The Biden Administration Is Paying Thousands To Victims Of LGBTQ+ Discrimination

The U.S. has come a long way in its fight to end LGBTQ+ discrimination, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. It wasn’t until 2015 that gay marriage was legalized in the landmark case, Obergefell v. Hodges, meaning that many couples were denied the right to marriage and the benefits that marriage offers – even to this present day.

Take social security, for example. For couples who are married 9+ months, some may be eligible to claim a social security spousal benefit. But couples who couldn’t be married due to discriminative laws prior to 2015, couldn’t collect on the benefit.

There was a lot of money held back from people because of discrimination, and Lambda Legal has challenged the government to offer payouts to those who deserved the money.

The law firm filed two different lawsuits during the Trump administration. The first suit addressed widows and widowers who could never marry because their partners passed away before same-sex marriage was legalized. The second suit addressed widows and widowers who were in long-term relationships but were married for less than 9 months after same-sex marriage was legalized.

The judges for both cases found the laws preventing the marriages unconstitutional and ordered immediate social security payouts to every LGBTQ+ person affected by the former policy. Despite the judges ruling, the payouts didn’t happen immediately. The Trump administration appealed the class actions and attempted to stop the payments from happening.

Thankfully, things changed when the Biden administration stepped in and the payouts are now being offered to those who qualify.

Survivors affected by the discrimination can now apply for the payments, and those who applied in the past and were denied can repeal their claim and receive retroactive payments dating to the time of their application, according to Slate.

To decide if a person will qualify, the government will look at the person’s relationship and see if they had a committed relationship and lived together as if married, identifying things like sharing finances together and raising children together.

The payouts could be significant and it’s important to spread to word to ensure everyone who is eligible receives their payments.

LGBTQ+ populations are still discriminated against in many ways, but the payout is a huge win in the fight for equality.

Sign this petition to stop LGBTQ discrimination disguised as religion.

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• Biden’s Executive Order Expands LGBTQ Nondiscrimination
• New Study Finds One in Three LGBTQ Americans Faced Discrimination in the Past Year

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