WASHINGTON – Today Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta has announced that the Department of Defense will be extending additional benefits to same-sex partners of servicemembers. Panetta also stated that while the Defense of Marriage Act still remains law the Department faced legal limitations in regard to extending full benefits. Panetta’s statement follows: “Seventeen months ago, the…
Following the uproar of The Association of Bragg Officers’ Spouses (ABOS) not allowing a lesbian wife of an Army officer stationed at Fort Bragg, the association has now offered that spouse, Ashley Broadway, a “guest membership” in the group. BuzzFeed reports that the group’s president, Mary Ring, is offering guest membership to Broadway “while our…
There is a measure by which we’ll be able to judge current secretary of defense nominee Chuck Hagel’s support for the LGBT community that I haven’t seen mentioned yet in discussions. Should Sen. Hagel be confirmed as secretary of defense, his legacy on open service for transgender servicemembers will be a plumb line measure for…
(CNN) — It apparently takes more than a few good men, according to the U.S. Marine Corps. It takes all kinds of people to support military families, including same-sex spouses of service members. San Diego LGBT Weekly published a story this week about a woman married to a female lieutenant colonel at North Carolina’s Fort…
