Jeanne Shaheen on Marriage Equality, Military Benefits

[William769]

With the New Hampshire primary expected to take place 10 weeks from Tuesday, some presidential candidates are wasting no time in expressing solidarity with antigay forces who seek to repeal the state’s marriage equality law. Rick Perry was the latest to fall in line: On Friday, the Texas governor said in an address to Cornerstone Action that he applauds those “who are working to defend marriage as an institution between one man and one woman.”

But the repeal effort faces a certain veto from Gov. John Lynch and a lack of majority support among those living in the Granite State, where a National Guardswoman who recently returned from deployment was told last month that she was barred from bringing her partner to a Yellow Ribbon homecoming event.

Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan was ultimately allowed to attend the event with her partner of 14 years after clarification from the Pentagon on available benefits (gay service member advocates want to see more extended), as well as a letter written on her behalf by New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. Morgan has since become one of several service members challenging the Defense of Marriage Act in a federal lawsuit filed last week.

A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Shaheen saw the Yellow Ribbon issue as a matter of common sense: A guardswoman allowed to serve openly post-“don’t ask, don’t tell” should, by default, be allowed to bring her family to an event that is geared toward “promoting the well-being of the National Guard and reserve members, their families and communities, by connecting them with resources throughout the deployment cycle,” according to a mission statement on the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program's website.

http://www.advocate.com/Politics/Marriage_Equality/Jeanne_Shaheen_on_DOMA_Repeal_Military_Benefits/

[qb]

1. The end of DADT means the collapse of the anti-gay house of cards.

:bounce:

[marriageequality824]

2. At least part of it. There's still marriage equality.