ALASKA: State Judge Backs Tax Breaks For Gay Senior Citizen Couples

A state judge in Alaska has ruled that elderly gay couples are entitled to the same senior citizen property tax discounts granted to legally married elderly couples.

Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner said in his decision that the state's marital classification violates the Alaska Constitution's equal protection clause. The ruling was signed Friday and released Monday by ACLU of Alaska. ACLU of Alaska and the national American Civil Liberties Union challenged tax assessment rules on behalf of three couples from Anchorage who were denied tax breaks that they would have been entitled to if they were married. The couples were in committed relationships but were treated as roommates rather than families, according to the Alaska ACLU. The group's spokesman Jeffrey Mittman said Monday one couple, Julie Schmidt and Gayle Schuh, had been together 34 years.

Under Alaska law, married seniors are permitted to exclude $150,000 in home value from their property tax assessments. Disabled veterans get the same deal.