Feb 12, 2014 By Information Curated james Witte op/Ed Editor 4 min read

Editor’s Note: The following is a synopsis of a recent topic trending in world or national news.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department would extend the same legal rights to married gay and lesbian couples that were only currently given to other married couples.

According to the Washington Post, the Justice Department would grant protection to every program it administers, from courthouse proceedings to prison visits, to the compensation of surviving spouses of public safety officers.

In the new policy memo, as stated by the Washington Post, the department will spell out the rights of same-sex couples, including the right to decline to give testimony that might incriminate their spouses, even if their marriages are not recognized in the state where the couple lives.

“In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law,” said Holder in a statement at the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group that works on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equal rights according to the USA Today.

Holder, the first African American attorney general, according to the USA Today, has frequently compared the struggles of extending rights to same-sex couples, to the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Holder reiterated those feelings on Saturday as well.”Just like during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the stakes involved in this generation’s struggle for LGBT equality could not be higher,” said Holder.

“Then, as now, nothing less than our country’s commitment to the notion of equal protection under the law was on the line.”

Currently, gay marriage is legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

“This landmark announcement will change the lives of countless committed gay and lesbian couples for the better,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement. “While the immediate effect of these policy decisions is that all married gay couples will be treated equally under the law, the long-term effects are more profound. Today, our nation moves closer toward its ideals of equality and fairness for all.”

According to the Washington Post, the new policy comes three years after the Justice Department said it would not defend cases in court involving the Defense of Marriage Act anymore. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional.

This move was not without its critics though.

On Saturday, the National Organization for Marriage released a statement denouncing the policy move.

“This is just the latest in a series of moves by the Obama administration, and in particular the Department of Justice, to undermine the authority and sovereignty of the states to make their own determinations regulating the institution of marriage,” Brian Brown, the group’s president, said in the statement.

“The American public needs to realize how egregious and how dangerous these usurpations are and how far-reaching the implications can be. The changes being proposed here … serve as a potent reminder of why it is simply a lie to say that redefining marriage doesn’t affect everyone in society.”

According to USA Today, in a statement, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said the extension of federal benefits, even in states that do not recognize same-sex couples, “is yet another illustration of the lawlessness of this administration.”

Perkins said the Justice Department’s decision highlights the need for Congress to pass legislation that would require federal agencies to only recognize gay and lesbian marriages in states where it is legal.