Hawaii Senate passes bill to legalize gay marriage

People gather at a rally against same sex marriage at the Hawaii State Capital in Honolulu October 28, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Hugh Gentry

By Treena Shapiro

HONOLULU | Thu Oct 31, 2013 6:40pm EDT

HONOLULU (Reuters) - Hawaii's state Senate approved legislation on Wednesday to legalize same-sex marriage in a state long popular as a wedding and honeymoon destination, voting overwhelmingly to overturn a ban on gay matrimony.

The 20-4 vote in favor of the bill, with three Democrats joining the state Senate's lone Republican to oppose the measure, came two days after the start of a special session called by Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie to take up the legislation. One senator was absent for the vote.

If the bill is approved, as expected, by the state House of Representatives - where Democrats outnumber Republicans 44-7 - Hawaii would become the 15th vote to make it legal for gay and lesbian couples to wed.

A House committee is expected to hold a hearing on the measure on Thursday. No floor action in the lower chamber has been scheduled.

Abercrombie has said the proposal was crafted to address opponents' concerns that legalizing gay marriage would infringe on religious freedom. The proposal exempts clergy and churches from having to perform same-sex marriages.

Abercrombie, who served more than two decades in the U.S. House of Representatives before running for governor in 2010, signed a same-sex civil unions bill into law two years ago and has since been a vocal proponent of gay marriage.

His predecessor, Republican Linda Lingle, vetoed a civil unions bill in 2010.

The special session in Hawaii comes at a time of increasing momentum for gay marriage in the courts, at the ballot box and statehouses across the country.

Only six states and the District of Columbia recognized same-sex marriage a year ago, but the number has since more than doubled, due in most cases to litigation over the issue.

Three states - Maine, Maryland and Washington - became the first to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples by popular vote with passage of ballot initiatives last November.

Last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie dropped his legal opposition to gay marriage, making his state the 14th to legalize same-sex weddings.

The debate has long divided the "Aloha State."

In 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled it was discriminatory to deny marriage rights to same-sex couples.

The ruling prompted a conservative backlash. The legislature voted in 1994 to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples, passing a law at odds with the courts. In 1998, Hawaii voters took the courts out of the equation by approving a constitutional amendment giving the legislature power to limit marriage opposite-sex couples.

Gay marriage opponents have opposed further action in the legislature and instead argued that the matter should be left to the voters. Gay marriage supporters counter that questions of basic civil liberties should not be left to popular vote.

(Reporting by Treena Shapiro; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Peter Cooney)

(This story was refiled to show bill would overturn statutory ban, not constitutional amendment that gives lawmakers power over issue, paragraphs 1, 14)

View the original article here

Supreme Court Ruling on Defense of Marriage Act Cases

On Tuesday, June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in two cases regarding same-sex marriages.

These two rulings will impact how married couples of the same gender will file their income taxes and estate taxes. Just what the impacts will be: this is something we'll be figuring out over the next few months.

Summary of the Cases:

"In United States v. Windsor, the Court held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which excluded same-sex unions from the federal definition of marriage, is an unconstitutional deprivation of the equal liberty of persons protected by the Fifth Amendment." (SCOTUSblog, "Evening Round-up of News on Today's Opinions")

"In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Court decided that the proponents of California's ban on same-sex marriage did not have standing to appeal the district court's order overturning the ban." Thereby, California Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, is overturned. California may resume issuing marriage licenses once the judicial injunction against issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples is lifted. (Also from SCOTUSblog, "Evening Round-up of News on Today's Opinions")

Tax Implications of these Supreme Court decisions:

Legally married same-sex couples may* now be able to file federal income tax returns as married rather than as unmarried. They may be able to amend previously filed tax returns to change their filing status and to recalculate their tax. Generally speaking, amended federal returns can be filed for any years still open under the three-year statute of limitations on refunds. However, refunds could be claimed on older years if the couple previously filed a protective claim to keep the statute of limitations open.

Same-sex married couples may* now be eligible for the marital deduction for federal estate taxes. They may be able to amend previously filed estate tax returns to have the marital deduction apply.

Same-sex married couples may* now be eligible for federal tax benefits previously available only to opposite-sex married couples, such as tax-free health insurance benefits.

Same-sex couples may* now be eligible for other federal benefits, such as spousal Social Security benefits.

* When I say "may" in the previous sentences, here's what's going on. There seems to be a question of whether gay and lesbian spouses can file as married if they reside in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriages. It's not particularly clear at this point what the answer is. What is clear to me: gay and lesbian spouses can file as married if they live in a state that recognizes their marriage. This is because marital status for federal tax purposes is determined by the states.

What We Don't Yet Know

I expect that the Internal Revenue Service will issue guidance on a range of federal tax issues. In particular, I expect the IRS to issue the following types of guidance:

whether there will be standardized procedures for filing amended returns and processing previously filed protective claims;whether there will be standardized procedures for seeking refunds of income tax and payroll taxes on employee benefits for same-sex couples; andwhether all same-sex married couples will be permitted to file as married on their federal tax return, or whether this applies only to couples residing in those states that recognize same-sex marriage.

Further, the IRS will need to reprogram their computer systems to allow for gay and lesbian couples to file as married. Currently, the IRS's computer systems reject tax returns where both spouses have the same gender.

Here's some related articles on the subject of taxes for gay and lesbian married couples.

View the original article here