San Francisco Lawsuit Questions Discrimination Against Gays
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS / AP) -- Lawyers for a U.S. House of Representatives' group say in a court filing in San Francisco that gays and lesbians are not entitled to heightened legal protection against discrimination.
In their filing in federal court on Friday, the attorneys representing the House's Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group base their argument in part on their contention that gays and lesbians are far from politically powerless and have ample ability to influence lawmakers.
The filing comes in the case of a lesbian federal employee's lawsuit claiming the government wrongly denied health insurance coverage to her same-sex spouse.
Karen Golinski says the law under which her spouse was denied benefits -- the Defense of Marriage Act -- violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.
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