The Obama administration has come out in support of a lesbian federal employee’s lawsuit claiming that the government wrongly denied health coverage to her same-sex spouse.

Karen Golinski, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lawyer, sued the U.S. Office of Personnel Management last year for not authorizing health coverage for her wife.

But the Justice Department said the suit should not be dismissed because the law under which her wife was denied benefits- the Defense of Marriage Act- is unconstitutional.

In a brief filed in San Francisco, the department said the act violates the constitution’s guarantee of equal protection.

Photo Credit: Jeff Belmonte, via Wikimedia Commons

• Tag: Defense Of Marriage Act, Health Coverage, Justice Department, Karen Golinski, Obama Administration, Same-Sex Couple