Pentagon

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Attorney General’s office has declined to offer an opinion on whether the Florida National Guard can process benefits enrollment for the spouses of gay troops on state facilities.

WASHINGTON — A ranking Republican member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said this week that a newly revised Pentagon policy granting marriage leave for gay service members “legally fails to fix the issue of giving same-sex couples a special benefit.”

AUSTIN, Texas — The commander of the Texas National Guard is asking the state’s attorney general for a legal opinion about whether he can process applications for military benefits for same-sex couples under a Pentagon directive even though gay marriage is banned in Texas.

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas National Guard is refusing to process requests for benefits submitted by same-sex couples because of the state constitution’s definition of marriage.

WASHINGTON — Same-sex spouses of military members will be eligible for the same health care, housing and other benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex spouses starting Sept. 3, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is poised to extend health care, housing and other benefits to the same-sex spouses of military members by the end of August, but may reverse earlier plans to provide benefits to gay partners who are not married.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the Supreme Court’s decision declaring the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional is an “enormous triumph” for equal protection under the law for all Americans.

ARLINGTON, Va. — In his first appearance at a Pentagon LGBT Pride Month event, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday honored gay and lesbian service members, calling them “integral to America’s armed forces.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will speak at the Pentagon’s Pride event next Tuesday, June 25, honoring gay and lesbian service members.

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.