Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

DADT and Same-Sex Marriage

This past week, the California Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that same-sex marriage is constitutionally protected in nation’s most populous state. This is of course a tremendous victory in the fight for equality. But walking down the aisle can be an exercise fraught with risks for an important segment of the population – lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LBG) service members. When gay Californians go off to Iraq or Afghanistan, and hope to marry their loved ones before they depart or upon their return, they put their careers at risk…. Marrying (or attempting to marry) someone of the same sex is considered “homosexual conduct” under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The law not only requires service members to be discharged for saying they are gay, and for engaging in gay “acts,” like kissing and hand-holding, it also requires that service members be discharged for “marriage or attempted marriage” to someone of the same sex. SLDN has spoken to numerous service members who have already been impacted by other marriage, civil union, and domestic partnership laws throughout the country. We have warned them that while we don’t expect the military to go trolling for evidence of these publically recognized same-sex relationships, someone could use these public records to out them under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In addition to the threat of malicious outings, there are other, unforeseen risks that will continue to affect lesbian, gay and bisexual service members. For example, this past year, one client who contacted us was married to someone of the same sex. Her unit was demanding that she fill out paperwork that would establish her marital status, and she was afraid that if she honestly answered the questions, she would out herself and lose her job as a result. We ultimately gave her advice on how to honestly and safely fill out the paperwork in question. With same sex marriage rights growing from coast to coast, there is no doubt that these and other difficult questions will continue to arise. It is unfortunate that she, like others affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” is being asked to risk her life for her country while at the same time risking her job simply for marring the woman she loved. -Aaron Tax

Labels: civil unions, DADT, marriage

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05-21-08