Land of loopholes: as long as the federal Defense of Marriage Act reigns supreme, full equality is denied to gay and lesbian couples joined in domestic partnerships, civil unions, and even marriage.

As defined by the Defense of Marriage Act, marriage is a "legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife," and spouse refers "only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife."

Passed by Congress in 1996 and signed into law by then-president Bill Clinton, DOMA's unambiguous definition of marriage denies same-sex couples--whether states recognize their relationships or not--more than 1,100 federal spousal benefits and obligations, including Social Security, federal civilian and military service benefits, and family and medical leave, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

"[It] is federal discrimination, pure and simple," says Michele Granda, a staff attorney for Boston-based Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders. "It treats married same-sex couples completely differently from married opposite-sex couples, even if they were married in the same state. It's unfair and punitive."

The Advocate takes a quick look at the rights DOMA denies gay and lesbian couples. At press time, the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear any cases challenging the law.

PENSION

In October 2006 the U.S. Office of Personnel Management told Dean Hara that he was ineligible for his deceased husband's pension. His husband was former Massachusetts representative Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of Congress, whom Hara had married in 2004.

"Even members of Congress convicted of crimes and their spouses are still eligible for the pension and health benefits for life," said Hara, a financial adviser in Boston, via e-mail.

The National Taxpayers Union estimated Studds's annual pension to be $114,337.

COMPANY BENEFITS

Corporations like FedEx, whose employee health plans are self-insured and federally regulated, often use creative legal maneuvers enabled by DOMA to bypass state law and deny benefits to spouses of gay employees. Under federal law, a state cannot require FedEx to provide equal benefits.

It's no surprise that on the Human Rights Campaign's 2006 Corporate Equality Index the company earned a score of 55, a below-average score, says Daryl Herrschaft, HRC Workplace Project director.

FedEx employees living in California now have the option to add same-sex domestic partners to their medical, dental, and vision plans--still not a comprehensive benefits package--though married partners of Massachusetts FedEx workers continue to be barred from spousal benefits. FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz wrote in an e-mail, "With the rising cost of health care, FedEx continues to focus on offering employees a choice of options that best meets their needs both from a health care and financial perspective."

CRIME

It's a federal crime to attempt to influence a U.S. official via threats directed at his or her spouse; under the law the spouse can receive special protection by the Secret Service. But make threats to a gay official, and his or her partner better hire a bodyguard; protection isn't legally required.

"Loving and committed gay and lesbian families take on the responsibilities of marriage and are part of what makes our government and communities work," says Granda. "But they're put in harm's way when the government withholds from them the critical protections that ensure the safety and security of other married families."

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

Gay and lesbian couples do not qualify for employment protections under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. When a gay person gets sick, his or her spouse has no legal guarantees of salary, employment, and benefits protections when taking leave work from work.

"Companies [like Aetna and Dell] find federal law so restrictive they are proactively opening up family leave policies to gay employees," Herrschaft says. 'They're not waiting for government to address what they see as a business concern: fair treatment of everyone in the work force."

McDonald is a freelance writer living in New York City.