FBI rescinds benefits to same-sex spouse

HARTFORD -- The FBI has rescinded health benefits that had been provided to the same-sex partner of a special agent since just after the couple wed in Massachusetts in May.

Katy Gossman, a special agent with the FBI in New Haven, received an e-mail from the bureau informing her that her wife, Kristin, would be removed from her health plan. The Connecticut couple were married in Worcester, Mass., on May 20 and had been receiving spousal benefits since May 30, Katy Gossman said.

The Gossmans were married just three days after same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts and are among eight couples who have filed a lawsuit challenging a 1913 law that was used to block other out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts.

After their small marriage ceremony, the Gossmans returned to their Meriden home and Katy immediately filled out a form seeking benefits for Kristin, whom she listed as her spouse. She sent the form and a copy of her marriage license to FBI headquarters in Washington. "I didn't try to hide it," Katy, 40, said yesterday.

The New Haven office called FBI headquarters in Washington to give them a "heads up" about the situation, she said. She received a form back from the Human Resources Department approving the benefits.

FBI spokesman Bill Carter said yesterday the approval had been a mistake and an oversight, and noted that the agency receives thousands of benefit requests each day.

The US government does not allow same-sex spousal benefits and only recognizes marriages between a man and a woman, Carter said.

Kristin Gossman, 38, is a full-time student and has no other access to healthcare benefits, Katy Gossman said.