The judges of the Northern District of California have been front and center in recent challenges of bans on same-sex marriage consistently ruling in favor of same-sex couples. And yet gay employees of the federal court here are still fighting to obtain health benefits for their spouses that many in private industry take for granted.
It’s a sign that even as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to consider several petitions this week in cases where judges struck down portions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, different branches of the U.S. government remain at odds over the constitutionality of DOMA and how to apply it.
