Gay Ca. Veteran Sues Over Denial of Benefits
This is exactly the issue that changed me from a proponent of same sex civil unions to a full supporter of same sex marriage and equal rights to benefits. It’s fundamentally wrong to abuse the rights of same sex spouses this way. Saddest about this is that under current law they can’t be buried together if the federal burial option is used for Tracey after MS takes her life. I don’t believe you are pro family if you support laws like that.
A gay Army veteran and her wife sued the federal government on Wednesday after they were denied military benefits granted to straight spouses.
The lawsuit announced in Washington involves a 12-year veteran of the Army, Tracey Cooper-Harris. After leaving the Army she married Maggie Cooper-Harris in California in 2008. Two years later, Tracey Cooper-Harris was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and she has received disability benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a result. But her application for additional money and benefits that married veterans are entitled to was denied.
The couple’s lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Los Angeles, argues that a federal law and military policy that resulted in the denial of benefits are discriminatory and unconstitutional.
If the couple were straight they would receive about $125 more a month in disability payments as a result of Tracey Cooper-Harris’ illness, which has no cure. In addition, Maggie Cooper-Harris would be eligible for approximately $1,200 a month in benefits as a surviving spouse after her wife’s death. The pair would also be eligible to be buried together in a veterans’ cemetery.