Property, Cancer, and Legal Rights of Spouses
 

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/08/20/sa....ap/index.html

Bankruptcy case forces same-sex marriage fight
Washington lesbian filed to keep her ill partner's house
Friday, August 20, 2004 Posted: 11:42 AM EDT (1542 GMT)

OLYMPIA, Washington (AP) -- Lee Kandu never wanted to be a crusader for same-sex marriage.

The Castle Rock, Washington, woman just wanted to file for bankruptcy protection so she could keep her house after her spouse -- a woman she married in Canada -- was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

But her case thrust her into the national debate when a federal judge in Tacoma ruled that Lee and Ann Kandu, a lesbian couple, can not file jointly for bankruptcy protection as a married couple. Federal law, the judge ruled, defines marriage as a "legal union between one man and one woman."

Judge Paul Snyder's Tuesday ruling marks the first time a federal court has upheld the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.