I can't put it more succinctly than this lead:
The federal government has refused to pay death benefits to the spouse of former congressman Gerry E. Studds (D-Mass.), the first openly gay member of Congress.It isn't enough to treat gays like pariahs. When we die, those we leave behind get nothing--except, perhaps, a court battle to keep the house and all the other things accumulated as a couple. If only I could believe this were true:
Gary Buseck, legal director for the group Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, said Studds's case may offer "a moment of education for Congress.""Now they have a death in the congressional family of one of their distinguished members whose spouse is being treated differently than any of their spouses," Buseck said.
It's pretty to think so, but something tells me this isn't quite the teachable moment that will get their attention.
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