Esty comes to Torrington to talk about DOMA's impact

TORRINGTON >> Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-5) visited Torrington on Saturday to speak about rights newly afforded to same-sex couples following the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a portion of the federal “Defense of Marriage Act.”

In June, the Supreme Court overruled Section III of DOMA, a portion of the 1996 law that banned federal agencies from recognizing same-sex couples marriage despite receiving recognition from the home states. The Supreme Court’s decision allows federal agencies and programs to recognize same-sex couple’s relationships, but left intact a portion that allows states where gay marriage is not legal to choose not to recognize those relationships.

“The decisions is so recent, they’re trying to grapple with what that means,” said Esty about federal agencies. “Particularly around the military or veterans issues, there’s really a lot of work to be done there,” said Esty. According to a staff attorney from Immigration Equality, an organization that works for equal rights for same-sex, bi-national couples, DOMA affected more than 1,000 federal laws and programs.