A trio of lawmakers are now pushing legislation that formally recognizes LGBTQ+ Americans and same-sex couples under Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) marriage law for spouses or surviving spouses of veterans.
U.S. Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL), Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) and Rep. Kaiali'i Kahele (D-HI) are all leading the charge.
Kahele tweeted on March 3, "We must remove discriminatory definitions of marriage to honor and support our LGBTQ veterans. Today, Rep. Marie Newman, Rep. Mondaire Jones and I introduced the Supporting All Veteran Families Act to finally establish marriage equality in the VA’s guiding statute."
Even as same-sex marriage has been a basic right across the country since 2015, present VA statute continues to define a veteran's spouse as “a person of the opposite sex who is a wife or husband.”
Known as the Supporting All Veteran Families Act, the proposed measure seeks to change what’s viewed as discriminatory language and further ensure same-sex married couples are always treated the same as opposite-sex married couples and entitled to the same VA benefits.
"As public leaders in our nation, each of us has a moral obligation to ensure that all LGBTQ+ veterans and their families receive the hard-earned benefits they deserve for protecting us and serving our country honorably,” Newman said, according to Kahele's website. “The time to remove this discriminatory language is long overdue, which is why I am proud to partner with my colleagues on this critical legislation that will clarify that supporting LGBTQ+ veterans and their families is the official, written policy of the VA.”
Jones says his hope is that top government officials will do what they’ve done before when similar issues have arisen.
“From repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' to ending the trans military ban, our federal government has taken much-needed steps to protect our LGBTQ+ veterans, but we can't stop there,” Jones said, according to Kahele's website. “I'm proud to co-introduce the Supporting All Veteran Families Act to finally ensure same-sex marriages are formally recognized under VA marriage law. LGBTQ+ veterans risked their lives to protect our country, and they deserve the benefits they’ve earned to support themselves and their loved ones after their service.”
Back in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court established that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) discriminated against same-sex couples and that the VA must treat all married couples equally.
Over the last decade, same- sex veteran couples have been allowed to receive spousal benefits that include pensions, benefits, VA home loans and medical coverage, even though Congress has never enacted legislation to formally update VA statute to reflect the court’s verdict.