Texas Caves On National Guard

Via press release from Lambda Legal:

After increasing pressure to follow U.S. Department of Defense guidelines, the Texas Military Forces today allowed Lambda Legal's client, Alicia Butler the wife of 1st Lt. Judith Chedville to register for federal military benefits at Camp Mabry. "We are thrilled for Alicia and Judith who just wanted to take steps, like all military families, to access critical support networks and benefits provided to families of servicemembers," Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Paul Castillo said. "Texas Military Forces implements a host of federal benefits programs for all National Guard units in the state and it should be no different for married same-sex couples."

In September, Lambda Legal submitted a letter urging the commanding officer of the Texas Military Forces to abide by U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) guidelines and allow married same-sex military couples to register for federal benefits at any military base in the state. Since that first contact, Lambda Legal has engaged in continued aggressive advocacy at all levels to urge this result. I am so pleased to have this spousal ID card and begin to access a range of benefits," Butler said. "My wife served our country and our family needs support like all military families."

The American Military Partner Association reacts:

“We applaud the Texas Military Forces for changing course and the Department of Defense for making sure this issue is resolved in Texas," said Stephen Peters, president of AMPA. "All military spouses, regardless of orientation or gender, deserve to treated with the same dignity, respect, and support for their sacrifices in support of our nation, no matter what state they serve in. We urge the remaining states who have not yet complied with Department of Defense policy to do so quickly and affirm their commitment to all military families."

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.

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 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."

SAN ANTONIO: Openly Gay Disabled Iraq Vet Eric Alva Booed By Christian Protesters At LGBT Rights Forum

Openly gay USMC veteran Eric Alva was the first American soldier injured in the Iraq War and anti-gay Christian protesters actually booed him when he spoke yesterday in support of San Antonio's proposed LGBT rights ordinance. Via the Dallas Voice:

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.

Image via Dallas Voice.

REPORT: Gay US Soldiers In Afghanistan Are Using Craigslist For Hook-Ups

The wingnut-o-sphere is outraged about an Army Times report that gay US soldiers deployed to Afghanistan are using Craigslist to hook up with each other.  Military investigators are busting those caught.

Agents with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Afghanistan are tracking service members who are hooking up in the war zone via Internet sites such as Craigslist and busting those who violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice. And in Afghanistan, where commanders haveforbid any sexual encounters between unwed people, virtually anyone who tries to set up a meeting online can become a target of investigators. One Marine lance corporal found that out in 2012, after he posted an advertisement on Craigslist for a sexual rendezvous. The guy he met at Camp Leatherneck, whom he thought was also looking to hook up, turned out to be an undercover agent with the NCIS. Sexual activities in a war zone are as old as wars themselves, but with the advent of Internet personal ads and social media sites, arranging a sexual encounter can become brazen, public and risky. Warnings from commanders, standard guidance for any unit headed to the war zone, appear to have fallen on deaf ears in many cases.

Britain's Daily Mail tabloid has posted lurid screencaps from several of the Craigslist postings.  Here's what could happen to those caught:

Online sex solicitation is technically not a crime under the UCMJ. However, commanders have the right to enact regulations that make it a punishable offense. “Soliciting for sex on community-oriented websites such as Craigslist is not per se a chargeable offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” wrote Erin Stattel, a press officer for International Security Assistance Force headquarters, in response to emailed questions from Marine Corps Times. “However, posting pornographic images on a public web or social media site is a chargeable offense. Excerpt: General Order 1.15.f states ‘creation or display of any pornographic or sexually explicit photograph ... is prohibited.'" Other chargeable offenses under the UCMJ include adultery, prostitution and pandering, which violate General Article 134. But commanders downrange are also prosecuting service members, on a case-by-case basis, under a different section of General Article 134 that bans conduct “to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces.”

A spokesman for the NCIS refused to say if investigators are entrapping soldiers by posting ads themselves.

Engaged

The gay Marine whose homecoming kiss went globally viral last year has gotten engaged to his boyfriend.  Via Towleroad, here's the video of Brandon Morgan popping the question. From the clip's description: "The sound is bad, but what I was saying was 'with the repeal of DOMA or not, will you do me the honor of spending your life with me?'"

Letter To A Gay WWII Soldier

Posted yesterday to Upworthy via Hypervocal which notes: "The pro-gay magazine, ONE, first published the letter in 1961 and the original is supposedly preserved in the Library of Congress."