What does this mean for you legally?
(Lake Success, NY) – The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5 to 4 today that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is ‘unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.’ This judgment will legally impact the LGBT community and forever change the platform of marriage equality.
“The excitement and relief that the LGBT community feels right now is overwhelming,” said Joseph Milizio, Managing Partner at Vishnick McGovern Milizio. “For this ruling now recognizes that all married couples are equal, no matter who you love.”
With this historical and momentous ruling, same-sex couples will finally receive the more than 1000 federal rights and benefits that opposite sex couples have enjoyed. Mr. Milizio continued, “Gay and lesbian couples who are legally married under New York law had to follow 2 sets of rules: The State’s laws which recognized their marriages and the federal laws, which didn’t. This led to confusion as to which laws were applicable to specific situations and often caused couples to forego planning for their future due to the difficulty of maneuvering around conflicting laws and procedures.” Milizio cautioned that the Supreme Court ruling did not legalize all same-sex marriages. It left the decision of what constitutes a valid marriage up to the States. As a result, each state is free to make its own decisions regarding marriage between same-sex couples. Milizio stated that this could lead to more confusion, “A couple may be considered married in one state, but not in another.” Currently, there are 31 states which either have legislation or constitutional amendments which prevent same-sex marriages.
“Here at Vishnick McGovern Milizio, our attorneys advocate for the rights, needs and concerns of the LGBT community. Attorneys Joseph Milizio, Joseph Trotti and EJ Thorsen from Vishnick McGovern Milizio are well versed in these legal issues and have spoken before a number of professional and general interest audiences on various topics affecting the LGBT community.”
The LGBT Representation Practice Group at Vishnick McGovern Milizio LLP offers legal counsel and representation on key issues in the LGBT community, including: domestic partnership matters; co-owner agreements; spousal rights and obligations; adoptions; life and estate planning; employment law/discrimination; and marital and domestic disputes.
Mr. Milizio, Mr. Trotti and Ms. Thorsen also produced the short documentary Left Out In America: Legislating Love, Life and the LGBT, concerning the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) Visit http://www.lgbt-vmmlegal.com for more information.
For comments or more information regarding the legal impact of DOMA or Prop 8 on the LGBT community, please contact Suzanne Wiener, Director of Marketing, at 516-437-4385 or by email at swiener@vmmlegal.com
