Astronaut Sally Ride was with her partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, for 27 years, but Tam did not receive the same survivor benefits granted surviving spouses of heterosexual couples. Please give her these benefits now that the laws have changed, less than a year from Sally's death.
(Background from TIME Magazine @sallykohn: " ... 1,138 federal benefits, including Social Security & family medical leave, are still denied to same-sex couples even if they’re married because of the Defense of Marriage Act. And while 60% of Fortune 500 companies offer domestic-partnership benefits to employees — so unmarried same- or opposite-sex partners qualify for health insurance, paid family leave & more — the federal government does not."