Continuing the Fight Against Discrimination in the Military
My father has served in the United States Armed Forces for 31 years. I have moved to different states and countries growing up and enjoyed the benefits of being a military “dependent.” This term applies to children and spouses of servicemembers.
We are granted military identification cards, which give us access to all bases and posts around the world, as well as the amenities like the commissaries, post/base exchange stores, gas stations and movie theaters for example. This helps make living in foreign countries on overseas duty stations easier, whenever we want a taste of America.
Most importantly we have medical, dental and housing benefits provided for us. This is especially helpful when we live in other countries. We don’t have to pay for housing and moving expenses every time we’ve had to uproot our lives and get transplanted elsewhere. I have never taken a moment of this for granted, but it saddens me when I consider the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) service members whose partners do not receive many of these benefits.
People in the United States armed forces are prepared to go to war so other Americans don’t have to. I feel it’s discriminatory to deny same-sex couples the same rights and privileges that other service members’ dependents receive.
Here are some recent milestone dates concerning LGBTQ rights: July 24, 2011 is the date same-sex couples were legally able to get married in New York City. September 20, 2011 was the date that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed. Indeed rights concerning LGBTQ people in America has come a long way, but there we still have a long way to go.
Now that LGBTQ soldiers can openly serve, their partners don’t have these benefits, but they might be able to have some of them soon. On February 11, former Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta extended some military benefits to spouses and partners of LGBTQ service members that could be in effect by August 31.
While this is a great step forward in equal rights, I hope all of the benefits can be granted, especially medical, dental, housing allowance and death benefits. However the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, is still a preventative obstacle.
DOMA, signed by Bill Clinton in 1996, has denied same-sex couples federal rights and benefits that heterosexual couples receive. Currently, no marriages of same sex couples are legally recognized as service members because they are technically federal employees. In order for all the military dependents benefits to apply to spouses and partners of LGBTQ service members, DOMA would have to be repealed.
This sounds like a lot of jumping through hoops and untangling the web of discriminatory laws. It’s often said that “history repeats itself,” and because America has faced many human rights issues, and progressed towards equality, it should only be a matter of time before this most current aspect of equal human rights sees a triumph. I certainly hope so.
Charlotte is majoring in Journalism + Design at Eugene Lang College and graduated high school in Bamberg, Germany. Her father is a soldier so she grew up moving around a lot. Outside of her interest in journalism, she is an aspiring novelist & screenplay writer who dabbles in acting. Charlotte loves reading, writing, road trips, red wine, videogames, music, sketch comedy and tennis.
