KENTUCKY: Gov Caves, National Guard Spouses To Get Federal Benefits

From the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Despite Kentucky’s ban on gay marriages, Gov. Steve Beshear has decided to allow spouses of gay National Guard members to apply for federal marriage benefits. Kentucky Adjutant General Edward Tonini recommended the state follow Defense Department policy and a U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, and Beshear affirmed it, said Kerri Richardson, the governor’s spokeswoman. “They’re service members applying for benefits, so we give them to them,” said Lt. Col. Kirk Hilbrecht, a Guard spokesman. So far, five states — Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi — have defied Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s order that gay spouses be given the same federal benefits as heterosexuals.