Since the Supreme Court overturned a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act, many outlets have run news stories about homosexuals obtaining military benefits, some published by the military itself.
The US Army made a point of publishing a press release highlighting that “Same-sex spouses of Soldiers now receiving benefits.” It also reiterated the controversial “gay leave” policy:
Soldiers assigned to duty stations within Read more
The LA Times, repeated in the Stars and Stripes, reports that some homosexuals in the US military have complained they were denied access to the leave to which they were entitled.
The special leave — subsequently renamed an “administrative absence” — for homosexuals to travel to areas they can obtain a marriage license was ordered by the DoD to “level the playing field” with heterosexuals who, presumably, were allowed to marry in the immediate locale of a military facility.
While the repeal of DADT was previously described as a “non-event,” the LA Times now (dramatically) describes the military as struggling with the changes: Read more
The repeal of DADT in the US military was such a non-event that these non-events keep making the news:
Two graduates of West Point are set to become the first men to marry each other at the storied military academy. Larry Choate III, class of 2009, will marry Daniel Lennox, class of 2007, on Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy’s Cadet Chapel.
Homosexual women previously did so, though the “first” event wasn’t as newsworthy as the second.
United Church of Christ Chaplain Cynthia Lindenmeyer, a 1990 West Read more
Senator Carl Levin (D-Ma) and US Rep Adam Smith (D-Wa) have written a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel telling him to “issue further guidance” to state National Guard units who have been declining to process benefit applications for homosexuals.
As has been noted elsewhere, until such units are federalized, they operate under the power of the states — their commander in chief is Read more
The Air Force Chaplaincy recently issued guidance (PDF) on how chaplains should handle a variety of situations regarding homosexuals and chaplains whose theologies do not allow them to support that lifestyle:
Wing Chaplains, talk with the chaplains under your supervision so that you are clear on what each chaplain’s endorser’s expectations are regarding ministry to same-gender couples. Honor those expectations and do not ask a chaplain to do anything contrary to his or her endorsement.
The Air Force appears to be the first service to explain how to handle marriage retreats where a homosexual couple may attend. Speaking to the Air Force “MarriageCare” retreats:
When you advertise a MC retreat, announce the chaplain who will be leading the event and the chaplain’s endorser. If the chaplain Read more
People who are “transgendered” — who believe they are the opposite of their biological gender — remain prohibited from service in the US military. After seeing the success of the homosexual rights movement, however, it should be no surprise to see the “T” in LGBT start to use the same techniques:
Last month, the Chicago-based Palm Center’s Transgender Military Initiative announced it was commissioning 11 studies in a $1.35 million, multi-year project with the specific aim to “inform an important public conversation by providing facts and evidence about how the U.S. armed forces could include transgender troops without undermining readiness…”
One of the studies reportedly funded by the grant will be “Understanding Aspects of Transgender Medical Accommodation and Care in the U.S. Military.” Given that the Palm Center’s goal is to “promote” those lifestyles, the results of those $1.35M studies is probably a foregone conclusion.
Similarly, a Harvard study was published that Read more
The Department of Defense announced it would grant homosexuals “spousal benefits” starting in September.
After a review of the department’s benefit policies following the Supreme Court’s ruling that Section Three of [DOMA] is unconstitutional…, the Defense Department will make spousal and family benefits available no later than Sept. 3, 2013, regardless of sexual orientation, as long as service member-sponsors provide a valid marriage certificate.
Because some homosexual troops might be in Read more
In response to last week’s article highlighting his penchant for alliterative adjective abuse, Michael Weinstein posted a defensive 1,500 word diatribe saying people should cut him some slack. He claims he rants like a foul-mouthed playground bully because he’s trying to save the world [emphasis added]:
What sane person can doubt that anything less than a tooth-and-nail, eye-gouging fight will protect the American people from those both in uniform and [in] the House and Senate who seek to plunge the United States into an end-times war of apocalyptic proportions? Such a worldwide conflagration of combat is precisely what fundamentalist Christian Dominionists see as necessary for ushering in the Second Coming of the Christ, or “Rapture.” They ruthlessly lust for their promised worldwide bloodbath…
The aircraft carriers, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Peacekeeper Missiles*, bunker-busters, nuclear ICBMs, and 2.35 million active duty and reserve personnel…comprise the jewel in the crown that the “Christian Taliban” aims to seize at any and all cost.
There you have it, folks. Weinstein should be granted wide latitude because his noble goal is to save the American people from the crazy Christians in its own military and Congress. (To be clear, this isn’t the first time he’s made this claim.)
And who are these crazy Christians? Read more