Sen. Patty Murray

Sen. Patty Murray

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., hopes to change that with a bill she’s introducing Wednesday called the Social Security and Marriage Equality (SAME) Act of 2014, Yahoo News has learned. The measure would amend the Social Security Act to grant survivor benefits to any individual legally married anywhere in the United States, regardless of whether he or she lives in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage. It would also declare individuals who were legally married in another country eligible for Social Security survivor benefits, according to a summary of the legislation provided by her office. “Your zip code should not determine whether or not your family will have the means to survive after the death of a spouse,” Murray said in a statement. “While I believe the Social Security Administration can, and should, resolve this inconsistency through administrative action, the SAME Act would provide a road map to ensure equality under our federal laws do not end at state lines.”

Since the Supreme Court overturned part of the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal government has moved to give gay married couples many of the same rights and benefits as straight married couples. But there are still gaps in the equality the federal government can offer, including Social Security survivor benefits . The law governing those benefits specifies that a couple's marriage must be legal in the state they live in, leaving same-sex couples who've married in a marriage equality state but live in an unequal state out in the cold.The bill is co-sponsored by Colorado Sen. Mark Udall. If Senate Republicans don't filibuster it, House Republicans are extremely unlikely to even allow a vote on it—all part of the sustained Republican foot-dragging and tantrum-throwing over the inevitability of marriage equality becoming a reality sooner or later. (Later than justice demands, sooner than Republicans want.)