Earlier this summer, Corporal Ashley Vice and her civilian girlfriend, Jaime Murphy, were busted by the Marines for entering into fraudulent marriages in order to secure military housing allowances reserved for heterosexual married servicemembers. Vice, along with Corporals Jeremiah Griffin and Joseph Garner–who married the two women—was officially discharged from the Marines on Monday, and subject to $5,000 in fines and confinement in an unannounced location for three months.
It’s a tricky situation all around. Clearly the Armed Forces policy about granting housing allowances discriminates against gays and lesbians, even those in states where they can legally wed. But is fraud the answer?
Even if you allow that economic hardship forced Vice into marrying Griffin for the $1,200 monthly stipend, was it necessary for Murphy to get married as well? It’s estimated the women netted somewhere in the neighborhood of $75,000. (Though they may have had to split that with their “husbands.”)
When does circumventing an unjust system become flat-out greed?
How about we take this to the next level?
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Greenluv1322
I applaud them for this sham marriage. I think the charges should have been dismissed.
Joe in Savannah
If gays were allowed to have the same benefits, this wouldn’t be an issue. My ex of 5 years was in the army, and I know first hand that this is not at all uncommon. Many homosexual service members have partners, but are forced to live in the barracks, because in the eyes of the military, they are single. If they could wed and live off base with their spouce, then they would, but they, again, are forced to lie about it, and use the system to secure the rights that should be theirs from the get go.
A.W. Moll
It IS a tough topic. On one hand, she shouldn’t be defrauding the government. On the other, the government shouldn’t be marginalizing her to a point where she has to do this.
Katt
Let’s see them discharge all the hetero-sham-marriages. You know the ones with husbands banging hookers in every 3rd world country they visit. The ones who married out of high school, but secretly loath each other. Those seem a bet less worthy of benefits, you think?
JAW
If you do the crime… be ready to do the time.
WAS
Good point, Katt. How does military define a ‘fraudulent marriage’? Many couples marry for financial reasons, so why shouldn’t these two? Is the military now going to go around policing everyone’s bedrooms? If so, they’ll have plenty more of such ‘fraudulent’ marriages on their hands, only most of them will be straight couples.
Cam
So Queerty has now..
Written TWO articles sympathetic to Marcus Bachman,
Tried to minimize bullying’s effect in suicide,
Stopped writing any articles about the Catholic and Mormon churches pushing for anti gay laws.
And now, called two lesbians, who were just trying to get the exact same benefits that they would be entitled to if DOMA didn’t exist SHAMS. These women, were in a committed relationship and yet are prohibited from the military benefits so you call them greedy for just trying to get what ANY other couple can get.
If I didn’t know better, I would think that the Mormon Church has made a deal with Queerty to subtly undermine gay rights.
the crustybastard
The employment benefit is only available to married people. The people who wanted to qualify for the benefit got married. What’s the problem?
The benefit doesn’t require the married people love each other with a singular adoration and enjoy a robust sex life, does it? No. Again, what’s the problem?
The problem is that homosexuals managed to qualify for benefits reserved for heterosexuals.
The question is why an employee’s sexual identity is the prerequisite for qualifying for employment benefits when it’s unrelated to job performance.
Ultimately, continued discrimination against gay employees and this specific outcome is precisely what President Obama wanted by choosing to pursue the appeal of LCR v Gates and enacting the “legislative repeal.”
It’s unforgivable.
Cam
@the crustybastard:
Bingo!
And the writers at Queerty would have figured that out if they didn’t seem to take such glee in anything lately that they can write to make gays look bad.
jason
I think this further proves that women fake their sexuality, something I’ve said all along. A lot of women think I’m misogynistic for saying it but I don’t resile at all from saying it. The proof’s in the pudding.
You see this fakeness in many, many aspects of female behavior. From the way they wear stilettoes to fake their height, from the way they wear make-up to make themselves look younger, from the way they fake their interest in women to titillate sleazy straight guys…the list goes on and on. The fakeness of females will eventually kill the gay rights movement.
This is why I keep saying that the gay rights movement must remain a male-centric movement. Keep in mind that a lot of homophobia is, in addition to being a form of opposition to male homosexuality, a form of hatred of males. A lot of homophobia thus comes from females who envy the physical and intellectual superiority of males.
DavyJones
@the crustybastard: @Cam: Fraud is fraud. If you enter into a marriage fraudulently, just for the money. That is fraud and there are criminal consequences. There are specific legal requirements that the government must meet to show that a marriage is fraudulent, and it seems in this case they met them.
This is a very similar case to heterosexual marriages where one partner is a non-citizen who marries an American just to stay in the country. If the government can prove that the marriage is a fraud, the non-citezen gets deported and the American gets fined/put in jail. Straight or Gay, marriage fraud is fraud.
The fact that DOMA therefore military spouse benefits are discriminatory is an entirely different issue. Obviously it should be addressed and fixed, but if you do something illegal (even in protest of something unjust) you still have to pay the consequences of your illegal actions…
AxelDC
Has Queerty been bought up by NOM or the LDS Church? The fraud is that gay relationships are outlawed by Federal law. When the laws are unjust, people have to work around them to live ordinary lives. Stop criminalizing gay relationships and gays won’t be criminals.
Cam
@DavyJones: said…
“@the crustybastard: @Cam: Fraud is fraud. If you enter into a marriage fraudulently, just for the money. That is fraud and there are criminal consequences. There are specific legal requirements that the government must meet to show that a marriage is fraudulent, and it seems in this case they met them.”
_________________________________
This is the same thing people said when blacks weren’t allowed to vote. “It doesn’t matter if the law is bigoted, you BROKE that law by attempting to vote.”
DADT is gone, this couple married others to get the exact same benefits that the military says married couples are entitled to. You are acting as if they stole money that they were not entitled to. If you believe that gays should be allowed to marry then you must believe they are entitled to these benefits. If you do not believe that, then you are a bigoted troll.
Shannon1981
@AxelDC: I’d like to know the same thing. This isn’t greed, nor is it fraud. It is two women taking what is theirs in the only way they know how.
Shannon1981
@AxelDC: I’d like to know the same thing. This isn’t greed, nor is it fraud. It is two women taking what is theirs in the only way they know how. Why is Queerty suddenly into pacifying bigots and justifying their outrageous views and actions?
Shannon1981
@jason: physical and intellectual superiority of males? And you are not misogynist, how?
the crustybastard
@DavyJones:
They entered into a marriage to enjoy the benefits of marriage. That’s not a fraud — that’s the #1 reason people get married.
And for the record, I have no problem with Americans entering marriages with foreigners so the foreigners can stay in the US, provided that’s what the American wants. Again, these are people who entered a marriage for the purpose of securing a benefit that’s only available to married people. Not a fraud.
There’s no law that you must be in love with the person you marry. Nor should there be.
Liberty means you’re probably not going to approve of what everybody else is doing.
Fortunately, you’ll get over it.
Erik
What?!
Our government wants all gays and lesbians to enter into sham marriages. Since the federal government restricts “marriage” to a man and a woman, if you are gay, any marriage you are party to is a sham.
It’s hypocrisy to encourages it, but then say it’s illegal.
Erik
What?!
Our government wants all gays and lesbians to enter into sham marriages. Since the federal government restricts “marriage” to a man and a woman, if you are gay, any marriage you are party to is a sham.
It’s hypocrisy to encourage it, but then say it’s illegal.
tallest
Umm… wait 2 women… married 2 men… and the military kicked them out for swinging? that’s what it looks like to me. Legal, hetero marriages gathering the stipend check for legal hetero marriages. Just because the women were sleeping together, having a lesbo extramarital affair.
Roxxy
Everyone is forgetting that the military investigates hetro sham marriages all the time. It’s not really all that uncommon people just dont talk about it.
EC
It’s amazing that the straight male Marines could even see that the military was bigoted. How is it that people on Queerty don’t? The female Marine worked just as hard as any other but was not allowed to marry or receive marriage benefits. Clearly, the military has worked out many angles to punish gay and lesbian service members. In a fair, decent and EQUAL society she should have been able to marry her partner and receive the same benefits as heterosexuals.
grayson
@Greenluv1322: agreed, Las Vegas wouldn’t exist without them
grayson
@JAW: but when you’re gay you’re supposed to get a pass otherwise it’s discrimination and you’re a bigot.