The Justice Department is expanding protections for same-sex couples in every program with federal jurisdiction. Under the new policies, married same-sex partners will have expanded rights in areas from courthouses to prisons to pensions. These include the right to avoid testimony that would incriminate a spouse, conjugal visits in prisons, and survivors’ benefits for spouses. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the change in a speech Saturday night.

Attorney General Eric Holder: “This means that 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, the same protections and the same rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law.”