 Courtesy http://tammybaldwin.house.gov/ Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay U.S. Senator |
The 83-year-old lesbian fighting the anti-gay Defense of Marriage of Act says it contributes to a history of discrimination by barring the U.S. from recognizing same-sex marriages.
In more practical terms, Edith Windsor says the U.S. government unfairly forced her to pay a chunk of taxes on her dead wife's estate that a straight spouse wouldn't have to pay.
The Clinton-era law defines marriage as involving a man and a woman. DOMA can force gay couples to pay more taxes and make it harder for married gays to immigrate to the U.S.
Now a group of prominent former Federal Election Commission officials (who are now practicing lawyers) is saying DOMA has an unfair impact on a distinct population: anybody who wants to run for federal office.
The former FEC officials filed a friend-of-the-court brief as part of Windsor's
DOMA affects the amount of "personal resources" candidates can access to fund their own campaigns.
Under campaign finance laws, if candidates want to use an asset they jointly own with somebody else as collateral to get a campaign loan, they have officially received a "contribution."
And contributions are limited. There's an exception for assets held jointly with "spouses," but gay spouses don't count as spouses under DOMA.
This distinction "financially handicaps federal candidates in same-sex marriages," the former FEC officials declared.
"This is not a mere technicality or theoretical issue," their brief says. "Many federal candidates rely on personal funds to support their own campaigns."