Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on
Thursday criticized states that are refusing to process benefits for
gay and lesbian servicemembers.
“This is wrong,” Hagel said in
addressing an Anti-Defamation League audience in New York. “It
causes division among our ranks, and it furthers prejudice, which DoD
has fought to extinguish, as has the ADL.”
“Not only does this violate the
states' obligation under federal law, their actions have created
hardship and inequity by forcing couples to travel long distances to
federal military bases to obtain the ID cards they're entitled to.”
According to the AP, Hagel did not name
the states. However, the Pentagon has named nine: Florida, Georgia,
Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and
West Virginia.
The Pentagon announced in August that
it would recognize the legal marriages of gay troops following a
Supreme Court ruling that gutted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),
which prohibited federal agencies from recognizing such unions.
As of September 3, servicemembers in a
marriage with a member of the same sex could apply for spousal
benefits.
But National Guard bases in several
states refused to process the requests and instead encouraged gay
troops to enroll at bases operated by the Department of Defense.
Hagel said he instructed General Frank
Grass, chief of the National Guard Bureau, to “take immediate
action to remedy this situation.”
Stephen Peters, president of the
American Military Partner Association, an advocacy group for gay
troops, praised Hagel's comments.
“Secretary Hagel has made it clear
the National Guard in these few rogue states are failing to live up
to their obligations to military families under federal law,”
Peters
told the AP. “We applaud him in showing strong leadership by
ordering the National Guard in these states to comply and follow
lawful direction and DoD policy.”