retirees’ benefits, and in the issuance of passports.

Passed in 1996, DOMA Section 3, now codified at 1 U.S.C. section 7, limits the marriages the federal government will respect to those between a man and a woman.  Section 2 of DOMA, not at issue in this lawsuit, allows states to establish public policies about what marriages they will and will not respect.

GLAD argues that DOMA Section 3 violates the federal constitutional guarantee of equal protection as applied to federal income tax, Social Security, federal employees and retirees, and in the issuance of passports.  GLAD also contends that DOMA Section 3 is an unprecedented intrusion by the federal government into marriage law, always considered the province of the states.

The plaintiffs are eight married couples and three widowers, each of whom is currently eligible for a federal program.  Each has applied for a benefit under that program and was denied because of DOMA Section 3.

For more details on this case and the plaintiffs, visit www.glad.org/doma.

Case News

MA Attorney General and Senator John Kerry Express Strong Support for GLAD’s DOMA Section 3 Lawsuit

March 03, 2009

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and Senator John Kerry have both issued strong statements of support for GLAD’s legal challenge to Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

“We strongly support the efforts of GLAD and its clients to pursue equal rights for all married couples in Massachusetts,” said the Attorney General.  “Since the Supreme Judicial Court issued its decision in Goodridge in 2003, Massachusetts has taken many affirmative steps to ensure and solidify...

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GLAD Files Suit Challenging DOMA Section 3

March 03, 2009

GLAD has filed the first concerted, multi-plaintiff legal challenge to Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management et al. targets the denial of certain federal rights and protections to married same-sex couples in Massachusetts.  This suit, filed today in federal District Court in Boston, addresses the use of DOMA Section 3 to deny spousal protections in Social Security, federal income tax, federal employees’ and retirees’ benefits,...

Read More

DOMA Challenge: Meet Our Plaintiffs

April 14, 2009

Nancy Gill and Marcelle Letourneau were one of the first couples to wed in Massachusetts when same-sex couples became able to so in 2004. Nancy, a U.S. Post Office employee for nearly 22 years, planned to add Marcelle to her health insurance policy, just as her coworkers are able to do for their spouses. Her request was denied, because the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prevents the federal government from recognizing her marriage.  Read a profile of Nancy and Marcelle in their home-town paper,...

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Amended Complaint Filed in DOMA Challenge

August 03, 2009

On Friday, July 31, GLAD filed an amended complaint in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, our lawsuit challenging Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act.

In the amended complaint, we officially added tax plaintiffs Mary and Dorene Bowe-Shulman and Marlin Nabors and Jonathan Knight.  We also removed the claim involving passport plaintiffs Keith and Al Toney.  Due to a change in State Department policy in June of this year, Keith Toney has been able to get a U.S. passport in his correct...

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