U.S. Judge allows gay and lesbian couples' lawsuit against CalPERS to proceed (MercuryNews)
Three married gay and lesbian couples in which one partner is a state employee have won an important step in their fight for the equal right to buy long-term care insurance from the state's pension system.
In a ruling issued on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland said the couples can proceed with a lawsuit they filed in April against the U.S. Treasury Department and the California Public Employees' Retirement System, known as CalPERS.
Wilken said that two federal laws used to deny the same-sex spouses the right to buy long-term care insurance "do not bear a rational relationship to a legitimate government interest."
The two laws are the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriage, and a section of the Internal Revenue Code that prohibits same-sex spouses from receiving favorable tax treatment for insurance plans.
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Complete article at Mercury News : http://bit.ly/e9zfyW
