ALABAMA: Social Security Administration Denies Death Benefits To Gay Widower

JMG reader Paul Hard has received the above letter from the Social Security Administration which advises him that since he and his late husband were not married "under the laws of Alabama," he is not eligible for federal death benefits. Last month Lambda Legal sued the federal government on behalf of a Texas widow that was told the same:

SSA should not be telling widowed lesbians and gay men already grieving the loss of a spouse—‘you live in the wrong state so you don’t get Social Security spousal benefits. Thousands of same-sex spouses, like our client Kathy Murphy, have married, even though their home states refuse to recognize their relationships. Since Windsor, these aging lesbian and gay Americans believe that, at the very least, their marriages finally will be respected by the federal government. But, relying on discriminatory state marriage bans declared unconstitutional by an avalanche of courts around the country, SSA continues to deny same-sex spouses their benefits. Widows, widowers and retirees, wherever they live, need Social Security spousal benefits, earned through years of hard work, to support them as they age. They should not have to wait one more day to be treated with dignity by the federal government.

We've seen amazing, truly historic advances with the feds since Windsor, but we're still not there.