Gay marriage policy change: Question and answers

Q. What is the Defense of Marriage Act?

A. Passed by a Republican-led Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, in 1996, DOMA defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, prevents the federal government from recognizing gay marriages and allows states to deny recognition of same-sex unions performed elsewhere.

Q. What changed in the Obama administration's interpretation of the law?

A. Barack Obama promised to work for repeal of DOMA in his campaign for president, but his administration continued to defend and enforce it for the past two years. Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that while the Justice Department would continue to enforce the law, it no longer would defend its constitutionality. Specifically, Holder said, the section of the law defining marriage as between a man and a woman is unconstitutional, in the administration's view. Importantly for judicial review, Holder says courts also should apply a heightened level of scrutiny that makes it more difficult for laws to be upheld.

Q. What are the practical effects of the act's definition of marriage?

A. DOMA has been used by federal officials to justify excluding gay couples from a wide range of benefits that are available to heterosexual couples. These include federal health, Social Security, pension and tax benefits, even to gay couples who were legally married in the handful of states that recognize same-sex unions.The Governmental Accountability Office has estimated that there are more than 1,000 provisions of federal law "in which benefits, rights, and privileges are contingent on marital status or in which marital status is a factor."

Widows have been forced to pay estate taxes, where a survivor in a heterosexual marriage would have no tax bill from an inheritance. Federal employees may not enroll their same-sex spouse in federal health plans or take family and medical leave to care for their partner. Same-sex couples cannot file joint income tax returns or benefit from state retiree health insurance plans that are controlled by federal tax law. DOMA even has been used to prevent a gay couple from filing a joint petition for bankruptcy.

Q. But isn't gay marriage legal in some parts of the United States?

A. Yes, same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia. Another 30 states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Still other states recognize civil unions, but not gay marriage, between partners of the same sex.

In addition, California's constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage, Proposition 8, has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal court. The case is on appeal.

Q. So what changed with the administration's new view of the matter?

A. DOMA remains in effect. Indeed, Holder said the Justice Department will continue to enforce it. But in federal courts, the significant legal firepower of the federal government has changed sides, which could influence judges' consideration of anti-DOMA lawsuits.

Q. How have the legal challenges to DOMA fared?

A.The legal case against DOMA was difficult to make before states began recognizing gay marriage. But last year, U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro in Massachusetts ruled DOMA unconstitutional in the face of challenges by same-sex couples as well as the state of Massachusetts.

Two new federal lawsuits in Connecticut and New York raise many of the same issues.

Q. What has the Supreme Court said about DOMA?

A. Nothing, so far. The court has so far turned down appeals asking it to weigh in on the law. But those appeals were filed after lower courts upheld DOMA. The court often hears appeals when a federal law has been struck down. There is no timetable for when the next DOMA case might reach the Supreme Court.

Q. Are the DOMA and Prop 8 case in California alike?

A. Yes and no. From 35,000 feet up, they both deal with the same basic issue: Does the government have a legitimate interest in preventing gay couples from getting married and enjoying the same benefits as other married couples? But they details differ and eventual Supreme Court review of one or the other would not necessarily produce identical results. The Prop 8 case probably would ask the court to decide whether gay marriage should be a right nationwide. In DOMA, the court could strike down a portion of the law without forcing states to recognize same-sex marriages. Of course, until appeals come forward and the court agrees to hear them, this is all speculation.

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Consumer confidence at 3-year high on job optimism

Americans are feeling more chipper about the economy than they have in three years.

The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 70.4 this month, up from 64.8 in January, as Americans expressed more optimism about their income prospects and the direction the economy is headed, a private research group reported Tuesday.

It's the strongest reading since the early days of the most severe recession the U.S. has seen since the 1930s.

A robust stock market and falling unemployment are lifting Americans' spirits in spite of rising food and energy prices and a still-weak housing sector. In addition, a cut to the Social Security tax meant Americans started seeing more money in their paychecks in January, which may be boosting consumer spending.

Retailers including Macy's Inc., Home Depot Inc. and VF Corp., maker of Lee jeans and Vans shoes, reported better-than-expected earnings Tuesday. Home Depot posted its first annual revenue increase since before the housing crash in 2006, while Macy's, the country's second-largest department store chain, saw sales at stores open at least a year climb 4.3 percent.

"Since November there has been a gradual improvement in the consumer mood, but it's not happy days are here again," says Chris Christopher, an economist with IHS Global Insight. "Household net worth is still about $10 trillion below its peak, and with what's going on in the housing market now, it doesn't look like that's going to improve anytime soon."

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home values in 20 U.S. cities fell 2.4 percent last year, the group said Tuesday, and economists predict foreclosures will increase this year.

The Conference Board, which puts out the confidence survey, found that the number of families planning to buy a home in the next six months fell to 4.4 percent in February from 5.2 percent in January.

While consumer confidence is rising, continued troubles in the housing market and other lingering effects of the recession are keeping the index well below the 90-plus readings that signal a stable economy. Confidence fell off a cliff after the U.S. housing bubble burst and the financial crisis took hold in 2007.

The index dropped below 90 in January 2008 and hit an all-time low of 25.3 a year later. While confidence and spending have inched back up as business conditions improve, Americans are still feeling cautious, especially when it comes to jobs.

Unemployment fell 0.4 percentage points in January after dropping the same amount in December, but the rate remains at 9 percent, historically high. That may be one reason consumers' assessment of current business and employment conditions improved only moderately in February.

Henry Snyder, a resident of Charleston, S.C., who recently completed a master's degree in school counseling, says job availability in his area remains limited, especially for young people. Many of his friends who are a few years out of college are still working the same low-paying jobs they took while students.

"They don't want to quit a job — any job — without some confidence they'll be able to get a new one," he said.

While Americans' assessment of current business conditions "remains rather weak," the Consumer Confidence Index is at a three-year high "due to growing optimism about the short-term future," says Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

Consumers' short-term outlook has improved since January. The share of respondents who expected business conditions to improve over the next six months increased to 24.4 percent from 24.0 percent, while the number who expected business conditions to worsen declined.

"I'm definitely feeling better about how things are going," said David Liang of Manhattan. "With the stuff I pay attention to, unemployment isn't too bad and inflation is still pretty low. I don't have a car, so I'm not worried about gas prices."

As consumers' mindset improves, spending continues to go up. Retail sales rose 0.3 percent in January after rising 6.6 percent in 2010 over the prior year. During the 2010 holiday shopping season, sales increased at the fastest rate in six years, although spending growth slowed in January as a rash of severe winter storms across the nation kept people out of stores.

"We expect to see significant improvements in confidence over the course of this year," said Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics for Moody's Analytics.

But Hoyt cautions against reading too much into this month's confidence survey. That's because the Conference Board recently started using a new data provider, and the February report is the first under the new system.

"We're not sure how much of the gain is real, so we're a little less excited than we otherwise would be," he said.

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Daughter of Malcolm X to stay in NC jail for now

The children of Malcolm X say they continue to stand behind one of their sisters who prosecutors accuse of stealing the identity of the widow of one of the slain civil rights leader's former bodyguards and using it to run up $55,000 in credit card bills.

Malikah Shabazz was denied bond in a North Carolina courtroom Tuesday as authorities from New York City prepare to pick her up on warrants issued more than a year ago, her attorney Sean Devereux said.

The judge will reconsider his ruling if Shabazz has not been extradited by March 4, Devereux said.

Shabazz, 45, was arrested Friday after an anonymous caller claimed Shabazz's daughter was not attending school. Department of Social Services investigators went to her Mars Hill home in western North Carolina, and authorities determined Shabazz had several outstanding warrants issued in 2009 in Queens, N.Y., that include charges for grand larceny, forgery and identity theft.

Shabazz stole the identity of a family friend who is the widow of a bodyguard who was with Malcolm X when he was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City in February 1965, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a press release Tuesday.

She used the fake identity to charge more than $55,000 in the victim's name between August 2006 and November 2007, Brown said.

"The alleged theft represents a shameful betrayal of the friendship that existed between the two families," Brown said.

Shabazz faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

Shabazz denied the charges and is upset her longtime friend would make up these allegations, Devereux said.

"She's known this woman. She shared a house with her for a while in South Carolina," Devereux said. "That woman was going to be the guardian for Malikah Shabazz's daughter."

The DSS allegation is also not true because Shabazz's 13-year-old was home-schooled, Devereux said.

The arrest is the latest challenge for the family. Shabazz and her twin sister were born after their father's death 46 years ago Monday. Their mother, Betty Shabazz, died in a 1997 fire that her then 12-year-old grandson admitted setting.

Malikah Shabazz has distanced herself from her family over the past few years, but her five sisters still stand behind her and were getting ready to fly to North Carolina to show their support before her lawyer told a family representative suggested she would likely be back in New York City in a few days, said Shabazz's twin sister Malaak.

"We're all sisters, despite the false and vicious reports put out in the media," Malaak Shabazz said Tuesday. "We love her and our niece dearly. We'll get through this."

(This version CORRECTS Corrects that the victim was the widow of Malcolm X's former bodyguard in first paragraph)

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