A Los Angeles couple was denied spousal benefits by the federal government, and last month a federal judge ordered that the couple be compensated for the denial. The married couple was Brad and Tony, two gay men.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt deemed the denial of health benefits to Tony, Brad's partner, to be a violation of the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process under the Constitution and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation which is prohibited under California law. The two were married in California in 2008 during the five-month period when same-sex marriages were legal before Proposition 8 was passed, a measure defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

The judge's order gives light to the quotidian federal government practice of rejecting gay marriage under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage for the purpose of federal benefits or programs. In adopting the Defense of Marriage Act, Congress said the government had a legitimate interest in "defending and nurturing the institution of traditional heterosexual marriage." Judge Reinhardt's response was that denial of benefits to same-sex spouses would not encourage gay men and lesbians to marry members of the opposite sex or discourage same-sex marriages. He reasoned that denial therefore cannot be said to nurture or defend the institution of heterosexual marriage.

During his campaign, President Obama vowed to fight hard for the rights of gay couples. While opposed to same-sex marriage, Obama's administration supports full civil unions and federal rights for gay couples. He has spoken out against what he believes is a discriminatory policy toward gay spouses of federal employees and has endorsed legislation in favor of providing health benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. The legislation, known as the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, is making its way on Capitol Hill but the current policy will remain as long as the Defense of Marriage Act remains law. "It's discrimination, it interferes with the states' rights and it's time we overturned it." said President Obama.

Although the California Supreme Court upheld a ban on same-sex marriage, several states are moving in the opposite direction with a head of steam. Currently, same-sex couples can marry and receive state level benefits in five states—Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and Maine, lending optimism to the gay-rights movement as the battle to be recognized as equal citizens under the law continues. Opinion polls indicate that Americans favor allowing same-sex marriages.