The U-S Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act Wednesday.
The federal law defined marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Brian Zinn, a Fort Myers attorney, represents a local married gay couple who can now file for joint bankruptcy.
Just a few days ago, there was a possibility the two men wouldn’t have been able to do that because neither the federal government nor the state of Florida recognized their marriage.
However, this week’s Supreme Court ruling means the federal government will now recognize the marriages of all couples.
Zinn said his clients and many other same-sex married couples will now have federal benefits.
“There are thousands of federal benefits that applies when you are talking about the IRS, the tax code, and federal bankruptcy laws—and all sorts of other federal benefits relating to pension, social security, and that type of thing,” he explained. “The federal government is no longer allowed to discriminate against same sex married couples.”
Zinn said the Supreme Court ruling did not, however, strike down the whole law.
Individual states still don’t have to recognize gay marriages from other states.
Since, Florida has a state-wide ban on gay marriage same-sex couples here still won’t have state benefits.
