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U.S. Senate confirms Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary
The U.S. Senate has voted to confirm Chuck Hagel to be the nation’s next defense secretary. The vote Tuesday was 58-41, with four Republicans joining Democrats in backing President Barack Obama’s nominee.
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House, Senate bills aim to equalize benefits for same-sex military families
A pair of bills introduced in the U.S. Congress this week would change the definition of “spouse” in four areas of U.S. Code related to recognition, support, and benefits for married service members and veterans, in an effort to provide key military benefits for same-sex spouses of gay service members.
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AFA livid that same-sex partners of service members may be buried at Arlington National Cemetery
The Pentagon’s recent decision to extend certain benefits to the same-sex partners of service members following the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has provoked the ire of the American Family Association, which is upset that they may now be eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
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Panetta announces extended benefits to same-sex military families
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on Monday announced he will extend to nearly the full extent permitted under current law the benefits available to gay and lesbian service members and their families.
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Panetta poised to extend benefits to same-sex military families
WASHINGTON – U.S. officials said Tuesday that outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is poised to extend some benefits to the same-sex partners of military members.
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Hagel pledges to move ‘expeditiously’ on benefits for gay troops
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel has pledged to “move forward expeditiously” on the issue of extending partner benefits to gay service members if confirmed for the role as defense secretary.
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Same-sex military couples still struggle for recognition, despite DADT repeal
RALEIGH, N.C. — Sgt. Karen Alexander fought for her country in Iraq, but back home she often feels the U.S. Army is fighting against her. Married to another female soldier with a 4-year-old son, Alexander is denied the same housing allowance and other family-friendly benefits she would be entitled to if married to a man. […]
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Advocacy group seeks information in Fort Bragg club’s refusal to admit same-sex spouse
WASHINGTON — A leading advocacy group for LGBT service members and veterans announced Thursday it had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request at Fort Bragg, N.C., seeking to obtain documents and correspondence relating to an officers’ spouses club’s refusal to admit a same-sex spouse. The request by by OutServe-SLDN centers on the exclusion […]
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Air Force sergeant discharged under DADT to participate in inauguration
A former U.S. Air Force sergeant, who was kicked out of the military in 2002 and eventually went to work for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” will be one of eight featured “citizen co-chairs” of President Barack Obama’s inauguration on Monday. The “citizen co-chairs” role was created to highlight Obama’s first-term accomplishments with […]
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Hagel commits to extending partner benefits to gay troops
Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has committed to extending partners benefits “permissible under current law” to gay service members as part of attempts to allay concerns among Democratic senators about his potential performance as Pentagon chief. In a letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Hagel responds to queries the California Democrat apparently expressed on issues […]