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Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
Wed Nov 20, 2013, 03:05 PM Nov 2013

The City of Houston to offer same-sex spousal benefits

Way to go Houston http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-to-offer-same-sex-spousal-benefits-4996173.php?cmpid=hpbn

The city of Houston will offer health and life insurance benefits to all spouses of legally married employees, including same-sex couples, despite a voter-approved 2001 charter amendment that had banned the practice, Mayor Annise Parker announced Wednesday.

Parker's action relied on a legal opinion from City Attorney David Feldman that cited the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act this year, federal agencies' subsequent decisions to recognize legal same-sex marriages and other relevant case law.

"Based on the right to equal protection under the law, it is unconstitutional for the city to continue to deny benefits to the same-sex spouses of our employees who are legally married," Parker said. "This change is not only the legal thing to do, it is the right, just and fair thing to do."
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