The question of marriage equality for same-sex couples became a campaign finance issue on Thursday, as Federal Election Commission members addressed the application of a little-known rule that allows someone to contribute to a federal campaign from the checking account of his or her spouse.

That way, a spouse with the lion's share of the income can effectively double his or her contribution without hitting the cap on how much individuals can give to each candidate.

Federal election commissioners at today's regular open meeting denied the request from Massachusetts Senate candidate, Dan Winslow, to treat donations from same-sex ...