Case 3:10-cv-01750-VLB Document 67 Filed 07/15/11

6 Pages

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:10 CV 1750 (VLB) ___________________________________________ JOANNE PEDERSEN & ANN MEITZEN, ) GERALD V. PASSARO II, ) LYNDA DEFORGE & RAQUEL ARDIN, ) JANET GELLER & JOANNE MARQUIS, ) SUZANNE & GERALDINE ARTIS, ) BRADLEY KLEINERMAN & JAMES GEHRE, and ) DAMON SAVOY & JOHN WEISS, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT, ) TIMOTHY F. GEITHNER, in his official capacity ) as the Secretary of the Treasury, and ) HILDA L. SOLIS, in her official capacity as the ) Secretary of Labor, ) MICHAEL J. ASTRUE, in his official capacity ) as the Commissioner of the Social Security ) Administration, ) UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, ) JOHN E. POTTER, in his official capacity as ) The Postmaster General of the United States of ) America, ) DOUGLAS H. SHULMAN, in his official ) capacity as the Commissioner of Internal ) Revenue, ) ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., in his official capacity ) as the United States Attorney General, ) JOHN WALSH, in his official capacity as Acting ) Comptroller of the Currency, and ) THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Defendants. ) ___________________________________________)

JOINT AFFIDAVIT OF JANET GELLER AND JOANNE MARQUIS

Janet (Jan) Geller and Joanne (Jo) Marquis, being duly sworn, hereby depose and say as follows: 1. Jo and Jan: We have been a committed couple for over 30 years, since

1979, and have lived in Goffstown, New Hampshire since 1980. 2. Jan: In 2010, after 31 years together, I proposed to Jo while at a dance at

the retirement community in Florida where we spend our winters, in front of our community of neighbors and friends. I proposed because I wanted us to be able to protect each other and show our commitment to each other, particularly as we grew older together. Being able to marry was also important to us because of the official validation it would bring reaffirming how we had always thought of our relationship as a committed and loving couple. 3. Jo and Jan: We married on May 3, 2010 at our home in Goffstown, NH. It

was a small and simple ceremony officiated by our town clerk. Our closest friends were there to witness our legal commitment to each other, which meant so much to us.

4.

Jan: I am 64 years old and a retired New Hampshire employee. I had

worked as a public and private school teacher for New Hampshire schools for over 25 years. 5. Jo: I am 71 years old and also a retired New Hampshire employee, after

working for over 30 years as a public school teacher for various New Hampshire schools and a total of 43 years of teaching. 6. Jo and Jan: As qualified state retirees, Jo and Jan both receive a pension

through the New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS). 7. Jo: The NHRS also provides a medical cost benefit that I can use to help

pay for health insurance. I am qualified for this benefit because I have over 30 years of service with New Hampshire and have received this benefit since June 2005 to help pay for my Medicare Part B supplement insurance coverage. 8. Jan: Because I have not had over 30 years of service with the State of New

Hampshire, I am not qualified on my own to receive this medical cost benefit. 9. Jo: The NHRSs medical cost benefit also extends to a retirees spouse.

After marrying, Jan and I applied for this spousal benefit on May 11, 2010 through my benefits coordinator at the Manchester School District. The benefits coordinator then processed my application with the NHRS. This medical cost spousal benefit for Jan would have been $375.56 a month. A week later, however, the benefits coordinator called me back to tell me that the NHRS had denied my application for Jan, because due to DOMA, the spousal benefit was available to heterosexual married couples only.

10.

Jo: On September 27, 2010, I received a letter from Denise M. Call, Director

of the NHRS Employer Services, confirming NHRSs denial of the medical cost spousal benefit for Jan. In her letter, Ms. Call stated that because of DOMA the term spouses as used in Code Section 401(h) does not include a civil union partner or a same-sex spouse. Therefore, if NHRS were to provide a medical subsidy on behalf of a retirees civil union partner or same-sex spouse, NHRS would fail to satisfy Code Section 401(h). Paying a medical subsidy other than in accordance with the terms of Code Section 401(h) would cause NHRS to lose its tax qualified status. 11. Jan: I am currently paying $650.60 per month for private group health

insurance coverage through Jos former employer, the Manchester School District. Receiving the extra $375.56 a month from Jos medical cost spousal benefit would help greatly in offsetting the cost of my monthly health insurance premium. 12. Jo and Jan: DOMA is making it harder for us, as a retired couple on a fixed

income, to make ends meet for even basic needs like health insurance. We dont understand why the federal government is stepping in to prevent New Hampshire from providing us the benefits that weve paid for through our many years of service to the state the same benefits that our married, former coworkers receive without a problem. 13. Jo and Jan: When we got married in New Hampshire in 2010, it felt

wonderful that the state that we had made our home for the last three decades finally recognized our family legally. We never thought at the time that the federal government would take that away. DOMA makes us feel as though our marriage doesnt mean what it should, or what other peoples marriages mean, even at the state level.

14.

Jo and Jan: When we got married in NH in May of 2010, we also thought we

could count on having the legal rights and duties of other NH married couples. We were shocked initially, and finally sadly recognized that, once again, we were being treated differently from others. DOMA had taken away a benefit (health insurance related) that we really had been counting on as an important part of our monthly retirement income. Once again, it made us feel like second class citizens, even though we have always tried to live as responsible, first class citizens.

Signed under the pains and penalties of perjury on this 7th day of July, 2011.

/s/ Janet Geller _________________________ Janet Geller

/s/ Joanne Marquis _________________________ Joanne Marquis

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on July 15, 2011, a copy of the foregoing Joint Affidavit of Janet Geller and Joanne Marquis was filed electronically. Notice of this filing will be sent by e-mail to all parties by operation of the Courts electronic filing system. Parties may access this filing through the Courts CM/ECF System.

/s/ Gary D. Buseck______________ Gary D. Buseck