Pentagon To Announce Equal Benefits For Married Gay Couples

[ProSense]

Pentagon To Announce Equal Benefits For Married Gay Couples

The Pentagon is expected to announce Wednesday that married gay military service members and their spouses will be offered the same benefits as straight married couples as early as September, NBC News reported.

Also included in the announcement will reportedly be a "marraige leave" program for gay couples. Service members stationed in one of the 37 states where gay marriage is illegal will be allowed to take up to 10 days of leave to travel to one of the 13 states or Washington, D.C. where gay marriage is legal.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/pentagon-to-announce-equal-benefits-for-married-gay

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t

[SidDithers]

2. DU rec...nt

Sid

[Solly Mack]

3. K&R

[ProSense]

4. Another. n/t

[ProSense]

5. Marriage equality is coming to the military

Marriage equality is coming to the military

by Laura Clawson

How far we've come since the military was clinging to Don't Ask Don't Tell just a few short years ago, and the Defense of Marriage Act was making marriage unequal even for same-sex couples married legally in states that honored their relationships:

The Pentagon plans to extend to legally married same-sex couples the same privileges and programs that are provided to legally married heterosexual couples, including benefits tied to health care and housing, the official said.

In addition, the official said that service members who are stationed in one of the 37 states where same-sex marriage is illegal will be offered up to 10 days of leave so they can travel to one of the 13 states, plus the District of Columbia, that grant same-sex marriage licenses.

Kudos to the Pentagon for giving the leave needed to make marriage a possibility for people stationed in bastions of inequality—let's hope it's not needed for long, but for now it puts access to marriage in reach for more service members.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/14/1231158/-Marriage-equality-is-coming-to-the-military

[Initech]

6. Wow, what a huge change from 10 years ago!