Edith Windsor Argumentative Essay

Born in 1929, Edith Windsor became a widow following the death of her wife, Clara Spyer in 2009. Edith Windsor was entitled to receive the entire estate left behind by Spyer in her will. Windsor attempted to claim the federal estate tax exemption for surviving spouses, however, due to section 3 of DOMA, the state of Internal Revenue Service failed to recognize the same-sex marriage as legitimate and ordered Windsor to pay estate taxes of $363,053 in order to receive the estate even though the state of New York had recognized the marriage as of 2008. If their marriage had been recognized by the IRS, Windsor would have qualified for the marital exemption and not had to pay any taxes to receive the property. Windsor filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 2012 claiming the lack of tax exemption due to the same-sex status of the marriage to be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled a 5 to 4 ruling in favor of Windsor declaring section 3 of DOMA to be unconstitutional. In 1996, the Supreme Court enacted The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which the third section defined the words marriage and spouse to refer to the legal joining of a man and a woman. This would legally bar any same-sex couples from receiving legal
The issues involved specifically being the benefits received by heterosexual couples that did not previously apply to homosexual couples. Many of the people opposed to Windsor consist mainly of conservative republicans who view same-sex marriages as a threat to traditional marriage.
Windsor: “Because of today’s supreme court ruling, the federal government can no longer against the marriages of gay and lesbian Americans. Children born today will grow up in a world without DOMA, and those same children who happen to be gay will be free to love and get married as Thea and I did but with the same federal benefits, protections, and dignities as everyone