Posted on 10/18/2006 5:23:06 PM PDT by Kaslin
BOSTON, Oct. 17 -- The federal government has refused to pay death benefits to the spouse of former congressman Gerry E. Studds (D-Mass.), the first openly gay member of Congress.
Studds married Dean Hara in 2004 after same-sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts. But Hara will not be eligible to receive any portion of Studds's estimated $114,337 annual pension because the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act bars the federal government from recognizing Studds's marriage.
Peter Graves, a spokesman for the Office of Personnel Management, which administers the congressional pension program, said same-sex partners are not recognized as spouses for any marriage benefits. He said Studds's case is the first of its kind known to the agency.
Under federal law, pensions can be denied only to lawmakers' same-sex partners and to people convicted of espionage or treason, Graves said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
"Sorry Peter that you are not getting my $114,337 a year. But things are not as bad as you think - - you are still alive, and I am in Hell."
Does that mean that Studds' spouse actually applied for benefits? Does that mean that Studds had set up the appropriate accounts for his spouse?
They are already here.
Watch the homosexual lobby is now going to push this specific instance because of the congressional connection.
Was studds respected by his collegues? The homosexual lobby will try and do the anecdotal push on this BS.
Yes, isn't it amazing that the MSM is playing this as a sob story in light of what they have been doing on the Foley story? Studds gets to boink a page, be reelected five times, retire at his leisure, marry and now it is so sad that his husband won't get any of his pension. Meanwhile, the MSM wants anyone who had any inkling that Foley liked young men to resign or be kicked out of Congress. Really amazing.
I wonder what people would have thought had Brian Ross delivered an honest story on Foley. "It has been learned that Congressman Mark Foley of Florida exchanged lewd IM messages with an 18-year-old former page." The response would have been, "Uh, okay, so what?"
Catamites are not eligible for pensions.
"So, I put on my tangerine lip gloss, and met him at the door. I was one lucky woman..."
I've seen several headlines referring to him as Studd's 'husband.'
There is precedence for this. I was told (and later confirmed by reading the statute) that Illinois state workers who retire can lose their pension if they are convicted of a felony in their retirement. Other states may have similiar laws.
the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act bars the federal government from recognizing Studds's marriage
Signed by President Clinton
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