AF sgt. claims he was fired for religious views on gays
Wing says reassignment was due
Army Times
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
A 19-year Air Force veteran says he was relieved of duties at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in a dispute with his commanding officer over same-sex marriage.
The case of the senior master sergeant is exactly what some lawmakers are trying to prevent by seeking changes in military policies on diversity, tolerance and religious freedom that would allow service members with strong religious or moral objections to homosexuality to speak their minds without fear of reprisal.
Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk, assigned to the 37th Training Wing, said Friday he was relieved July 26 of his duties as first sergeant of a training squadron and forced to take leave because he disagreed with his commanding officer’s position on gay marriage. He says his company commander is openly lesbian.
A spokeswoman for the wing, Collen McGee, said Monk was “not removed from duty.”
The training squadron commander who Monk claims fired him does not intend to issue a statement, McGee said.
Monk, an evangelical Christian, said the issue came up when he was advising his company commander about a situation involving a staff sergeant who had expressed opposition to homosexuality on religious grounds — an opinion shared with trainees that might be a violation of an Air Force policy barring the use of a position of authority to promote personal religious beliefs.
read more here
Showing posts with label gay in military. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gay in military. Show all posts
Friday, August 16, 2013
AF Sgt. claims he was fired for religious views on gays
Keep in mind that there are different views on this even in "religious" groups. Some Christians have no problem with gay people at all while some do. No one speaks for all and none of them should try. This story is a bit different. You'll understand when you read it.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Iraq veteran, amputee Marine bood by anti-gay protestors
Anti-gay protesters boo gay Marine vet Eric Alva, who lost leg in Iraq War
Dallas Voice
August 15, 2013
Anti-gay protesters reportedly booed a gay Marine veteran who lost his leg in the Iraq War while he was speaking in favor of a nondiscrimination ordinance at a San Antonio City Council meeting on Wednesday night.
At a prayer vigil outside City Hall before the meeting, about 300 people protested the proposed addition to San Antonio’s nondiscrimination law that would add protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and veteran status.
“Let them vote ‘no’ to this ordinance, and ‘yes’ to the reign of the kingdom of God,” Pastor Charles Flowers said at the rally.
About 200 people signed up to speak at the City Council meeting for and against the ordinance.
Alva, a Marine staff sergeant who became the first U.S. soldier injured in Iraq when he stepped on a landmine, was booed by the crowd when he spoke in favor of the ordinance. Alva lives in San Antonio.
“To all you people that preach the word of God, shame on you because God loves me, like the day I laid bleeding on the sands of Iraq and that’s why he saved me,” Alva said before he left the podium.
read more here
Dallas Voice
August 15, 2013
Anti-gay protesters reportedly booed a gay Marine veteran who lost his leg in the Iraq War while he was speaking in favor of a nondiscrimination ordinance at a San Antonio City Council meeting on Wednesday night.
“Let them vote ‘no’ to this ordinance, and ‘yes’ to the reign of the kingdom of God,” Pastor Charles Flowers said at the rally.
About 200 people signed up to speak at the City Council meeting for and against the ordinance.
Alva, a Marine staff sergeant who became the first U.S. soldier injured in Iraq when he stepped on a landmine, was booed by the crowd when he spoke in favor of the ordinance. Alva lives in San Antonio.
“To all you people that preach the word of God, shame on you because God loves me, like the day I laid bleeding on the sands of Iraq and that’s why he saved me,” Alva said before he left the podium.
read more here
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
DOD announces full benefits to married same-sex couples
DOD announces full benefits to married same-sex couples
Stars and Stripes
By Leo Shane III
Published: August 14, 2013
WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials announced Wednesday that the DOD will provide marriage benefits to same-sex couples for the first time, giving gay spouses access to health care, housing allowances and family separation pay.
The move comes little more than a month after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, which Defense Department leaders have said prevented them from offering federal marriage benefits to gay troops. Numerous government agencies have taken steps to offer health care and other benefits to same-sex married couples in the wake of the ruling.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the move reflects the Defense Department’s commitment to “ensuring that all men and women who serve in the U.S. military and their families are treated fairly and equally.”
The change, set to go into effect no later than Sept. 3, will mean tens of thousands of dollars in direct payments and covered health care costs for legally married same-sex military couples.
read more here
Stars and Stripes
By Leo Shane III
Published: August 14, 2013
WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials announced Wednesday that the DOD will provide marriage benefits to same-sex couples for the first time, giving gay spouses access to health care, housing allowances and family separation pay.
The move comes little more than a month after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, which Defense Department leaders have said prevented them from offering federal marriage benefits to gay troops. Numerous government agencies have taken steps to offer health care and other benefits to same-sex married couples in the wake of the ruling.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the move reflects the Defense Department’s commitment to “ensuring that all men and women who serve in the U.S. military and their families are treated fairly and equally.”
The change, set to go into effect no later than Sept. 3, will mean tens of thousands of dollars in direct payments and covered health care costs for legally married same-sex military couples.
read more here
Friday, June 28, 2013
Gay marriage ruling will help many veteran spouses
Bloomberg Business
By By Kevin Freking
June 28, 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) — For Stewart Bornhoft, who completed two tours of duty in Vietnam, the Supreme Court's decision granting federal benefits to married, same-sex couples means that he and his spouse, Stephen McNabb, can one day be buried together at Arlington National Cemetery.
For Joan Darrah, who served nearly 30 years in the Navy and lived through the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, the decision means her spouse, Lynne Kennedy, can join her more generous, less expensive health plan.
Just two years ago, gays and lesbians were prevented from serving openly in the military. Now, with the Supreme Court ruling this week, same-sex spouses of gay veterans and service members will be able to share in their benefits.
The Williams Institute, a think tank at the UCLA School of Law, reports that 650,000 same-sex couples live in the United States and about 13 percent of those relationships include a veteran. The institute said it's unknown how many of those estimated 85,000 relationships involve marriages. A dozen states and the District of Columbia allow for gay marriage.
read more here
Friday, June 21, 2013
Bill to upgrade records of those discharged for sexual orientation
Bill to upgrade records of those discharged for sexual orientation
Stars and Stripes
By Matthew M. Burke
Published: June 21, 2013
A bill circulating in the House would upgrade the service records of gay, lesbian and bisexual troops who were discharged due to sexual orientation and eventually open the door to veterans’ benefits.
The Restore Honor to Service Members Act was proposed Thursday by Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., and Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., according to a joint statement from their offices. The congressmen are trying to muster co-sponsors before bringing it to committee in hopes of a floor vote.
From World War II to the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” roughly 114,000 servicemembers were discharged because of sexual orientation, the statement said. In many cases, depending on the discharge classification and the state in which they lived, they could be treated as felons and precluded from voting and collecting unemployment and veterans’ benefits, such as health care and disability.
read more here
Stars and Stripes
By Matthew M. Burke
Published: June 21, 2013
A bill circulating in the House would upgrade the service records of gay, lesbian and bisexual troops who were discharged due to sexual orientation and eventually open the door to veterans’ benefits.
The Restore Honor to Service Members Act was proposed Thursday by Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., and Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., according to a joint statement from their offices. The congressmen are trying to muster co-sponsors before bringing it to committee in hopes of a floor vote.
From World War II to the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” roughly 114,000 servicemembers were discharged because of sexual orientation, the statement said. In many cases, depending on the discharge classification and the state in which they lived, they could be treated as felons and precluded from voting and collecting unemployment and veterans’ benefits, such as health care and disability.
read more here
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Anti-gay group shuts down, leader "accepts part of his life"
'Ex-gay' group says it's shutting down; leader apologizes for 'pain and hurt'
NBC News
By Erin McClam
Staff Writer
A Christian ministry that led the so-called ex-gay movement, which professes to rid people of their homosexuality, has announced that it will shut down, and its leader apologized extensively to gays for causing “pain and hurt.”
The ministry, Exodus International, was founded in 1976 and claims more than 200 branches, churches and counselors in the United States and Canada. It had insisted that people could overcome same-sex attraction through prayer and therapy.
Mainstream psychiatric and medical groups have said that the movement, also known as reparative therapy, is unfounded in science and can be harmful. The American Psychiatric Association said 15 years ago that it could cause depression, anxiety and self-depressive behavior in patients.
The president of Exodus, Alan Chambers, said late Wednesday on the ministry’s website that he had “conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions” but now accepts them “as parts of my life that will like always be there.”
Addressing gays, Chambers, who is married to a woman, wrote: “You have never been my enemy. I am very sorry that I have been yours.”
read more here
NBC News
By Erin McClam
Staff Writer
A Christian ministry that led the so-called ex-gay movement, which professes to rid people of their homosexuality, has announced that it will shut down, and its leader apologized extensively to gays for causing “pain and hurt.”
The ministry, Exodus International, was founded in 1976 and claims more than 200 branches, churches and counselors in the United States and Canada. It had insisted that people could overcome same-sex attraction through prayer and therapy.
Mainstream psychiatric and medical groups have said that the movement, also known as reparative therapy, is unfounded in science and can be harmful. The American Psychiatric Association said 15 years ago that it could cause depression, anxiety and self-depressive behavior in patients.
The president of Exodus, Alan Chambers, said late Wednesday on the ministry’s website that he had “conveniently omitted my ongoing same-sex attractions” but now accepts them “as parts of my life that will like always be there.”
Addressing gays, Chambers, who is married to a woman, wrote: “You have never been my enemy. I am very sorry that I have been yours.”
read more here
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Master Sgt. reprimanded over Defense of Marriage
The headline is a bit of a spin when this was more about publicly expressing his views on what the DOD has different rules for. This wasn't about serving "Chick-fil-A" but more about what he feels. I believe he has a right to feel whatever he wants to but in position of some authority of rank, he does have an obligation to the men and women serving under him. Still this article points out all the other times when it seems religious and military life are colliding. There are too many times when the military has let things got totally out of control like forcing soldiers to go to a Christian concert but now it seems as if they are trying to stop all matters of faith. Can anyone get any of this right?
Soldier Reprimanded Over Promotion Party Featuring Chick-fil-A Sandwiches
The New American
Written by Dave Bohon
07 June 2013
A U.S. Army soldier was disciplined after he hosted a party for his promotion to the rank of master sergeant and served Chick-fil-A sandwiches in honor of traditional marriage. The unidentified serviceman's promotion coincided with the controversy that erupted last year over Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy's comments in favor of traditional marriage. Homosexual activist groups launched a high-profile boycott of the fast-food chain, which backfired when tens of thousands of Christians nationwide countered with a “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” that brought record sales for the company.
According to Ron Crews of the group Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, the serviceman was investigated, reprimanded, threatened with judicial action, and given a bad efficiency report after he sent invitations that read, “In honor of my promotion and in honor of the Defense of Marriage Act, I’m serving Chick-fil-A sandwiches at my promotion party.”
Crews told Fox News that Army officials said the soldier was “no longer a team player and was not performing up to standards. This is just one little example of a case of a soldier just wanting to express his views and now he’s been jumped on by the military.”
Shortly after the serviceman's promotion party in the summer of 2012, he was sent a letter of reprimand, which took exception to his serving Chick-fil-A sandwiches at his party, along with his support of the federal Defense of Marriage Act — which continues to be the law of the land.
Following the action against him the soldier contacted Crews and the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, which put him in touch with an attorney to defend him. Crews said that a year after what should have been a non-issue, the dedicated service member continues to be targeted by the Army. “There was initially some talk of bringing judicial punishment against him,” Crews told Todd Starnes of Fox News. “He had a letter put in his file and an investigation was initiated to see if he had violated any policy.”
Crews added that the man had served his country faithfully and “was at the pinnacle of his career. To make that rank means you’ve done very well throughout your career. He wants to finish serving his time honorably.”
read more here
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Gay Marine Colonel recalls ‘don’t ask’ investigation
Gay colonel recalls ‘don’t ask’ investigation
Marine Corps Times
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 1, 2013
An Army colonel retiring April 30 after 26 years of service said the nine years he spent living with the possibility of separation for admitting he was gay was something that he “wouldn’t wish … on anybody.”
“It was a miserable experience,” said Col. Gary Espinas, whose final military assignment is as an instructor at the prestigious Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, Calif. In retirement, Espinas will be director of chapter and membership services for OutServe-SLDN, a newly created position in the new joint organization that includes the division that gave him legal support when he faced the possible end of his career in 2003.
Espinas, a career foreign area officer and Russian specialist, was a major at the time, assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, when a State Department security officer questioned him about his list of local contacts, which included only men.
“I had a wide network of Russian friends,” Espinas said. “All of the contacts were men.”
The embassy security officer asked a direct question about whether Espinas was gay. “I knew lying was not a good option,” he said. “I responded I was, in fact, gay.”
read more here
also
Closeted gay soldiers more likely to attempt suicide
Marine Corps Times
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 1, 2013
An Army colonel retiring April 30 after 26 years of service said the nine years he spent living with the possibility of separation for admitting he was gay was something that he “wouldn’t wish … on anybody.”
“It was a miserable experience,” said Col. Gary Espinas, whose final military assignment is as an instructor at the prestigious Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, Calif. In retirement, Espinas will be director of chapter and membership services for OutServe-SLDN, a newly created position in the new joint organization that includes the division that gave him legal support when he faced the possible end of his career in 2003.
Espinas, a career foreign area officer and Russian specialist, was a major at the time, assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, when a State Department security officer questioned him about his list of local contacts, which included only men.
“I had a wide network of Russian friends,” Espinas said. “All of the contacts were men.”
The embassy security officer asked a direct question about whether Espinas was gay. “I knew lying was not a good option,” he said. “I responded I was, in fact, gay.”
read more here
also
Closeted gay soldiers more likely to attempt suicide
Saturday, February 16, 2013
In Loving Memory Of A Wife, Daughter And Fallen Soldier
In Loving Memory Of A Wife, Daughter And Fallen Soldier
by NPR STAFF
February 16, 2013
North Carolina National Guardsman Tracy Johnson is an Iraq War veteran and an Army widow.
She is also one of the first gay spouses to lose a partner at war since the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
On Feb. 14, 2012, Tracy married her longtime partner, Staff Sgt. Donna Johnson. But eight months later, Donna was killed by a suicide bomber while serving in Khost, Afghanistan.
"That day, I had a bad feeling," Tracy tells her mother-in-law, Sandra Johnson, during a visit to StoryCorps. "I immediately starting scouring the news websites, and it said that ... three U.S. soldiers were killed in Khost, Afghanistan, and I knew, obviously, that's where she was stationed."
But she had to wait to find out if her fears were legitimate.
read more here
by NPR STAFF
February 16, 2013
North Carolina National Guardsman Tracy Johnson is an Iraq War veteran and an Army widow.
She is also one of the first gay spouses to lose a partner at war since the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
On Feb. 14, 2012, Tracy married her longtime partner, Staff Sgt. Donna Johnson. But eight months later, Donna was killed by a suicide bomber while serving in Khost, Afghanistan.
"That day, I had a bad feeling," Tracy tells her mother-in-law, Sandra Johnson, during a visit to StoryCorps. "I immediately starting scouring the news websites, and it said that ... three U.S. soldiers were killed in Khost, Afghanistan, and I knew, obviously, that's where she was stationed."
But she had to wait to find out if her fears were legitimate.
read more here
Thursday, February 14, 2013
VA approves request by Oregon woman to bury same-sex spouse
In a first, VA approves request by Oregon woman to bury same-sex spouse in national cemetery
By Mike Francis
The Oregonian
on February 14, 2013
Nancy Lynchild's grave at Willamette National Cemetery, when it is dug, will seal a marriage while setting a national first. And it will provide a public expression of a life that retired Air Force Lt. Col. Linda Campbell once had to live in secret.
The burial of Lynchild's ashes at the military cemetery will be the nation's first of a veteran's same-sex spouse. Eric Shinseki, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which administers national cemeteries, personally approved a waiver of VA policy to permit the burial.
Lynchild died of cancer in Eugene three days before Christmas.
Shinseki's waiver was no sure thing. It followed a monthslong campaign by Campbell, encouraged and supported by Bureau of Labor and Industries Commissioner Brad Avakian and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., they told The Oregonian. And it didn't arrive until Jan. 29, more than a month after Lynchild died, while Campbell agonized about funeral arrangements. It is the latest signal that the military -- and the nation -- is changing the way it views same-sex relationships.
A self-described lifelong "rule follower," Campbell is overjoyed that she and Lynchild will have their ashes buried together at Willamette. They will share space in the same cemetery where her father, a World War II veteran, and her mother have their ashes under a stone that says "Together forever."
read more here
By Mike Francis
The Oregonian
on February 14, 2013
Nancy Lynchild's grave at Willamette National Cemetery, when it is dug, will seal a marriage while setting a national first. And it will provide a public expression of a life that retired Air Force Lt. Col. Linda Campbell once had to live in secret.
The burial of Lynchild's ashes at the military cemetery will be the nation's first of a veteran's same-sex spouse. Eric Shinseki, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which administers national cemeteries, personally approved a waiver of VA policy to permit the burial.
Lynchild died of cancer in Eugene three days before Christmas.
Shinseki's waiver was no sure thing. It followed a monthslong campaign by Campbell, encouraged and supported by Bureau of Labor and Industries Commissioner Brad Avakian and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., they told The Oregonian. And it didn't arrive until Jan. 29, more than a month after Lynchild died, while Campbell agonized about funeral arrangements. It is the latest signal that the military -- and the nation -- is changing the way it views same-sex relationships.
A self-described lifelong "rule follower," Campbell is overjoyed that she and Lynchild will have their ashes buried together at Willamette. They will share space in the same cemetery where her father, a World War II veteran, and her mother have their ashes under a stone that says "Together forever."
read more here
Monday, February 11, 2013
Soldier dies of breast cancer, but her widow won’t get benefits
Soldier dies of breast cancer, but her widow won’t get benefits
Washington Post
Posted by Andrea Stone
February 10, 2013
Charlie Morgan didn’t get her last wish.
On Sunday morning, the New Hampshire National Guard soldier succumbed to Stage IV breast cancer after a long battle against the disease and a federal law that now leaves her widow with none of the benefits a grateful nation bestows on its straight warriors.
As I wrote here on Thanksgiving, Morgan, who came out as a lesbian on MSNBC in September 2011, the day the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy became history, hoped she would outlive the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Clinton-era law forbids Karen, her legally married wife, from receiving the survivor benefits other military widows get.
That money would have gone a long way toward helping raise their young daughter Casey. Just like the death benefits Charlie’s mother got when her soldier husband died in an accident during the Vietnam War went to pay for food and a roof for young Charlie.
“I’m praying that they take it up soon,” Morgan told me in a phone interview from her home in New Durham, N.H. a few days before Thanksgiving. “It’s my motivation for staying alive. I really need to be alive when they actually do overturn DOMA, otherwise Karen is not guaranteed anything.”
read more here
Washington Post
Posted by Andrea Stone
February 10, 2013
Charlie Morgan didn’t get her last wish.
On Sunday morning, the New Hampshire National Guard soldier succumbed to Stage IV breast cancer after a long battle against the disease and a federal law that now leaves her widow with none of the benefits a grateful nation bestows on its straight warriors.
As I wrote here on Thanksgiving, Morgan, who came out as a lesbian on MSNBC in September 2011, the day the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy became history, hoped she would outlive the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Clinton-era law forbids Karen, her legally married wife, from receiving the survivor benefits other military widows get.
That money would have gone a long way toward helping raise their young daughter Casey. Just like the death benefits Charlie’s mother got when her soldier husband died in an accident during the Vietnam War went to pay for food and a roof for young Charlie.
“I’m praying that they take it up soon,” Morgan told me in a phone interview from her home in New Durham, N.H. a few days before Thanksgiving. “It’s my motivation for staying alive. I really need to be alive when they actually do overturn DOMA, otherwise Karen is not guaranteed anything.”
read more here
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tony Perkins Blames Gays For High Military Suicide Rates
Wonder what he thought was the problem when Vietnam veterans came home and then committed suicide, but then again, what he "thinks" and what is real do not seem to matter to him. He doesn't seem to even try to acknowledge that suicides were high before the repeal.
If you want to read more of this you'll have to use the link since I cannot stomach posting any more of what he Perkins had to say.
If you want to read more of this you'll have to use the link since I cannot stomach posting any more of what he Perkins had to say.
Tony Perkins Blames Gays For High Military Suicide Rates
by DAVID BADASH
JANUARY 31, 2013
Tony Perkins says the military’s high suicide rate is a result of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which is “adding additional stress” by “driving Christianity out [and] putting homosexuality in.” Perkins is the head of the certified anti-gay Family Research Council.
read more here
Monday, January 28, 2013
Fort Bragg spouse of the year was not good enough for some
Lesbian Wife Named Fort Bragg's Spouse of the Year
Jan 26, 2013
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
by Drew Brooks
A lesbian wife of a Fort Bragg soldier was named the installation's military spouse of the year through a voting competition.
Ashley Broadway is not recognized as a spouse under federal law, and she recently was denied official membership in a Fort Bragg officers' spouses organization.
But her selection in the competition by Military Spouse magazine was praised by advocates for gays and lesbians, who say it underscores the need for the federal government to extend full benefits to same-sex couples.
Broadway, the wife of Lt. Col. Heather Mack of Fort Bragg's 1st Theater Sustainment Command, will represent Fort Bragg in the 2013 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year competition.
Broadway will be pitted against winners from other Army installations.
Online voting on Feb. 5 at msoy.militaryspouse.com will decide who will be the Army-wide spouse of the year.
That person will compete against winners from the five other service branches for the national title.
The military is not involved in the competition, though spouses of top Pentagon leaders help pick the national winner.
read more here
Fort Bragg Officer Spouse changed rule after gay spouse wanted to join
Jan 26, 2013
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
by Drew Brooks
A lesbian wife of a Fort Bragg soldier was named the installation's military spouse of the year through a voting competition.
Ashley Broadway is not recognized as a spouse under federal law, and she recently was denied official membership in a Fort Bragg officers' spouses organization.
But her selection in the competition by Military Spouse magazine was praised by advocates for gays and lesbians, who say it underscores the need for the federal government to extend full benefits to same-sex couples.
Broadway, the wife of Lt. Col. Heather Mack of Fort Bragg's 1st Theater Sustainment Command, will represent Fort Bragg in the 2013 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year competition.
Broadway will be pitted against winners from other Army installations.
Online voting on Feb. 5 at msoy.militaryspouse.com will decide who will be the Army-wide spouse of the year.
That person will compete against winners from the five other service branches for the national title.
The military is not involved in the competition, though spouses of top Pentagon leaders help pick the national winner.
read more here
Fort Bragg Officer Spouse changed rule after gay spouse wanted to join
Monday, January 21, 2013
Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice not considered war widow
Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice not considered war widow, despite loss of wife in Afghanistan
By DREW BROOKS
The Fayetteville Observer
Published: January 20, 2013
RAEFORD - Clutching a copy of her marriage certificate and racked with grief, Tracy Dice steeled herself for a battle.
Dice had just received a call from her in-laws, summoning her to their Hoke County home.
Dice knew what lay ahead. Her wife, fellow National Guard member Donna Rae Johnson, failed to call her that October morning from Khost, Afghanistan. Worse, Dice learned through the Internet that three unidentified soldiers had been killed in the same area hours earlier.
read more here
This story originally reported in October.
Military refused to acknowledge spouse of fallen soldier
By DREW BROOKS
The Fayetteville Observer
Published: January 20, 2013
RAEFORD - Clutching a copy of her marriage certificate and racked with grief, Tracy Dice steeled herself for a battle.
Dice had just received a call from her in-laws, summoning her to their Hoke County home.
Dice knew what lay ahead. Her wife, fellow National Guard member Donna Rae Johnson, failed to call her that October morning from Khost, Afghanistan. Worse, Dice learned through the Internet that three unidentified soldiers had been killed in the same area hours earlier.
read more here
This story originally reported in October.
Military refused to acknowledge spouse of fallen soldier
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Fort Bragg Military club closes ranks to gay wife
WOW took CNN a month to pick up on this story. Fort Bragg Officer Spouse changed rule after gay spouse wanted to join
Out -- but not in: Military club closes ranks to gay wife
By Ashley Fantz
CNN
January 8, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
In North Carolina, Fort Bragg spouse club bars same-sex wife of a lieutenant colonel
The club told Ashley Broadway that without a military ID card, she was ineligible to join
Prominent voices in military circles have rallied behind Broadway
"It's discrimination," says an official with Blue Star Families, a national military family group
(CNN) -- For 15 years, Ashley Broadway has devoted her life to the military and to her spouse, an Army lieutenant colonel.
The former schoolteacher found a new job and made new friends each time she had to relocate bases, including a move to South Korea. When a deployment to the Middle East separated the couple, Broadway took care of the couple's young son, Carson, on her own. Now at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and with a second child on the way, Broadway wanted to settle down and get to know more spouses like herself.
So she applied for membership to the Association of Bragg Officers' Spouses.
"I thought, 'Here's a chance to make some close friends who would really understand me,'" Broadway said. "And I could get very active in events that help other families like mine. I was excited, really excited, to be a part of this group."
But the Bragg spouse club apparently didn't feel the same way. Broadway's married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack. The officers' spouse club didn't want her, she believes, because she's gay.
Shortly after Broadway applied, the club called her to say it had new membership rules. If she didn't have a military ID card, she couldn't join.
The couple is legally married -- reciting their vows during a November ceremony in Washington, D.C., and signing a state marriage certificate.
read more here
Some Spouse Clubs Deny Membership to Gays
Dec 13, 2012
Military.com
by Amy Bushatz
Out -- but not in: Military club closes ranks to gay wife
By Ashley Fantz
CNN
January 8, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
In North Carolina, Fort Bragg spouse club bars same-sex wife of a lieutenant colonel
The club told Ashley Broadway that without a military ID card, she was ineligible to join
Prominent voices in military circles have rallied behind Broadway
"It's discrimination," says an official with Blue Star Families, a national military family group
(CNN) -- For 15 years, Ashley Broadway has devoted her life to the military and to her spouse, an Army lieutenant colonel.
The former schoolteacher found a new job and made new friends each time she had to relocate bases, including a move to South Korea. When a deployment to the Middle East separated the couple, Broadway took care of the couple's young son, Carson, on her own. Now at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and with a second child on the way, Broadway wanted to settle down and get to know more spouses like herself.
So she applied for membership to the Association of Bragg Officers' Spouses.
"I thought, 'Here's a chance to make some close friends who would really understand me,'" Broadway said. "And I could get very active in events that help other families like mine. I was excited, really excited, to be a part of this group."
But the Bragg spouse club apparently didn't feel the same way. Broadway's married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack. The officers' spouse club didn't want her, she believes, because she's gay.
Shortly after Broadway applied, the club called her to say it had new membership rules. If she didn't have a military ID card, she couldn't join.
The couple is legally married -- reciting their vows during a November ceremony in Washington, D.C., and signing a state marriage certificate.
read more here
180 Discharged due to their homosexuality get rest of severance pay
Deal Restores Severance Pay for Discharged Gays
Jan 08, 2013
Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Dozens of gay and lesbian former military service members who were discharged due to their homosexuality will receive the rest of their severance pay under a settlement approved Monday by a federal court.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the $2.4 million settlement covers more than 180 veterans who received only half of their separation pay under a policy that went into effect in 1991, two years before "don't ask, don't tell" became law.
Laura Schauer Ives, the managing attorney for the ACLU of New Mexico, called the settlement a "long-delayed justice."
"There was absolutely no need to subject these service members to a double dose of discrimination by removing them from the armed forces in the first place, and then denying them this small benefit to ease the transition to civilian life," she said.
A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, said the Defense Department is aware of the settlement and "will, of course, continue to follow the law, as well as the terms of the agreement."
The case was filed in 2010 by the ACLU on behalf of former Air Force Staff Sgt. Richard Collins of Clovis, N.M. He was honorably discharged in 2006 after two civilians who worked with him at Cannon Air Force Base reported they saw him kiss his boyfriend in a car about 10 miles from the base.
The decorated sergeant was off-duty and not in uniform at the time.
read more here
Jan 08, 2013
Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Dozens of gay and lesbian former military service members who were discharged due to their homosexuality will receive the rest of their severance pay under a settlement approved Monday by a federal court.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the $2.4 million settlement covers more than 180 veterans who received only half of their separation pay under a policy that went into effect in 1991, two years before "don't ask, don't tell" became law.
Laura Schauer Ives, the managing attorney for the ACLU of New Mexico, called the settlement a "long-delayed justice."
"There was absolutely no need to subject these service members to a double dose of discrimination by removing them from the armed forces in the first place, and then denying them this small benefit to ease the transition to civilian life," she said.
A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, said the Defense Department is aware of the settlement and "will, of course, continue to follow the law, as well as the terms of the agreement."
The case was filed in 2010 by the ACLU on behalf of former Air Force Staff Sgt. Richard Collins of Clovis, N.M. He was honorably discharged in 2006 after two civilians who worked with him at Cannon Air Force Base reported they saw him kiss his boyfriend in a car about 10 miles from the base.
The decorated sergeant was off-duty and not in uniform at the time.
read more here
Sunday, December 30, 2012
After The Kiss Brandon Morgan Interview
Dec 28, 2012
This February began with one of the most iconic photographs of the entire year, that of USMC Sgt.. Brandon Morgans welcome home kiss with boyfriend Dalan Wells....a photo that has come to be synonymous with the end of DADT. Well we had the incredible fortune of being able to sit down with Brandon and Dalan and to to get their point of view on how that photo has affected their lives and whats in store for their future.
This February began with one of the most iconic photographs of the entire year, that of USMC Sgt.. Brandon Morgans welcome home kiss with boyfriend Dalan Wells....a photo that has come to be synonymous with the end of DADT. Well we had the incredible fortune of being able to sit down with Brandon and Dalan and to to get their point of view on how that photo has affected their lives and whats in store for their future.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Was soldier killed over wife's lesbian affair?
The saddest part of this is the story will end up getting plenty of attention from people who would not care otherwise.
Army sergeant shot, killed in Iraq after discovering wife’s lesbian affair – now dad is on case
EXCLUSIVE: Kevin Green — whose son LaShawn Evans was shot in the head on Valentine’s Day 2011 after discovering that his fellow soldier wife was having a lesbian affair with another officer — has filed papers in Brooklyn Federal Court demanding the preservation of cell phone and text messages from devices belonging to Evans.
BY JOHN MARZULLI
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2012
Kevin Green — whose son LaShawn Evans was shot in the head on Valentine’s Day 2011 after discovering that his fellow soldier wife was having a lesbian affair with another officer — has filed papers in Brooklyn Federal Court demanding the preservation of cell phone and text messages from devices belonging to Evans; his wife, Florinda Evans, and LaShawn’s mother-in-law from Jan. 1, 2011, to Sept. 1, 2011.
“I made my son a promise that I would honor him and fight till I know what happened,” Green told the Daily News.
The Army initially ruled Evans’ death a suicide, but the crime was reclassified as a murder six months later. That’s where the investigation remains.
read more here
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Military Couples And Families Project Gay Warriors
'Gay Warriors,' Tatjana Plitt's New Photo Project, Documents Military Couples And Families
Posted: 12/20/2012
A stunning new photo project is offering an intimate glimpse at a post-"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" world.
Australian-born artist Tatjana Plitt has documented nine same-sex couples as part of her "Gay Warriors" series. Plitt, who is now based in Washington, D.C., hopes her project will expand to a full-scale touring exhibition and book featuring at least 50 same-sex couples.
read more here
Posted: 12/20/2012
A stunning new photo project is offering an intimate glimpse at a post-"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" world.
Australian-born artist Tatjana Plitt has documented nine same-sex couples as part of her "Gay Warriors" series. Plitt, who is now based in Washington, D.C., hopes her project will expand to a full-scale touring exhibition and book featuring at least 50 same-sex couples.
read more here
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Not so good defense bill of 2013 for troops when you read more
This bill includes gay marriages in states where it is legal but no chaplain will be forced to do it, which seems like good news. What does this do when gay military people are transferred to installations in states where gay marriage is not allowed? It covers abortion for military women when the crime of rape or incest is the "means of conception" and strengthens criminal investigations. What does this do when no one is charged as has happened too many times before?
But it also includes this from none other than Todd Akin,
2013 defense bill has good news for troops
Army Times
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Dec 18, 2012
The 2013 defense policy bill approved Tuesday by congressional negotiators has mostly good news for service members, blunting Defense Department efforts to raise Tricare drug co-pays and neutering a proposed commission to recommend the reform of compensation and retired pay.
A final vote on the compromise National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 could come as early as Thursday in the House of Representatives, and by Friday in the Senate, sending the measure on for President Obama’s signature.
The $633.3 billion bill, covering the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, includes some landmark personnel changes, including having the government pay for abortions for service women in cases of rape and incest, and strengthening criminal investigations and prosecution for rape and sexual assault. It also tries to balance policies related to gays in the military.
Missing from the final bill is Stolen Valor Act legislation that would allow criminal charges to be brought against anyone who profits, directly or indirectly, from lying about military service or military medals received for valor. House and Senate negotiators were unable to reach agreement on details of exactly what acts should be a crime and how to punish the acts, aides said.
read more here
But it also includes this from none other than Todd Akin,
"In May, the House approved a version of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that includes a religious "conscience clause" authored by Akin. The measure purported to protect the religious liberties of service members by preventing them from being punished on the basis of their religious beliefs "concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality." The provision is broad, and LGBT rights supporters fear it would permit discrimination against gay and lesbian service members.
Under Akin's proposal, a service member could cite his or her religious beliefs on homosexuality for refusing to serve alongside gay and lesbian colleagues, or for treating them differently from everyone else. For example, a service member could object to being housed in the same facility as someone who is gay or lesbian.
Akin says this provision is necessary to prevent service members from "being persecuted for their views," but the language could allow the persecution of service members on the basis of their sexual orientation."
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