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Plaintiff in DOMA Lawsuit Now Able to Receive Passport with His Married Last Name by Gizem Unsalan June 17, 2009 |
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The Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) announced today that a plaintiff involved in a lawsuit against the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will now be allowed to get a U.S. passport in his married name.
Keith Toney received his new passport thanks to a recent change in the State Department policy for issuing passports to people who change their name after getting married to someone of the same sex
Toney was able to change his last name from Fitzpatrick to Toney on his Massachusetts driver’s license after marrying Al Toney III in 2004. He was, however, unable to change his last name on his passport when the federal government denied his request citing DOMA.
In March, GLAD filed a lawsuit on Toney’s behalf, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management. The lawsuit, which also involved six married same-sex couples and three men whose same-sex spouses have died, challenged section 3 of DOMA concerning federal recognition of same-sex marriages. The other plaintiffs’ concerns are taxation, Social Security and federal employees’ benefits.
In the end, the Department of Justice sent a letter to GLAD which explained that, based on a March 27, 2009 change in policy, the State Department will now issue passports to married same-sex couples based on the name on their marriage certificates, provided the state issuing the certificate—such as Massachusetts— recognizes the name change in law.
According to the official announcement on the GLAD Web site, Keith Toney said, “We’re thrilled that we will lo longer have to worry about being interrogated when we go through airport security, or anywhere else outside of the U.S. simply because of a discrepancy in my legal identification documents.” As a result of the lawsuit’s outcome, he plans on applying for his new passport in Boston on Monday.
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