Holder Announces Federal Government to Recognize Same-Sex Married Couples in Six More States - East Idaho News
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Holder Announces Federal Government to Recognize Same-Sex Married Couples in Six More States

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Getty 102514 EricHolder?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1414258222941Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. government will recognize same-sex married couples in six more states, Attorney General Eric Holder said Saturday.

The move is yet another development after the Supreme Court decided earlier in October not to hear any pending cases regarding same-sex marriage. The federal government will now recognize same-sex married couples in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, North Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Holder made a similar announcement last week with respect to seven other states. Saturday’s action brings the total number of states where the federal government recognizes same-sex married couples to 32, plus the District of Columbia.

“With each new state where same-sex marriages are legally recognized,” Holder said in a statement, “our nation moves closer to achieving…full equality for all Americans.” The government will work with those states “to ensure that same-sex married couples…receive the fullest array of benefits allowable under the law.”

Holder also announced Saturday that the Department of Justice determined that it can legally recognize marriages performed in Indiana and Wisconsin in June. A number of marriages were performed after federal district courts ruled those states’ bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, but later legal developments created confusion about the status of those marriages.’


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