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发帖数: 19713 | 1 Sec. Panetta Announces Benefits For Same-Sex Military Spouses and Partners
The Defense of Marriage Act still prevents some benefits from being extended
to same-sex military families and couples.
BY Michelle Garcia
February 11 2013 1:28 PM ET
Same-sex partners and spouses of military personnel will now be allowed
certain rights and benefits that were once restricted to heterosexual
military spouses, like identification cards, and joint duty assignments.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in one of his final duties in the post, made
the rumored policy change official on Monday. The benefits will be
available at some point between August 31 and Octoober 1.
"Today, our military leaders are ensuring that all America's sons and
daughters who volunteer to serve our nation in uniform are treated with
equal dignity and respect, regardless of their sexual orientation," he said
in a statement. "Our work must now expand to chaning our policies and
practices to ensure fairness and equal treatment and to taking care of all
of our service memebrs and their fmialies, to the extent allowable under the
law."
Additional benefits for same-sex domestic partners include:
- Dependent ID cards, which will be renewed in accordance with existing
policies
- Commisary privilges
- Morale, welfare, and recreation programs
- Surveys of military families
- Quadrennial quality of life review
- Emergency leave
- Emergency leave of absence
- Youth sponsorship program
- Youth programs
- Family center programs
- Sexual assault counseling program
- Joint duty assignments
- Exemption from hostile-fire areas
- Transportation to and from certain places of employment and on military
installations
- Transportation to and from primary and secondary school for minor
dependents
- Authority of service secretary to transport remains of a dependent
- Disability and death compensation: dependents of members held as captives
- Payments to missing persons
- Space-available travel on DoD aircraft
- Child care
- Legal assistance
Other benefits like health care and housing allowances can only be granted
to same-sex couples once the Defense of Marriage Act is repealed, because
those statutes are governed using the words "spouse" and "marriage." DOMA
bars the federal government from recognizing the legal marriages of same-sex
couples.
Additionally, "With regard to on-base housing, burial, and benefits related
to command sponsorsip overseas, these benefits present complex legal and
policy challenges due to their nexus to statutorialy-prohibited benefits and
due to ongoing reviews about how best to provide scarce resources. The
Military Serices will continue to review these benefits to determine how
best to esure that all service members are treated equally regardless of
sexual orientation."
Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign heralded the news, and said the
Supreme Court should consider DOMA's harm when it comes to military families
when it hears cases challening the law as well as California's marriage ban
, Proposition 8.
"The Court should reflect on the sacrifice made by Americans like Staff
Sergeant Tracy Johnson, whose wife was killed in action late last year, or
the family of Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan, who succumbed to cancer
earlier this week," he said in a statement Monday. "In both cases, DOMA
barred specific benefits that could soften the tragic blow of the loss of a
loved one. The Court should strike down this hateful law once and for all so
that this country can finally guarantee full equality for all who serve."
The president of the American Military Partner Association, Stephen Peters,
added that the announcement is a good step, but more must be done.
"The so-called Defense of Marriage Act continues to undermine our military
families who sacrifice so much for our nation," Peters said. "This summer,
we hope that the Supreme Court will make it clear that our families are just
as important and deserve the same protections, benefits, and support that
federal recognition brings." |
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