Studds's spouse 1st
denied
U.S. death benefits
because he's gay
By Steve LeBlanc, AP
from boston.com on the Web, October 18, 2006
BOSTON, Oct. 17 --For the
first time, the federal government is denying death benefits to the spouse of a
congressman because he is gay.
Former Rep. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., who became the first openly gay member of
Congress when his homosexuality was exposed during a teenage page sex scandal,
died early Saturday. He was 69. In 2004 Studds married Dean Hara,
48, after gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts.
Hara, unlike the spouses of other members of Congress who have died, won't be
receiving any portion of Studds' estimated annual $114,337 pension. The
1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act blocks the federal government from
recognizing the 2004 marriage between Studds and Hara.
Peter Graves, a spokesman for U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which
administers the congressional pension program under federal law, said same sex
partners are not recognized as spouses for any marriage related benefits.
He said Studds is the first case of its kind as far as the office could
determine.
"Our office could not think of a similar situation having occurred," he said.
Graves said Studds had other options. He could have had an insurable
interest annuity, similar to buying an insurance policy, which is allowed under
both the civil service and federal employee retirement system and does not come
under the restrictions of the Defense of Marriage Act. Graves said he
didn't know if Studds used that option.
Under the federal law, pensions can only be denied to those convicted of
espionage or treason, Graves said.
Pete Sepp, spokesman for National Taxpayers Union, a nonprofit citizen watchdog
group, estimated Studds' annual pension at $114,337, adjusted for inflation.
That would have made Hara eligible for a lifetime annual pension of about
$62,000, which would grow with inflation, if the marriage was recognized by the
federal government, Sepp said.
Hara declined immediate comment on the benefits.
Studds died several days after he was admitted to the hospital after falling
unconscious on Oct. 3 because of what doctors at Boston Medical Center later
determined was a blood clot in his lung, Hara said. Studds regained
consciousness and seemed to be improving, but his condition deteriorated because
of a second blood clot, leading to his death on Oct. 14.
Gary Buseck, legal director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, said the
denial of benefits is an inequity that exists in federal law that was enacted in
1996 in "an era of fear and trepidation of gay marriage" when it appeared Hawaii
might allow same-sex marriage.
Buseck said the death of Studds may bring the issue closer to home for Congress.
"This is maybe a moment of education for Congress," he said. "Now they
have a death in the congressional family of one of their distinguished members
whose spouse is being treated differently than any of their spouses."
In 2003 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state couldn't
deny marriage licenses to same sex couples under the state constitution. The
ruling paved the way for the first gay marriages in Massachusetts the following
year.
Massachusetts is the only state to allow same sex couples to marry, although
there is a push to amend the state constitution to define marriage as the union
of a man and woman. Thousands of gay couples have married since it was
ruled legal.
Studds was first elected to the congressional district that represents Cape Cod
and the Islands, New Bedford, and the South Shore in 1972, and quickly became
known for his work to protect the marine environment and fishing industry.
In 1983, a 27-year-old man stepped forward to disclose that he and Studds had
had a sexual relationship a decade earlier when he was a teenage congressional
page. The U.S. House of Representatives censured Studds, who revealed on
the House floor that he was gay.
The voters even in his conservative district back home continued to re-elect him
until he retired in 1997 to become a lobbyist for the fishing industry and
environmental causes.
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