WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Attorney General Eric Holder plans widespread changes within the US Justice Department to benefit same-sex married couples, such as recognizing a legal right for them not to testify against each other in civil and criminal cases, according to excerpts of a speech yesterday.
The changes are designed to keep pushing for gay rights in the United States after a US Supreme Court ruling last year said the federal government cannot refuse to recognize same-sex marriages carried out in states that allow them.
US law has long included a “spousal privilege” that protects communications between a husband and wife so that they cannot be forced to incriminate one another in court.
In addition to extending the privilege to same-sex couples in situations involving the Justice Department, Holder said he plans to put same-sex couples on the same legal footing as opposite-sex couples in other areas, including how certain debts are handled in federal bankruptcy proceedings and visitation policies at federal prisons.
