Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wants to make it perfectly clear: states don’t have the right not to deny marriage benefits to same-sex military personnel. In a strongly worded remarks delivered at an Anti-Defamation League dinner, Hagel displayed frustration and anger at the games some states are playing with National Guard personnel. Nine states will not allow those personnel to apply for marriage benefits at state National Guard offices, instead forcing them to travel to federal sites, often hours away.
“This is wrong,” Hagel said. “Not only does this violate the states’ obligation under federal law, their actions have created hardship and inequality by forcing couples to travel long distances to federal military bases to obtain the ID cards they’re entitled to.”
Hagel said that he is instructing the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Frank Grass, to “take immediate action to remedy this situation.” Grass will meet with the adjutants general for the nine states and tell them that they “will be expected to comply” with Pentagon policy.
The problem is that the adjutants generals work for the governors, so the question will be where their loyalties lie: with the military or with the person who can boot them out of their job. The states involved: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. If you’re keeping tabs, that’s eight Republican governors and one Democrat (West Virginia) in name only.
How about we take this to the next level?
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MR
“…states don’t have the right not to deny marriage benefits to same-sex military personnel.”
Um, it looks like maybe you have one too many negatives in there, guys. What you meant to say is, “…states don’t have the right to deny….”
Figure “not deny” pretty much equates to “allow,” so “states don’t have the right to allow,” flips back to “states do have the right to deny.” Kill the “not.”
Will L
Actually, if you’re familiar with Mary Fallin, we really have seven Republican governors, one Democrat, and a blonde bimbo.
Caleb in SC
Governor Nasty Nikki Haley from my state will dig in her taxpayer paid for heels and try to pander to the extreme right. She is up for re-election after all.