FRC Has The Trans Troops Sadz

"The Pentagon must answer whether this proposed policy makes our military more capable of performing its mission. The answer is a very clear and resounding no. This has everything to do with President Obama’s social agenda for the military, but it has nothing to do with enhancing military readiness. No new science has led to the Pentagon’s transgender study—only the politics of the Obama administration and the transgender movement. Allowing the Obama administration to use the military as a tool of social re-engineering will only undermine morale, unit cohesion, and readiness. It’s time that we allow the military to focus on its only job—defending our country against its enemies." - Family Research Council vice present Jerry Boykin, via press release.

US Army General Introduces His Husband At Pentagon Gay Pride Event

Via the anti-gay Washington Times:

A married Army general on Tuesday introduced his spouse at a Pentagon event that featured lots of top brass, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter as the keynote speaker. What made this seemingly routine introduction noteworthy is that Brig. Gen. Randy S. Taylor introduced his husband, Lucas. “My husband Lucas is sitting up front here,” Gen. Taylor said of the man in the same row as Mr. Carter, Army Secretary John McHugh and other senior officials. He said Lucas has subjugated his own career to support the general’s frequent moves over an 18-year relationship. “We bet everything on my Army career,” said Gen. Taylor, whose 27 years of service spanned an outright ban on gays, then “don’t ask, don’t tell” and finally, the ban’s lifting in 2011. Gen. Taylor was the master of ceremonies for the Pentagon’s 4th Gay Pride celebration that showcases a month of gay-themed posters and history.

(Tipped by JMG reader Adam)

REPORT: Pentagon Set To Add Sexual Orientation As A Protected Class

Via the Washington Blade:

The Pentagon is preparing to update its Military Equal Opportunity Policy to include sexual orientation as a protected class and the change could be made final as soon as the end of next month, the Washington Blade has learned. A senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed late Friday the Defense Department is planning to update the Military Equal Opportunity Policy to add the words “sexual orientation” as part of the non-discrimination policy.

The proposed change is set to be delivered as early as the middle of next week to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter for his review and final approval, the official said. Each of the military services has already agreed to the change, the official said. The planned change follows an internal review at the Pentagon of the Military Equal Opportunity Policy, which the official said lasted about 12 months. Efforts to include sexual orientation in the revision were languishing, but were re-energized after the appointment in April of Brad Carson as under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, the official said.

The Military Equal Opportunity Policy identifies classes of service members that should be protected from discrimination to allow them to rise to highest level or responsibility possible. As it stands, the Military Equal Opportunity Policy includes race, color, religion, age, physical or mental disability, sex and national origin. However, service members as of right now have no recourse for anti-gay discrimination outside of their chain of command.

Ashton Carter To Be Defense Nominee

Carter was Deputy Secretary of Defense from October 2011 to December 2013.  He's thought to be an uncontroversial choice, but you-know-who might try to block the nomination just because.

Pentagon Recognizes LGBT Pride Month

The Department of Defense issued similar flyers in 2012 and 2013 and all three include the word "transgender" despite the continuing ban on transgender service.

WASHINGTON: Pentagon Approves Gender Transition For Chelsea Manning

Via the Associated Press:

In an unprecedented move, the Pentagon is trying to transfer convicted national security leaker Pvt. Chelsea Manning to a civilian prison so she can get treatment for her gender disorder, defense officials said. Manning, formerly named Bradley, was convicted of sending classified documents to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. The soldier has asked for hormone therapy and to be able to live as a woman. The request was the first ever made by a transgender military inmate and set up a dilemma for the Defense Department: How to treat a soldier for a diagnosed disorder without violating long-standing military policy. Transgenders are not allowed to serve in the U.S. military and the Defense Department does not provide such treatment, but Manning can't be discharged from the service while serving his 35-year prison sentence. Some officials have said privately that keeping the soldier in a military prison and unable to have treatment could amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

RELATED: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said on Sunday that the ban on transgender service members "should be reviewed." Ten nations currently permit transgender military service: Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Israel, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

Google Buys Battle Robots Company

Clip description:

Google has purchased the cutting-edge robotics firm which supplies mobile research robots for the Pentagon. The tech giant is keeping secret what it will produce with the acquired technology. Boston Dynamics, an engineering company that designs robots like BigDog, Cheetah, WildCat, and Atlas, is now the eighth robotic company to join Google's ranks in the last six months, the company confirmed Friday, according to The New York Times. The robotics company - based in Waltham, Massachusetts - is known for its fascinating robots that have a sense of balance and can walk and run on almost any kind of terrain.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Declares Victory On National Guard Issue

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel today declared that National Guard units in all states are now in compliance with his directive that same-sex spouses be allowed to register for military benefits. Here is his full statement.

On October 31, I called on the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to work with several states to fully implement DoD policy by providing DoD ID cards to all eligible military spouses, regardless of sexual orientation. Following consultations between the National Guard Bureau and the Adjutants General of the states, all eligible service members, dependents and retirees - including same-sex spouses - are now able to obtain ID cards in every state. All military spouses and families sacrifice on behalf of our country. They deserve our respect and the benefits they are entitled to under the law. All of DoD is committed to pursuing equal opportunities for all who serve this nation, and I will continue to work to ensure our men and women in uniform as well as their families have full and equal access to the benefits they deserve.

Suh-nap.

UPDATE: The ACLU reacts via press release.

This is a welcome announcement, and one that Secretary Hagel deserves credit for making happen. The resistance on the part of some governors on extending these benefits to same-sex couples was a grossly unfair violation of federal law that turned the promise of equal treatment for all military personnel on its head. The ACLU is pleased to have partnered with the American Military Partner Association on a national petition urging the Department of Defense to ensure that same-sex military couples could not be denied equal access to the federal benefits to which they were entitled.

Georgia Caves On National Guard

Via Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade:

Maj. Jon Craig, a National Guard Bureau spokesperson, said Georgia had agreed to process applications to grant same-sex spouses military IDs last week in a decision along the lines of Texas and Louisiana. “With Georgia, what it came down to was the authorization to put some state employees on temporary federal status,” Craig said. Georgia had been one of two remaining states that had refused to enroll the spouses of gay troops into the benefit system in the aftermath of an edict for Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel saying military spousal benefits should be available to troops in same-sex marriages nationwide. These states had cited state constitutional amendments barring same-sex marriage as the reasons why they couldn’t comply.

The final holdout is Mississippi.

LOUISIANA: National Guard Tweaks Rules To Allow Benefits Registration

Via the Associated Press:

National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Kazmierzak said Thursday that federal employees will handle benefit enrollment requests for same-sex couples at Guard sites around Louisiana, so service members don't have to travel to federal military installations for processing. Kazmierzak said the U.S. Property and Fiscal Officer in Louisiana, who handles federal property and federal financing for the state National Guard, will move some Guard employees to federal personnel status to deal with the benefit enrollments. It's an employment classification tweak that allows state officials to say their employees aren't violating a state prohibition of gay marriage, but that also puts Louisiana in line with a Pentagon directive issued in September permitting same-sex benefits for service members.

Equality Louisiana reacts via press release:

This is a great day for married National Guard members in our state, and another small step down the road to equality for all married couples. While the Louisiana National Guard had initially required that LGB service members apply for spousal benefits only at federal installations such as Ft. Polk or Barksdale Air Force Base, the Secretary of Defense has indicated that such a policy illegally creates hardship and inequality for service members in same-sex marriages. Now, in response to the Pentagon’s directive and similar actions taken by other states, the Louisiana National Guard has removed the last remaining barriers to access. Federal funds and personnel will be used to process benefits applications for service members in same-sex marriages, satisfying Louisiana’s constitutional requirements while ensuring that all service members receive equal treatment in the application process.

OKLAHOMA: Gov Denies National Guard Spousal Benefits To ALL Married Couples

GOP Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin today announced that ALL married couples, including straight ones, will be denied marriage benefits at the state's National Guard bases. Last month Fallin threatened to sue the federal government rather than comply with the edict handed down by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

In announcing the decision, Fallin said "Oklahoma law is clear. The state of Oklahoma does not recognize same-sex marriages, nor does it confer marriage benefits to same-sex couples. The decision reached today allows the National Guard to obey Oklahoma law without violating federal rules or policies. It protects the integrity of our state constitution and sends a message to the federal government that they cannot simply ignore our laws or the will of the people." But Hagel has said he will fight the battle to provide equal access to all National Guard families, regardless of sexual orientation. "All spouses of service members are entitled to DoD ID cards, and the benefits that come with them," Hagel said last month. "But several states today are refusing to issue these IDs to same-sex spouses at National Guard facilities. Not only does this violate the states’ obligations under federal law, but their actions have created hardship and inequality by forcing couples to travel long distances to federal military bases to obtain the ID cards they’re entitled to."

Couples who already have their ID cards will continue to be allowed to access benefits. All future applicants, gay and straight, must now travel to a federal facility to get those cards.

UPDATE: I tweeted this post to Fallin and she's responded with the below spin-spin-spin tweet.

Six States Continue To Defy Pentagon On Spousal Benefits For Gay Servicemembers

The New York Times reports:

While a majority of states ban same-sex marriages, most are not fighting the new policy. But Pentagon officials say that in addition to Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia have balked. Each has cited a conflict with state laws that do not recognize same-sex marriages. (A West Virginia official said, however, that the state intended to follow the directive.) While the president has the power to call National Guard units into federal service — and nearly all Guard funding comes from the federal government — the states say the units are state agencies that must abide by state laws. Requiring same-sex Guard spouses to go to federally owned bases “protects the integrity of our state Constitution and sends a message to the federal government that they cannot simply ignore our laws or the will of the people,” Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma said last week.

Officials in the six states claim that they are not literally defying the Pentagon because couples can still obtain the necessary documents on federal bases, some of which are hours away from National Guard locations.

OKLAHOMA: Governor Might Sue To Block National Guard Benefits For Gays

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that he was ordering all National Guard units to comply with Pentagon policy regarding spousal benefits for gay soldiers. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin may go to court to stop him.

Alex Weintz, spokesman for Gov. Mary Fallin, said she “is working with Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to evaluate the legal options available to the Oklahoma National Guard.” Weintz stopped short of saying Oklahoma will refuse to follow Hagel’s order, but made it clear Fallin would not go along with it willingly. “Gov. Fallin is calling on President Obama and Secretary Hagel to stop using the National Guard as a pawn in a larger social agenda,” said Weintz. “The president has made it clear he supports gay marriage. He has the legal authority to order federal agencies to recognize gay marriages. He does not have the legal authority to force state agencies to do so, or to unilaterally rewrite state laws or state constitutions.”

Following Hagel's edict, Indiana's Attorney General agreed to comply. Other states who have not yet done so: Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

Tony Perkins Praises Renegade National Guard Units For Defying The Pentagon

"As we've already seen in places like Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi, not every state is willing to roll over and ignore its own marriage policy. The National Guard offices there have already started bucking the Pentagon and refusing to process requests from same-sex couples for benefits like ID cards and other privileges. Major General John Nichols, the commanding general of Texas Military Forces, made it clear that the state's marriage law comes first. If Guardsmen want to take advantage of the Pentagon's directive, Nichols said they have to enroll at a federal installation. In a letter to local service members, he stood his ground on the Texas Constitution, which only recognizes man-woman marriage. In the end, this new clash between federal and state entities just goes to show why the Defense of Marriage Act was so necessary in the first place!" - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via email.

Department Of Defense Video Tracks Military Couple Enjoying New Benefits

Sometimes it feels like we've moved to a different planet.

OKLAHOMA: Governor Orders National Guard To Deny Gay Marriage Benefits

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R-Duh) is defying the Pentagon and has ordered local National Guard facilities to deny benefits to married same-sex couples.

Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz said the governor was following the wish of Oklahoma voters, who approved a constitutional amendment in 2004 that prohibits giving benefits of marriage to gay couples. "Because of that prohibition, Gov. Fallin's general counsel has advised the National Guard not to process requests for benefits of same-sex couples," Weintz said. "Gay couples that have been legally married in other states will be advised they can apply for those benefits on federal facilities, such as Tinker Air Force Base, rather than state run facilities." After the U.S. Department of Defense began allowing same-sex couples to apply for identification cards and benefits, National Guard officials in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana said they would refuse to process the applications. Like Oklahoma, all three states have gay-marriage bans and are led by socially conservative Republican governors.

A spokesman for the Oklahoma National Guard says that they will now direct applicants to nearby federal facilities. He adds, "We want our soldiers to have all the benefits to which they're entitled to."

Federal Judge Strikes Down Ban Barring Gay Couples From Veteran Benefits

Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed:

A federal judge in California on Thursday found that, as with the ban on federal recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages, federal veterans’ benefits laws that limit those benefits to opposite-sex spouses are unconstitutional. Finding no rational basis for the definitions in Title 38 of the U.S. Code that limit provision of veterans’ benefits to opposite-sex couples, Judge Consuelo B. Marshall found those statutes unconstitutional — echoing the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this summer striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act.

What a week this has been!

FRC Launches Complaint Campaign About Pentagon's "Homosexual Honeymoons"

The Family Research Council has launched a campaign demanding that the Pentagon reverse its plan to allow gay soldiers to take up to ten days leave to get married in another state.  FRC vice president Peter Sprigg this week characterized the policy as an unfair "homosexual honeymoons" plan that discriminates against straight couples. From the FRC Action Center:

This special leave -- only for destination weddings of homosexual couples—is above and beyond the regular annual leave granted to every service member. How much does this cost the American taxpayer? For ten days’ work, a captain (with six years’ experience) earns $1,787.20 in base pay alone – that’s not even accounting for benefits like housing allowance, health care, etc. And this special taxpayer-funded leave is only available for same-sex “weddings” -- heterosexuals need not apply! This special treatment is not required by the repeal of the 1993 law on homosexuality in the military referred to as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell;” it is not required by the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision; and it is fundamentally unequal and unfair. In a time of sequestration and severe cuts to the military, the Pentagon should be in the business of strengthening our troops, not on same-sex “wedding” planning.

Pentagon To Grant Gay Marriage Leave

We heard about this last week and now it's official.

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. The Defense Department had earlier planned to permit same-sex spouses of military members to sign a declaration form in order to receive limited benefits, such as access to military stores and certain welfare programs, according to The Associated Press.

The new benefits could begin as early as next month.

Pentagon May Provide Leave To Soldiers Who Want To Marry In Other States

According to a report issued yesterday by Associated Press, the Pentagon is considering granting up to ten days leave to gay soldiers who need to travel to other states in order to marry.

According to a U.S. official, the memo is under legal review by the Justice Department, and the Pentagon will not be able to take any action until that review is finished. "Although we have bases and installations in all 50 states, not all state laws are equal when it comes to same-sex marriage," a defense official said. "That is why we are looking at providing extra leave for same-sex couples who want to get married to travel to a state where same-sex marriages are legal." The officials were not authorized to discuss the memo publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The AP also notes that on-base housing and health benefits may be offered to the legal spouses of gay soldiers by the end of this month.