When same-sex
marriage became legal in Massachusetts, among those who
tied the knot were former congressman Gerry Studds and Dean
Hara. But getting married didn't protect them under
federal law: Hara has learned he is not eligible for
any portion of Studds's estimated annual $114,337
congressional pension following his partner's death last week.
The 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act blocks
the federal government from recognizing the 2004
marriage between Studds and Hara or other same-sex
couples. Studds voted against the act, which was passed July
12, 1996, by a vote of 342–67, according to the
House clerk's office.
Studds, a Democrat, became the first openly gay
member of the U.S. House when his homosexuality was
exposed during a 1983 teenage page sex scandal. He
retired from political life in 1997 and died Saturday at age 69.
Gary Buseck, legal director for Gay and Lesbian
Advocates and Defenders, said the death of Studds may
illuminate an inequity Congress enacted in ''an era of
fear and trepidation of gay marriage'' when it appeared
Hawaii might allow same-sex marriage.
''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.''
Hara, 48, declined comment. Peter Graves, a
spokesman for U.S. Office of Personnel Management,
which administers the congressional pension program,
said same-sex partners are not recognized as spouses for any
marriage-related benefits.
He said the Studds episode 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 the 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.
Pete Sepp, spokesman for National Taxpayers
Union, a nonprofit citizen watchdog group, estimated
Studds's 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 were recognized by the
federal government, Sepp said.
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 same-sex 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.
Studds was first elected in 1972 in a
conservative district 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 a sexual relationship
a decade earlier when he was a teenage congressional
page. The House censured Studds, who revealed that he
was gay. Voters reelected him until he retired in 1997.
(Steve LeBlanc, AP)
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