Article: http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/01/us/lesbian-veteran-lawsuit/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1
Cooper-Harris, who served 12 years in the Army, says she wants the same military benefits that a heterosexual married couple would receive.
Cooper-Harris said she was diagnosed in 2010 with multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the central nervous system.
The suit claims that her disease is "service-connected" and she does get disability compensation for it. But Cooper-Harris says she wants to make sure that after she dies, her spouse, Maggie, whom she married in 2008, is taken care of financially.
She also wants Maggie to be buried next to her in a veterans cemetery. These requests were denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the suit says, because "spouse" is defined as "a person of the opposite sex who is a wife or a husband."
The fact that her claim was denied bothers me for a couple of reasons. One is obviously because I believe that they should have the same right to a marriage as, say, me and my husband, or, like, any other hetero couple who wants to get hitched.
The other is because she was in the military for 12 years. I feel like the military is a job many people wouldn't even consider, especially during a time of war, because of the risks that come with it, but she dedicated 12 years of her life to it -- to the U.S. government, which is the exact institution preventing her claim for being approved to begin with. Also, she was in a position where her job was basically to protect the rights and freedoms of the people in this country, and she is getting denied the very same basic rights and freedoms she was dedicated to protecting for others.
The government is really just saying, "Fuck you!" and denying her, when they should be saying, "Thank you!" and helping her out.
And I'm sure this is being applauded by all the fuckhead bigots in this country.
Your thoughts?
ARRR!
