Social Security benefits for son of lesbian couple? Justice Department says yes.

The Social Security Administration -- not the most controversial of federal agencies unless a monthly check goes missing -- may have stirred up a new round of controversy for the Bush administration in its closing days, in conjunction with the Justice Department.

In a little-noticed move, Social Security lawyers sought a ruling from the Justice Department on this question: Are the offspring of same-sex couples entitled to benefits from a non-biological parent,  or are the benefits prevented by the Defense of Marriage Act? Under the law, which drew protesters to the Supreme Court when the Senate passed it in 1996, same-sex couples may not receive federal benefits.

The Washington Post editorial page noticed the ruling that came down from the Justice Department's office of legal counsel: Elijah, the son of a couple identified as Karen and Monique, did indeed have a right to such benefits.

The Post summarized the ruling this way:

The OLC's deputy, Steven A. Engel, wrote in the opinion that the Defense of Marriage Act has no bearing on Social Security benefits for children. "Although DOMA limits the definition of 'marriage' and 'spouse' for purposes of federal law, the Social Security Act does not condition eligibility for [child insurance benefits] on the existence of a marriage or on the federal rights of a spouse in the circumstances of this case," Mr. Engel wrote. Instead, the Social Security Act looks at whether the law in the state in which the parties reside recognizes the minor as the child of the adult in question. Vermont law deemed Elijah to be Karen's child, thus entitling him to an inheritance if Karen died without a will. That parent-child relationship, Mr. Engel found, also entitles Elijah to Social Security benefits linked to Karen's disability.

What makes the ruling all the more interesting is this: The Justice Department office has developed a reputation for putting ideology ahead of the rule of law, the Post noted.

--James Gerstenzang

Photo: Stephen Jaffe/Reuters

Comments

[Erin]

I have to say, I am completely floored. Very few things the "justice" department has done in the last 7 years struck me as the right thing to do. In fact this is the first. Would someone pick my jaw up off the ground?