In an official statement yesterday, the Department of Defense extended a number of additional benefits to same-sex partners of military servicemembers:
Same Sex Benefits Memo
DHS Secretary Napolitano quickly followed suit, saying the Coast Guard would match the benefits to maintain parity with the Dept of Defense.
Over the past few years, many policies have already been revised to allow open designation for certain benefits (like life insurance and death gratuities), which had formerly been restricted to spouse-only. The new benefits, detailed in the memo above, include dependent ID cards, commissary and exchange access, MWR (morale, welfare, and recreation) access, child care, eligibility for emergency leave, and space available travel. Certain key benefits, such as medical coverage and additional monetary housing allowances, are restricted by law to the military member's "spouse", and cannot be extended under current law. Other benefits, such as command sponsorship overseas, base housing, and burial eligibility, are legal to extend to same-sex partners but remain under discussion.
The challenge that DOMA poses to extending full and equal benefits to same-sex military couples is placed front-and-center in this memo. The memo even anticipates DOMA's demise: "In the event that the Defense of Marriage Act is no longer applicable to the Department of Defense, it will be the policy of the Department to construe the words "spouse" and "marriage" without regard to sexual orientation, and married couples, irrespective of sexual orientation, and their dependents, will be granted full military benefits."
The current policy, dancing around DOMA's restrictions, requires that same-sex couples sign a "Declaration of Domestic Partnership" in order to gain eligibility for these enhanced benefits. The Declaration (also available at the above link) states in part, "We are each other's sole domestic partner, in a committed relationship, and intend to remain so indefinitely." Obviously, this creates some gray areas that could be exploited by unscrupulous folks regardless of orientation (certainly there's been abuse of the existing system by opposite-sex couples) - I believe it will be far better for all when we can get rid of DOMA and move toward full equality for all married couples. That also means full rights for all couples regardless of sexual orientation or state residency to be able to marry. When DOMA finally goes away, there are going to be a lot of federally-recognized married same-sex couples who get moved all around the country due to military permanent changes of station, including into states that insist on opposite-sex marriage only. And guess what? The military will still consider them married. Can't wait for that day!
From what I can tell, these announcements have hardly caused a ripple among the troops. The general consensus is, "It's about time." Where's all the chaos the talking heads predicted? Oh yeah, maybe it really is better for the military when they are fully respected, and can serve openly, to the best of their abilities, in an environment free from official discrimination. Here's to full equality!
A few news articles on the subject:
US News & World Report
Reuters
NY Times
Here are two other diaries I could find on the subject:
Ricochet 67's diary
Sneezyone's diary
Update: h/t jpmassar - Reactions from Outserve-SLDN, Human Rights Campaign, and Freedom to Marry here: Reactions