Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. greets President Barack Obama after the president gave his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, Pool)
In this May 16, 2012 file photo, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. gestures during a committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Senate on Tuesday is expected to put aside its partisan divisions to approve a renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, a law credited with protecting millions of victims of domestic violence over its 20-year history. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, says he will introduce later Wednesday the Uniting Families Act, a bill that would provide spousal immigration benefits to same sex couples. Leahy discussed the bill briefly during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform.
Because the federal government does not currently recognize same sex marriages, U.S. citizens cannot sponsor their same sex partners for immigration benefits, including green cards.
The Justice Department is no longer defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. The Supreme Court is set to take up gay marriage cases later this year.
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