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By Mackenzie Weigner
A federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday challenging the Veterans Affairs Department for refusing to recognize legally married gay and lesbian military couples and denying them the same family benefits as their heterosexual colleagues.
With the repeal last year of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military, activists have now turned their focus to gaining full benefits for legally married same-sex active duty and veteran service members and their families.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the law firm WilmerHale filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Los Angeles on behalf of military veteran Tracey Cooper-Harris and her spouse, Maggie Cooper-Harris.
The VA denied Tracey’s request for her partner Maggie to receive veterans’ benefits as her spouse since the statue currently states that a spouse is “a person of the opposite sex who is a wife or a husband.”
The complaint charges that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional for discriminating on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, and also challenges the Veterans Affairs Dept.’s definition of spouse as solely a person of the opposite sex.
“The government’s refusal to grant these benefits is a slap in the face to the gay and lesbian service members who put their lives on the line to protect our nation and our freedoms,” Christine Sun, deputy legal director for the SPLC, said in a statement. “Especially given the recent repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, it’s shocking that the federal government continues to demean Tracey’s years of service and the service of many others in this way.”
Sun said in an interview that it’s “hard to predict” when the case will make it before the Supreme Court.
“The earliest it gets to the Supreme Court would be three to four years,” she said. “The Ninth Circuit is notoriously slow, but who knows?”
This isn’t the first lawsuit seeking equal benefits and family support for same-sex spouses in the wake of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’s repeal — in October 2011, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network filed a challenge to DOMA in federal court in Massachusetts on behalf of legally married current and former service members.
“One of our cases will make it to the Supreme Court eventually,” Sun said.
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Won't Happen Here
Virginia is one of the states who has not, and probably will not be ready to accept same sex marriages. So what will the service members do? They'll take orders to states that recognize gay marriage. Virginia will always be last in place in this category. They'll scam their way like sailors always do. As it stands now.. in Virginia.. Being Gay (homosexual) is against the law.
What everyone fails to realize.
The change in laws to allow a gay service member to openly serve had nothing to do with gays in the military. It was a way to force Federal recognition of gay marriage. Once a gay service member marries and files for a dependant ID card it will force a change in federal law to recognize same sex couples. I'm suprised that it hasn't been an issue already and it is starting with the VA not on active duty.
Oh Yeah?
What is there to stop Gays from getting hitched solely to gain medical coverage? People game the system.
hmmm
How about those who marry their buddy from back home for free BAH and dependant ID's, and health insurance???
Cheating
The same thing
that is there to stop straights from getting hitched solely to gain medical coverage? People game the system. Not to mention the ones who marry foreign women for cash to allow them to become citizens, don't even live with them, then divorce them.
The last Congress failed
They could have resolved DADT, and states' gay marriage prohibitions simply by amending the Civil Rights Acts. They chose not to. Why? Perhaps it's due to bigoted caucuses within the Democratic Party. Or maybe just incompetence in the leadership. Take your pick.
Gay marriage does not lead to polygamy.
I did not intend to infer that.
The point I'm trying to make is, if the government has no business in who marries whom, it should have no business in how many consenting adults (regardless of gender) may be married to the same person.
As we are beginning to see, the problems arise when the issues of children, custody, benefits, divorce, etc. come into play.
If polygamy were ever legalized (why shouldn't it?), these problems would really become complicated.
Polygamy will never be legal
"If polygamy were ever legalized (why shouldn't it?), these problems would really become complicated."
Well polygamy will never be legal because the USSC ruled in Commonwealth v. Nesbit 1859 actions perpetrated in the name of religion that the govt has a legitimate reason to intrude. The courts identified these behaviors: human sacrifice,POLYGAMY,bigamy,concubinage,incest,injury to children, advocation and promotion of immorality as cause for the govt to intrude on relgion. In orthodox relgious practices,whether public prayer or the use of the scriptures, the govt was not to interfere.
Well
Well Dred Scott! If the USSC ruled in 1859, then I guess we are stuck with it forever. Good thing, I kind of like Roe vs. Wade.
Well Well
Hey, you have people below us that are basing their belief systems on a book that was written even further back than 1859. (And has had many revisions I might add) But you dont see people complaining about that.
The good thing about law/politics/rulings is that they can eventually be overturned.
The other book, well thats just overlooked as long as you pay your dues once a week.