30 Days of Pride!
June 1: The McLaughlin Plaintiffs
In October 2011 Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) announced the filing of landmark federal litigation, suing U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, on behalf of current and former service members seeking equal recognition, benefits and family support for equal sacrifice and service in the U.S. Armed Forces. The plaintiffs, each legally married, want the armed services to recognize their families and seek the same family support and benefits for their same-sex spouses that the services and Department of Veterans Affairs provide to opposite-sex spouses.
The case, filed in the District of Massachusetts, challenges the constitutionality of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), as well as provisions in Title 10, Title 32, and Title 38 of U.S. Code, which preclude the military from providing same-sex married couples with the same benefits and family support as their straight, married peers.
Together, the plaintiffs represent 159 years of military service; serve in the Army, Air Force, Navy and National Guard; and as couples, have been together for a total of 79 years.
Currently, federal law requires the military to ignore these marriages and, therefore, prevents it from providing vitally needed benefits to these legally married spouses, including housing; health care; surviving spouse benefits; the issuance of military identification cards; and morale, welfare, and recreational programs.
Major Shannon L. McLaughlin, ARNG
MAJ Shannon McLaughlin, lead plaintiff in McLaughlin v. US, is a United States Army Major in the Massachusetts National Guard and serves as a Judge Advocate General (JAG). Her current military assignment is Chief of Legal Assistance for the Massachusetts Army National Guard. She has served for 13 years and is married in the State of Massachusetts to her partner of more than three years, Casey McLaughlin. They are the proud parents of eighteen-month-old twins, Grace and Grant. MAJ McLaughlin has been mobilized and deployed overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and served stateside in various roles during her military career as a JA. Prior to becoming an officer, MAJ McLaughlin attained the rank of Sergeant as an enlisted soldier.
Captain Steve M. Hill, USAR
CPT Steve Hill is an Army reservist with 18 years and recently returned from a deployment to the Middle East. He is also a veteran of Operation Desert Shield. He is married to Joshua Snyder, his partner of more than a year, and they reside in Columbus, OH, where CPT Hill is the director of the Columbus Public Health WIC Program for Franklin County. CPT Hill drew national interest in September 2011 when he submitted a video via You Tube that was used during the Fox News/Google Republican Presidential Debate in September to question the candidates about the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and was booed by members of the audience.
Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan
CW2 Charlie Morgan currently resides in New Hampshire, where she is married to her partner of more than 14 years, Karen Morgan, a part-time special education teacher, whose primary responsibility is caring for their four-year old daughter Casey Elena. With more than sixteen years of service, she now works full time as an Active Guard Reserve Education Officer in the New Hampshire National Guard. In 2010, she was deployed to mobilization training at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, followed by Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, before returning home to New Hampshire in August 2011. Karen’s lack of spousal recognition means she is unable to gain access to health and dental insurance, causing the family to purchase it at full cost with no discount. In addition, her inability to receive a military identification card prevents her from taking their daughter, who is a dependent with her own ID card, on post to take advantage of facilities and services otherwise available to families. CW2 Morgan is a cancer survivor who recently has been diagnosed with recurrent cancer. She worries every day that if her health takes a turn for the worse, her military survivor benefits will not be conferred.
Lieutenant Gary Ross, USN
LT Gary Ross has served in the U.S. Navy since 1995 and is currently assigned as the Combat Systems Officer in U.S.S. Anchorage (LPD 23). As the Combat Systems Officer, Ross is the Department Head responsible for Force Protection, Combat Communications Division, Combat Electronics Division, Combat Guns Division, and Combat Missiles Division. He married his partner of more than 11 years, Dan, in the State of Vermont at 12:01 a.m. on September 20, 2011 as the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” took effect.
Lieutenant Colonel Victoria A. Hudson, USAR 
LTC Victoria A. Hudson has served in the U.S. Army Reserve for more than 32 years, including four years enlisted service. She is a veteran of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Joint Endeavor (peace enforcement mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina), two Operation Noble Eagle domestic tours of duty following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., and one tour in Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. She has held a variety of command and staff positions including military intelligence company commander, civil affairs company commander, brigade operations officer (G3) and two battalion commands. She is married to her partner of ten years, Monika Poxon, and they live in Hayward, CA, with their daughter.
Airman First Class (A1C) Daniel Henderson, USAF
A1C Daniel P. Henderson joined the U.S. Air Force in November of 2010 and is currently stationed in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he works as a member of the 90th Security Forces Group, providing continuous security for the 90th Missile Wing’s most vital assets. The mission of the 90th SFG includes the protection of F. E. Warren AFB, 15 Missile Alert Facilities (MAFs) and 150 Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) on constant 24-hour alert throughout a 9,600 square-mile area spanning three states. The 90th SFG also sustains a combat-ready force deployable worldwide in support of wartime and peacetime tasks. He is married Jerret Henderson, his partner of more than 3 years. They plan to start the adoption process within the next few years and become parents.
Captain Joan E. Darrah, USN (Retired)
CAPT Joan E. Darrah joined the Navy in 1973 and served as a Naval Intelligence officer until her retirement in 2002. Her assignments included Deputy Director of the Human Resources Directorate at the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Intelligence Community Senior Detailer and Community Manager at the Bureau of Naval Personnel. From June 1997 until July 2000, she was assigned as the Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander at the Office of Naval Intelligence. Her final assignment was on the staff of the Director of Naval Intelligence where she was the Officer and Enlisted Community Manager. She is married to Lynne Kennedy, her partner since 1990, and they live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Colonel Stewart Bornhoft, USA (Retired)
COL Stewart Bornhoft served in the U.S. Army from the time of his West Point graduation in 1969 until his retirement in 1995. He completed two tours of duty in Vietnam before serving in Europe for three years and commanding two districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In his final tour of duty, COL Bornhoft was the Director of Public Works at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, during which time he was called to Oklahoma City by the Commander of the Third Army to be the Secretary of the Army’s Defense Coordinating Officer on-site during the rescue and recovery efforts following the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in April 1995. He is married to Stephen McNabb, a former Navy Lieutenant with eight years of active duty service and his partner of 15 years, and they live in Bonita, CA.
