The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has extended federal recognition to 1,000 same-sex couples who got married in Utah, according to MSN News.
The federal extension means that same-sex couples who are married become eligible for federal benefits in which gay and couple lesbian couples can file joint taxes and get Social Security benefits, the report said.
The decision of the federal government came after Utah officials said they would not recognize the marriages
The decision came days after Utah officials said they would not recognize the marriages. According to reports, the office of Gov. Gary Herbert this week told state agencies to freeze all attempts to proceed with any new benefits for the newly married gay and lesbian couples. The statement said that it will wait until the courts sort out the matter.
However, Attorney General Eric Holder said that same-sex families should not be burdened with the uncertainty regarding their benefits as they wait for the court's decision.
Holder's declaration is the latest chapter over same-sex marriage legal battle in Utah that has sent couples and state officials on a helter-skelter wave of emotions over the last three weeks, the report said.
Herbert had no immeidate comment on Holder's announcement.
On December 20, 2013, a federal judge overturned Utah's 2004 same-sex marriage ban. More than 1,000 gay and lesbian couples hurried to the nearest local clerks to get married and they took home marriage licenses.
According to Douglas NeJaime, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, federal government agencies have already and previously confirmed that same-sex couples are entitled to federal benefits. He said that Holder's announcement is the first time it ever happened.
"Symbolically, it's an important step that the federal; government has taken," NeJaime told MSN News. "The fed government has been pushing up against the states that do not recognize same-sex marriages already. "This is another step in that direction."
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