Hinchey Praises Social Security Administration's Decision To Recognize New Paltz Marriage Licenses, Calls For Agency To Immediately Reverse Policy Still in Effect for Other Municipalities

Statement

Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY22) today praised the Social Security Administration's (SSA) decision to reverse its policy and recognize marriage licenses from New Paltz, NY, but called for the agency to immediately reverse its discriminatory policy against heterosexual couples who were married in a municipality that also issues marriage licenses to gay couples.

"I am very pleased that the Social Security Administration has done the right thing and stopped discriminating against couples who were legally married in New Paltz," Hinchey said. "By doing so, the Social Security Administration has recognized that couples legally married in New Paltz should be afforded the Social Security benefits that they deserve."

Hinchey was alerted to the new SSA policy against heterosexual couples after a constituent told his office that the agency refused to issue her a new Social Security card reflecting her change of name after she was recently married in New Paltz. The SSA employee told her the agency would not recognize her marriage license because New Paltz issued it. Hinchey quickly fired off a letter to SSA Administrator Jo Anne Barnhart to demand the arbitrary and unfair policy against legally married, heterosexual couples be reversed.

SSA has now announced that it will recognize heterosexual marriages performed in New Paltz. The agency claims the mix-up occurred because it was thought that New Paltz issued marriage licenses to gay couples when in actuality only marriage affidavits, which have no legal binding, were issued. However, SSA still insists that it will not recognize the marriage of heterosexual couples from other municipalities across the country, such as San Francisco and Asbury Park, New Jersey, where marriage licenses are issued to gay couples.

"I remain troubled, however, over the Social Security Administration's original decision to not recognize marriage licenses from New Paltz and its apparent continuing policy of not acknowledging the marriage of a heterosexual couple whose license was issued in a municipality that also issues marriage licenses to gay couples," Hinchey said. "While the Social Security Administration now deems couples married in New Paltz acceptable, the agency is continuing to carry out a policy that is overreaching, intrusive, and unconstitutional against legally married, heterosexual couples in other select communities. While same-sex marriage remains a controversial issue that will be debated and adjudicated in time, the Bush Administration has no legal grounds to extend its discrimination to marriages of people of the opposite sex that are performed across the country. It is imperative that the Social Security Administration immediately reverse this policy and recognize marriages of heterosexual couples regardless of where a particular marriage license was issued."

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