Yes, rumors are flying that President Obama will repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. What happens when lesbian and gay personnel may serve openly, though, but will still not receive the support for their spouses and children to which other servicemembers are entitled?
I explore that question in my column this week for 365gay.com. I can’t crosspost yet, but you can go have a read.
In related news, Paulie Milagros Shreck wrote a piece for COLAGE about being the daughter of a lesbian servicemember. The Topeka Capital-Journal also carried a story last week about a mother and lesbian who was recently dismissed under DADT. NPR carried the story of a straight mother who re-enlisted in the Army in order to get medical treatment for her disabled son. It says a lot about the healthcare system in our country that she was forced to do this—but I also have to note that if she was a non-biological lesbian mom, her son would not have had military medical coverage in the first place.
(Since all of the armed services have dress blue uniforms, and thinking about the inequities faced by LGBT servicemembers makes me feel blue, this post will be my entry for the “Something Blue” day in the Freedom to Marry blog carnival hosted by The Other Mother.)