Legal Definitions - United States v. Windsor (2013)

The case of United States v. Windsor (2013) was a pivotal Supreme Court decision that significantly advanced marriage equality in the United States. At its heart, the case challenged a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal law passed in 1996.

DOMA defined marriage for all federal purposes as exclusively between one man and one woman. This meant that even if a state legally recognized same-sex marriages, the federal government would not, thereby denying same-sex married couples access to a wide array of federal rights, benefits, and protections available to opposite-sex married couples.

The Supreme Court ruled that Section 3 of DOMA, which denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages, was unconstitutional. The Court found that this provision violated the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection, which ensures that the government treats all individuals equally under the law. The majority opinion, delivered by Justice Anthony Kennedy, concluded that DOMA's purpose was to "stigmatize and injure" same-sex couples, creating a "second-class" status for their marriages and undermining the states' authority to define marriage within their borders. By striking down this part of DOMA, the Windsor decision mandated that the federal government must recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal, opening the door for same-sex couples to access federal benefits and protections previously denied to them.

Here are some examples illustrating the impact of United States v. Windsor:

• Federal Employee Benefits:

  Before Windsor: Imagine Alex and Ben, legally married in California in 2011. Alex works for the Department of Defense, a federal agency, and wanted to add Ben to his federal health insurance plan, which offered comprehensive coverage for spouses. Under DOMA, the federal government did not recognize Alex and Ben's marriage. Ben would have been denied coverage as a spouse, despite their legal marriage in California, because federal law defined "spouse" as only a person of the opposite sex.

  After Windsor: Following the Windsor decision, the federal government was required to recognize Alex and Ben's marriage. Alex could then successfully enroll Ben in his federal health insurance plan, illustrating how the ruling extended federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.

• Immigration Sponsorship:

  Before Windsor: Consider Maria, a U.S. citizen, who married her partner, Sofia, a citizen of Brazil, in New York in 2012. Maria wanted to sponsor Sofia for a U.S. green card so they could live together permanently in the United States. Before Windsor, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a federal agency, would have denied Maria's petition to sponsor Sofia as a spouse. DOMA prevented federal immigration law from recognizing same-sex marriages, meaning Sofia could not be considered Maria's spouse for immigration purposes.

  After Windsor: Subsequent to the Windsor ruling, the federal government had to recognize Maria and Sofia's marriage. Maria was then able to successfully petition for Sofia's green card as a spouse, demonstrating how the decision removed barriers to family reunification for same-sex couples under federal immigration law.

• Social Security Survivor Benefits:

  Before Windsor: Suppose Eleanor and Patricia were legally married in Washington state in 2009. If Patricia had passed away in 2012, Eleanor would have been denied Social Security survivor benefits. DOMA's definition of marriage would have prevented the Social Security Administration, a federal agency, from recognizing Eleanor as Patricia's spouse, despite their valid state marriage, thus denying Eleanor crucial financial support.

  After Windsor: If Patricia passed away in 2014 (after the Windsor ruling), the Social Security Administration would be required to recognize Eleanor as Patricia's legal spouse. Eleanor would therefore be eligible to receive the survivor benefits, illustrating how the decision ensured financial security and equal treatment for surviving same-sex spouses under federal programs.