Obama Administration Refuses to Comply With Judicial Order on Benefits for Lesbian Couple

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management still thinks it can't authorize health care coverage for the same-sex spouse of a federal court employee even though a judge has ordered the agency to do, a government lawyer said Friday. Elaine Kaplan, the office's general counsel, said in a statement issued Friday that the Department of Justice has determined that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act supersedes the recent ruling by Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. DOMA, as the law is known, prohibits the government from recognizing same-sex unions. "As the President has explained, the Administration believes that this law is discriminatory and needs to be repealed by Congress," Kaplan said. The dispute involves Karen Golinski, a staff lawyer at the 9th Circuit's San Francisco headquarters. Earlier this year and again last month, Kozinski ruled that Golinski is entitled to enroll her wife in her employer-sponsored health plan because the court has a policy prohibiting discrimination against gay workers. Full Story from The LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-gay-marriage-federal-employees,0,1977764.story

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