Today Ron Bastien will discuss the impact of DOMA on the lives of LGB service members and why it must be repealed if those fighting for our freedoms ever hope to fully enjoy the rights they defend each day. Ron is a Biology major with a Pre-med concentration at SUNY Geneseo. He enjoys spending time with friends and playing the violin in his free time. His post is inspired by countless conversations with his gay friends in the military who hope to one day marry and enjoy the same privileges given to their married heterosexual counterparts.
Since the passage of GLBT marriage equality on June 24, 2011 by the NYS Senate many couples are starting to plan weddings that they have been for years to do. While these married couples will now be eligible for the 1000+ rights they will receive from NYS government, like other same sex married couples they will still be denied 1138 federal rights due to DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act). Additionally, they will be denied many other significant privileges experienced by military spouses.
According to the Pentagon's policy since it is a federal institution it cannot extend the same benefits to same sex married couples that it does to heterosexual married couples. These benefits include housing allowances and off-based living space for same sex married couples. Another benefit denied to married same sex service members is the privilege of having their marriage recognized during the relocation or transfer process. This means that if two gay service members are married and one or both partners wanted to transfer units, locations, etc. their marriage would not be taken into account. For two married heterosexual serivce members the relocation of one spouse would be taken into account when relocating the other spouse.
An issue facing married same sex couples with only one partner in the military is the denial of a military ID card. Military ID cards are issued to spouses and allows them to enjoy certain privileges. Without one a spouse would not be allowed on base unless they are accompanied or escorted by a service member. Additionally, he or she cannot shop at commissaries or exchanges that offer military families reduced prices for groceries and clothin. Nor can they be treated at military medical facilities. Finally, these spouses will not be allowed to attend base programs that provide recreation and other types of suppor for military families. in times such as these when our Active Duty members are away for 18 months at a time and sometimes even longer, these services are essential to military spouses' well being.
The current conditions facing service members in same sex marriages serves as an additional arguement to support the Respect for Marriage Act and the repeal of DOMA. While the repeal of DADT (once fully implemented) will provide protection for open LGBT service members, until DOMA is repealed they will still not receive privileges equal to those of their heterosexual counterparts in the military.
Thanks for this fabulous---and both concise & complete----analysis! What a tangled web it becomes when equality becomes situational (like what job do you have?) or geographical (like where do you live?). This is a compelling argument for why we need to return to the idea that human rights are exactly that----rights that are deservingly afforded to ALL humans....not just those in the majority or with the privilege of some moral stamp of approval!
I work in random jobs at a gas station and at an American Eagle store. But I do have friends, that I know want to get married eventually, in the military. I live in NY and I think that this issue needs to be dealt with...unfortunately I do think that it will not happen any time soon, unless Obama can get rid of DOMA or push the US in the right direction.
Ron, you make excellent points! It is rediculous to think that one's future and happiness is declared wrong by others who claim to be accepting and loving. I think that myself and others really take it for granted that we are able to marry whomever we wish. Thankyou for speaking your mind and standing up for what is right!