President Obama has taken a powerful stance on LGBT inclusive legislative for the past few years, and this week he pushed for another major win in LGBT equality with a new federal budget that will allow for same-sex married couples across the board to receive new Social Security benefits.
According to the Huffington Post, married same-sex couples who live in states that don’t’ recognize same-sex marriage currently don’t have access to Social Security spousal benefits. But thanks to Obama’s new budget proposal for the fiscal year of 2016, married same-sex couples in every state could have access to those benefits.
“This means that for a couple that marries in one state where same-sex marriage is recognized and then moves to another state where it is not, the protection that Social Security spousal benefits provides to families is unavailable,” says the budget proposal, which was released Monday. “Under this proposal, such married couples would have access to these benefits.”
Unfortunately, Obama’s budget will have to be approved by the Republican controlled Congress. But LGBT advocates are already calling the budget a step in the right direction.
“[Obama’s] proposal to ensure equal Social Security benefits would fix a crucial gap in federal protections for same-sex couples,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry. “President Obama’s leadership in helping bring the freedom to marry to all Americans will be a shining part of this president’s legacy.”
Hopefully, the budget will be passed with the financial provisions for this major Social Security reform.
