It’s that time of year when you have been bombarded with commercials spotlighting shiny new cars topped by large bows, and suddenly your reliable whip in the driveway looks road-worn and tired. Maybe you’re thinking it’s time to trade in your old wheels for something sleek, powerful and sexy. But where to spend your hard-earned…
Since taking office, President Obama and his administration have taken significant steps to advance equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. You’ve probably heard of many of these accomplishments: repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination in hospitals and in housing, promoting international LGBT human rights, standing up against DOMA and…
Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on same-sex benefits, released by the U.S. Department of Defense today: On Oct. 31, I called on the chief of the National Guard Bureau to work with several states to fully implement Department of Defense policy by providing DoD identification cards to all eligible military spouses, regardless of sexual orientation. Following…
NEW YORK — Today, TIME names Pope Francis the 2013 TIME Person of the Year. TIME Editor Nancy Gibbs, who met Pope Francis in Rome last week, writes: “Rarely has a new player on the world stage captured so much attention so quickly—young and old, faithful and cynical—as has Pope Francis. In his nine months in…
All members of the Louisiana National Guard will now be able to apply for benefits at any Guard installation, including troops who are legally married to same-sex partners in other states. Equality Louisiana Research and Policy Coordinator, Matthew Patterson said about the new development, “This is a great day for married National Guard members in…
When Fox News aired a story last month highlighting Jason Greenslate, a San Diego surfer musician who bought lobster with his CalFresh support (aka food stamps, aka Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP), the response from the right was swift and vicious. Like the relentlessly demonized “welfare mothers” of the 1990s, he was the proof…
WASHINGTON – While the Supreme Court’s decision striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act and guidance from the Office of Personnel Management have made clear that federal workers’ same-sex spouses are now eligible for benefits, there are still federal employees who cannot access marriage and thus continue to be denied critical health,…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced new guidance interpreting the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor. In a technical release, the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration provides guidance to plans, plan sponsors, fiduciaries, participants and beneficiaries on the decision’s impact on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The release states…
In a somewhat similar way to Pvt. Chelsea Manning’s choice to willfully violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for what she hoped would be for a greater good, I know what it’s like to willfully violate the UCMJ for what I hoped would be for a greater good. Our choices too were similar…
Today the same-sex spouses of military service members become eligible to receive a range of federal benefits, thanks to a Department of Defense policy change that was announced last month implementing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Starting today, spousal and family benefits will…
