The vignette below is part of Family Equality Council’s
“Family Matters,” a storytelling series that highlights an LGBT
family each week. Here is Peter in California, in his own
words.
“Family Matters,” a storytelling series that highlights an LGBT
family each week. Here is Peter in California, in his own
words.
We are a married gay couple in Los
Angeles with a 5-year-old son. We have been a couple for 25 years,
but could only legally marry in 2008. As a married couple in the
state of California, we have to file our taxes jointly for the
state, but because of DOMA and the federal government’s
discrimination against gay couples, we have to file them separately
for the IRS. For 2009, which was a difficult year for many
Americans, and for our family also, that discrimination cost us
$20,000 in additional federal taxes. This is blatantly unfair and
un-American.
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