Slog
News & ArtsFriday, June 8, 2012
LGBTQITSLFA What DOMA Does
Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 9:59 AM
Ms. Windsor, 83, is a widow, but by act of Congress, signed into law by former President Bill Clinton at the height of the 1996 campaign, she has paid more than $500,000 in inheritance taxes because her spouse, Thea Spyer, was a woman. “If Thea was a Theo, I wouldn’t have had to pay,” Ms. Windsor said. “One letter.”
This week, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled in her case that the law, the Defense of Marriage Act, was unconstitutional. Across the country, legal conveyor belts are carrying other cases that challenge the law toward the Supreme Court. Few of them can provide an exact dollar amount on the cost of the unequal treatment of same-sex marriages, but Ms. Windsor can.
Edith Windsor met her wife, Thea Spyer, at a club in Greenwich Village in 1963. They were together for more than 45 years. We should all be so lucky as to have a spouse as devoted as Ms. Windsor:
At age 45, Ms. Spyer learned she had multiple sclerosis. Her physical powers drained; she shifted her psychology practice to their home and traveled to her wedding with a motorized wheelchair that had to be reassembled at each end of the journey. Ms. Windsor, who had the rank of senior programmer at I.B.M., among its highest technical titles, took early retirement to care for her in the mid-1970s. Getting Ms. Spyer ready for bed at night took about an hour, and leaving home in the morning about three hours.
Ms. Windsor not only cared for her ailing spouse for decades—he also cared for her spouse's ailing stepmother:
For a long time, as Ms. Spyer’s health was in decline, her stepmother was also failing. As these things often do, it fell to Ms. Windsor to look after the care of her stepmother-in-law. The three women did not share a drop of blood between them, but formed a dome that could not be mistaken for anything but family life.
Maggie Gallagher and the rest of the callous, unfeeling thugs at NOM argue that, whatever Ms. Windsor and Ms. Spyer were, they weren't spouses—they weren't a family—and that society would somehow be harmed if their relationship were recognized under the law as a civil marriage. The Pope argues that Ms. Windsor's love and her devotion to Ms. Spyer—and not just to Ms. Spyer, but to Ms. Spyer's entire family—is morally disordered and a grave evil.
1
Unless you know that Ms. Winsor prefers male identifiers, shouldn't this be changed? "Ms. Windsor not only cared for her ailing spouse for decades—he also cared for her spouse's ailing stepmother"
Delete this if/when you fix it...
Delete this if/when you fix it...
2
Such a wonderful victory by the ACLU the other day for Ms. Windsor. And the video of their story, wow, get out your handkerchiefs.
https://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/windsor…
https://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/windsor…
4
It's going to get harder and harder to twist the definition of a loving, comitted relationship into the narrow, procreation-focused ideals of Gallagher and her ilk. They're going to have to give up with the argumentative gymnastics, or give in and admit their only real motivation is that they hate gays, lol.
5
@4 - May we all live to see the day that her entire appearance on CNN is just a prolonged "Eeeeeeeeeew!" every time Dan says something.
7
So tax the rich unless they are old lesbians?
How about this... Get rid of the death tax.
Then it wouldn’t matter if they had married or not… Why should married people be taxed differently than unmarried people any way?
How about this... Get rid of the death tax.
Then it wouldn’t matter if they had married or not… Why should married people be taxed differently than unmarried people any way?
8
I heard about this couple through their documentary "A Very Long Engagement," which chronicled their many years together and desire to get a legally recognized marriage before Thea's death. The love between them was so obvious; I'm glad we're coming to a place where that can be legally recognized and I'm thankful for all that their generation continues to do to make life for me and my partner better these days.
12
@6 Answering your rhetorical question, society decides in the abstract to reward stable relationships because they're a more efficient use of society's resource (with the big caveat: IF THEY WORK). This is often done in intangible ways, but in our modern, quantified society, tax breaks are a code to represent this.
14
I think Pope Rat is morally disordered and gravely evil. I don't know how this corrupt pedophile enabler can even open his mouth to make pronouncements like this.
15
You mean it forces widows to sell their $1.3 million homes? Ms. Windsor is not impoverished by any measure.
16
But Dan, think about how much stronger hetero marriages have been made through all this suffering.
Stop being selfish.
Stop being selfish.
18
@11, 15, have a fucking heart - you think being forced to write checks for more than half a million because she's gay did not undermine her financial stability sufficiently? That the prospect of having to sell the homes she shared with her beloved should make her feel comfy cozy rich? Yeesh.
19
@18,
I feel sorry for her that she's the victim of discrimination, but I have no patience for Dan blowing the situation out of proportion. Neither the Times story nor Ms. Windsor herself claimed impoverishment. And if the apartment were valued at a million more, she would have to pay the same tax regardless.
I feel sorry for her that she's the victim of discrimination, but I have no patience for Dan blowing the situation out of proportion. Neither the Times story nor Ms. Windsor herself claimed impoverishment. And if the apartment were valued at a million more, she would have to pay the same tax regardless.
20
Ok, so maybe she's not impoverished, but I'm sure there are many individuals out there for whom DOMA and it's rules would impoverish others. So, she's not the best example of how such laws impoverish families that don't have the protection of legal marriage, but it's still not right.
21
But it's all about THE CHILDREN! If we give civil rights to lesbians, Maggie's son will know that it's ok to be gay, and he might come out of the closet and ruin her life. Please, won't you think about Maggie and all of the grandkids the evil gays are denying her?
22
@19, you're choosing a strange instance to refuse Dan the rhetorical license that so enriches his work. It makes no sense to pretend that because this woman managed to hang onto a pot to piss in her example isn't a springboard to help people see how DOMA drains away spouses' nest eggs. Yes, the reader would imagine it must happen usually to an even more devastating effect than it did to Ms. Windsor. That's exactly why her example is the PERFECT springboard. "Impoverish" was a punchy, attractive word to entice us to read more, to see the bigger picture. Mission accomplished.
23
How is that? The estate tax only figures in on a net worth of over $1 million, regardless of whom it's left to. A spouse is entitled to $2 million tax-free. Will no one think of the millionaires?
And I've complained about Dan's overreactions/hyperbole for years. I disagree that it helps his cause.
Yes, the reader would imagine it must happen usually to an even more devastating effect than it did to Ms. Windsor.
How is that? The estate tax only figures in on a net worth of over $1 million, regardless of whom it's left to. A spouse is entitled to $2 million tax-free. Will no one think of the millionaires?
And I've complained about Dan's overreactions/hyperbole for years. I disagree that it helps his cause.
24
There was a protest in my city "in support of religious freedom" that was against the health care bill allowing for insurance companies to pay for contraception/birth control. Religious freedom fighters fighting against the freedom of those who disagree with them.... the truth behind that irony really makes me lose faith in humanity.
25
Carping about the women's estate is ridiculous. Given Manhattan real estate prices, the apartment is probably less than 750 square feet -- hardly a luxury home in a city where a small studio in a reasonably safe neighborhood fetches $5,000/month. The point is that they were legally married and the real estate should have passed without penalty to the survivor.
26
@23, you like to leave no hair unsplit, which I can identify with to a disturbing degree. The "more devastating effect" I meant was DOMA's widespread denial of the broader array of public and private retirement and health care benefits for the vast majority of surviving spouses of ordinary means. I suppose none of this was made explicit enough to satisfy every reader, but ah well.
I'm happy as anyone to pick on Dan when he's being truly overblown, but it's good to keep from cultivating a hair trigger.
I'm happy as anyone to pick on Dan when he's being truly overblown, but it's good to keep from cultivating a hair trigger.
27
@23:
Not that I think Gus needs any help, but the amount of money does not fucking matter in the slightest.
The point is that this woman has different rights than other Americans because of who she loves, and what she chooses to do with her genitals. Anyone with a heart or half a brain should be disgusted at this horribly anti-American and anti-decency legal situation.
Not that I think Gus needs any help, but the amount of money does not fucking matter in the slightest.
The point is that this woman has different rights than other Americans because of who she loves, and what she chooses to do with her genitals. Anyone with a heart or half a brain should be disgusted at this horribly anti-American and anti-decency legal situation.
28
@1, I noticed that too, but I think it's just a typo. Feminine pronouns are otherwise used throughout.
29
@27,
You're right. It's just too bad that Dan undermines his message with hyperbole. That's been my entire point.
When I first read the headline and first paragraph, I couldn't figure out how a millionaire could wind up impoverished due to the estate tax, no matter what her marriage rights are. That's, ultimately, why I clicked through to the article. Among other things, Dan's hyperbole gives ammunition to the anti-estate-tax crowd, which is too bad in a discussion about civil rights.
You're right. It's just too bad that Dan undermines his message with hyperbole. That's been my entire point.
When I first read the headline and first paragraph, I couldn't figure out how a millionaire could wind up impoverished due to the estate tax, no matter what her marriage rights are. That's, ultimately, why I clicked through to the article. Among other things, Dan's hyperbole gives ammunition to the anti-estate-tax crowd, which is too bad in a discussion about civil rights.
30
@26,
Dan has previously highlighted cases where the surviving spouse was literally impoverished due to the violation of his/her civil rights. There was one case of two gay ranchers in Oklahoma (I believe) where the surviving spouse was robbed of his inheritance by his husband's family. There was that case in California (of all places) where the government itself robbed a couple of their home and forcibly put both of them in nursing homes, denying the healthy partner the right to visit his dying husband.
I don't appreciate Dan conflating those cases with this one.
Dan has previously highlighted cases where the surviving spouse was literally impoverished due to the violation of his/her civil rights. There was one case of two gay ranchers in Oklahoma (I believe) where the surviving spouse was robbed of his inheritance by his husband's family. There was that case in California (of all places) where the government itself robbed a couple of their home and forcibly put both of them in nursing homes, denying the healthy partner the right to visit his dying husband.
I don't appreciate Dan conflating those cases with this one.
32
So much hostility towards Dan. Why do you even come here... to split hairs and bitch? So she wasn't impoverished. She should still be treated EQUALLY. Now kindly STFU.
33
Maybe she's not impoverished, but all the better to the cause. Do you think someone without any means would have fought this to the Supreme Court level? I hate to say it, but this kind of thing happens to more impoverished couples all the time, and I've personally seen people who are working class get straight up shat on by the legal system because of the representation they could afford.
35
@33, for the record the awesome big-firm NY attorney Roberta Kaplan represented Ms. Windsor on behalf of GLAAD and my beloved ACLU, 100% pro bono. Ms. Windsor didn't have to pay a dime.
37
30
The California case actually involved an old homo battering and abusing his partner, who was removed for his safety.
You shouldn't get your news from slog......
The California case actually involved an old homo battering and abusing his partner, who was removed for his safety.
You shouldn't get your news from slog......
39
Dan didn't say don't tax the rich (though impoverished is a stretch of the imagination) what he said was don't tax lesbians differently than straight people.
42
@35: She was represented by the ACLU and by Roberta Kaplan and her firm, but GLAAD (the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) isn't even a legal organization. Maybe you were thinking about GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders)? But they weren't part of the case either.
43
@40 good point, I hate that as a single person I get no tax breaks but of we are to allow this ridiculous institution of marriage to provide benefits then they should be available to homosexuals as well. Talking about doing away with marriage benefits is tangential to the discussion of whether gay couples are entitled to equal treatment. But if we are going to talk tax breaks in general let me get my two cents in for doing away with the tax exempt status for churches. That bothers me even more than the married tax break!
45
@42, thank you! I got some noise in my signal there - GLAD's Gill victory on DOMA the other day got jumbled in my rattletrap brain, then I added an "A" just because. http://www.glad.org/current/item/u.s.-fi….
46
The other discrimination is that Ms. Windsor's health insurance coverage of Ms Spyer was taxable to her. (assuming she got insurance coverage with her retirement). That adds 5 to 10 K of income to the "married in Canada sinning marriage-destroyer in the US" income.
47
Mr. Brownlow: The law assumes that your wife acts under your direction.
Mr. Bumble: If the law supposes that, then the law is a ass, a idiot! If that's the eye of the law, then the law is a bachelor. And the worst I wish the law is that his eye may be opened by experience.
Mr. Bumble: If the law supposes that, then the law is a ass, a idiot! If that's the eye of the law, then the law is a bachelor. And the worst I wish the law is that his eye may be opened by experience.
50
Estate taxes are different from inheritance taxes. Estate taxes are taxes on the decedent. Inhertance is taxes the beneficiary.
Some myth corrections regardign estate taxes, taken from this 2009 article (http://www.cbpp.org/files/estatetaxmyths…
"Today, more than 99.7 percent of estates owe no estate tax at all, according to the
Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center."
"Large estates are comprised to a large degree of "unrealized" capital gains that have never been taxed; the estate tax is the only means of taxing this income."
There's more to it, but I think that addresses some misconceptions that I hear a fair amount.
Some myth corrections regardign estate taxes, taken from this 2009 article (http://www.cbpp.org/files/estatetaxmyths…
"Today, more than 99.7 percent of estates owe no estate tax at all, according to the
Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center."
"Large estates are comprised to a large degree of "unrealized" capital gains that have never been taxed; the estate tax is the only means of taxing this income."
There's more to it, but I think that addresses some misconceptions that I hear a fair amount.
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