In the Matter of Golinski

ORDER

ALEX KOZINSKI, Chief Judge.

Karen Golinski has been denied a benefit of federal employment because she married a woman rather than a man. I previously determined that violates this court’s guarantee of equal employment opportunity. See In re Golinski, 2009 WL 2222884, at *1 (9th Cir. Jan. 13, 2009). ** To avoid a difficult constitutional problem, I harmonized the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), 1 U.S.C. § 7; the statutes creating the benefit program at issue, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), 5 U.S.C. §§ 8901 et seq.; and this court’s commitment to equal employment…