WBEZ did a piece on the Supreme Court ruling which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and its effect on Illinois. The ACLU of Illinois has been fighting in litigation and legislation to extend the freedom to marry to same-sex couples in Illinois. WBEZ spoke with our LGBT Project Director John Knight:

“There’s certainly people who have gone to Iowa, or elsewhere—to another state or even to Canada to get married,” said John Knight, director of the ACLU of Illinois’ LGBT project. “That marriage is legal but it’s not recognized by the state of Illinois as a marriage, it’s recognized only as a civil union.”

He says those marriages may be eligible for certain benefits but they’re waiting for guidance from the federal government to make it clear that federal benefits are provided to those people even though the state doesn’t recognize their marriage.

Read the rest.

The Chicago Sun-Times published an article about the Supreme Court ruling to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the effect it will have on same-sex couples in Illinois. Because the ACLU of Illinois has been fighting for the freedom to marry in the courts and in the legislature, the Sun-Times spoke with our Communications and Public Policy Director Ed Yohnka:

Without a court ruling or change in Illinois state law, however, the Supreme Court’s Wednesday decision means Illinois couples would not have access to benefits enjoyed by legally married couples.

“What this underscores is what we now have is a situation where there will be people in Minnesota or Iowa that have benefits that will not be extended to couples in Illinois,” Yohnka said. “Even having a civil union does not carry with it 1,100 areas of federal law where being married either offers protections or extends particular benefits.”

Read the entire article.

"After DOMA: What it Means For You" LGBT Organizations Fact Sheet Series details many of the ways federal agencies accord legal respect to married same-sex couples. The guide includes 14 factsheets on the following topics: Bankruptcy, Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Federal Employee Benefits, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Immigration, Medicaid, Medicare, Military Spousal Benefits, Private Employment Benefits, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Taxes, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Veteran Spousal Benefits.

There are more than 1,100 places in federal law where a protection or responsibility is based on marital status. The ruling striking down DOMA will not be effective until 25 days from the decision, but even when effective, federal agencies—large bureaucracies—may need and take some time to change forms, implement procedures, train personnel, and efficiently incorporate same-sex couples into the spousal-based system. Until same-sex couples can marry in every state in the nation, there will be uncertainty about the extent to which same-sex spouses will receive federal marital-based protections nationwide. For federal programs that assess marital status based on the law of a state that does not respect marriages of same-sex couples, those state laws will likely pose obstacles for legally married couples and surviving spouses in accessing federal protections and responsibilities.

The fact sheet series was produced together by: American Civil Liberties Union, Center for American Progress, Family Equality Council, Freedom to Marry, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Human Rights Campaign, Immigration Equality, Lambda Legal, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and OutServe-SLDN.

Implementation of federal rights, benefits, and protections will vary from state to state and on an individual basis. We encourage you to consult a legal or tax professional to determine the best next steps you can take. These resources are intended to provide an educational overview, not to serve as legal advice or a guide for making personal financial decisions.

Learn more about the ACLU of Illinois' efforts to win the freedom to marry for all Illinoisans through legislation and litigation.