A $363,000 Tax Bill to Widow Led to Obama Shift in Defense of Marriage Act

Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer had a 40-year engagement and a two-year marriage, starting with a wedding in Canada recognized under the laws of New York, where they lived, and ending when Spyer died two years ago.

Her death triggered a $363,053 federal tax bill from which her widow would have been exempt had she been married to a man, because the federal Defense of Marriage Act bars the U.S. government from recognizing same-sex unions.

Windsor’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the act was one of two cited by the Obama administration to justify its decision to stop defending the law. The decision may be a turning point in the fight over putting same-sex marriages on the same footing as heterosexual unions.

“I couldn’t believe that our government would charge me $350,000 because I was married to a woman and not a man,” Windsor, 81, said in a video statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, which is helping to represent her.

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15 States Seek Arizona-like Immigration Law

At least 15 states seek an immigration law modeled off of the controversial immigration law in Arizona that is currently on hold, while legislators in other states are awaiting clarification from the courts prior to introducing their own rules.

The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, also referred to as Arizona SB1070, is the most contested legislative act in decades. It would allow law enforcement officers to stop people and demand identification and gives the officers the power to detain illegal immigrants while their immigration status is being adjudicated.

Arizona’s immigration law is currently on hold, waiting pending court appeals, after a federal judge blocked parts of the Arizona law in July, granting a request from the federal government.

President Obama strongly opposed to the law and called for a federal overhaul of immigration laws.

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