On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Windsor v. United States regarding the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) -- a federal statute that defines marriage for all federal purposes as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. Because of DOMA, Plaintiff Edie Windsor was saddled with more than $360,000 in federal estate taxes after her beloved spouse, Thea, died in 2009. The federal government would not have imposed those taxes on a married straight couple. Rather than accept this discrimination, Edie filed a lawsuit challenged DOMA's constitutionality. In June, the Supreme Court will rule on whether DOMA violates equal protection by denying married gay couples more than 1,100 federal benefits and protections.