®,F ^Jortlanb (Observer
May 9, 2012
Page 5
Soldier Fights for Equality
c o n t i n u e d f r o m fr o n t
D O M A in court, after the O bam a
A d m in is tra tio n d e te rm in e d th e
policy w as unconstitutional.
But even if D O M A is repealed.
T itle 10 o f the U.S. C ode, w hich
pertains to the A rm ed Forces, d e
fines a spouse as a person o f the
opposite sex and consequently p re
vents spouses o f gay m ilitary m em
bers and veterans from receiving
the sam e m ilitary benefits as their
heterosexual counterparts.
It m eans that even if Sue and
M ichelle w ere m arried in a state that
recognizes sam e-sex m arriages, the
o n e sp o u se p a sse s aw ay , th e o th e r
N ational G uard held a retirem ent sp o u se re c e iv e s th e ir re tire m e n t
cerem o n y fo r Leavy and the other pay fo r the re st o f h is o r h e r life.
O regon soldiers w ho w ere co m p let B ut b e c a u se Sue and M ic h e lle ’s
ing their honorable service.
re la tio n sh ip is not c o n sid e re d fe d
“ I got to introduce M ichelle as erally recognized, M ichelle w ill get
m y w ife. I never thought I w ould see n o th in g , said L eav y .
that day com e in m y m ilitary career,”
F o r th e fu tu re, L eav y lo o k s fo r
she said.
w ard to the d ay h er m a rria g e and
B ut w h en it cam e tim e to h o n o r p a rtn e rs h ip w ill b e co m e re c o g
the sp o u se s o f re tire d m ilita ry , n iz e d by th e m ilita ry fo r e q u al
M ic h e lle ’s nam e w as n e v er called. b e n e fits .
“ M ic h e lle w as su p p o se d to g et
S h e said th e re are o th e rs in the
a sp o u sa l c e rtific a te o f re c o g n i A rm y an d in the c iv ilia n w o rld
tio n ,” sh e said. “ It w as a p p ro v e d w h o h av e th e sam e b a rrie rs and
by th e c h ie f o f s ta ff.”
w an ts. “ I t ’s a sh am e. T h e re is a lot
L e a v y said she w as h u rt w hen o f g re y .”
B ut L e a v y re m a in s h o p e fu l.
“T h e b ig o try is still g o in g to be
th e re , bu t as m o re so ld ie rs sign
up, th e ir v a lu es are g o in g to be
d iffe re n t,” she said . “T h e y d o n ’t
ju d g e . T h e re are so m e th a t do, but
it is no t lik e the ‘old s c h o o l’.”
B o th a g re e d th at it is h ig h ly
u n lik ely gay m arriag e w ill be legal
in th e m ilita ry a n y tim e soon.
“ I ju s t d o n ’t u n d e rsta n d w hy
w ho I lo v e sh o u ld a ffe ct the en tire
n a tio n ,” said M artin .
“ B ut sm a ll step s h a v e b een
m ade,” Leavy said. “O ur partners
can com e to w here you are deployed
and give you a hug and a kiss. But
w e still have a long w ay to g o .”
Steve Sung
Mayor
He makes 6 promises in the voter's pamphlet,
including cutting our sewer bills by 25%.
Portland faces several mega-sized engineering projects,
so more than ever we need a mayor with an engineering
background. Steve Sung has that with 32-years of solid
engineering experience. Vote for him so he can
save tax money, our money.
This ad furnished by the committee
to elect Steve Sung fo r Mayor
www.stevesung-for-mayor.com
Ci'* i&ìgfc.'
photo by M indy C ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
Carol Marquez, M.D.
Michelle Martin and her career-military spouse Sue Leavy are
pictured departing a church after a wedding last year with family
and friends. By law, the couple is in a domestic partnership
recognized by the state o f Washington, but the union is not
recognized by the military or federal government.
federal governm ent w ould still deny
m ilitary benefits to her spouse and
child, like m edical care. O th er b en
efits include retirem ent pay, h ou s
ing assistance, fam ily separation
benefits, and burial in national c em
eteries.
L ast m onth, the O regon A rm y
so m eo n e in c o m m a n d said , ‘N o .’
T h e r e c o g n i t i o n w o u ld h a v e
m ean t so m uch.
“ B ein g th e re , an d at least b ein g
re c o g n iz e d as h e r w ife, I w as o k ay
w ith th a t, k n o w in g th e situ a tio n
an d b e in g re a lis tic ,” M artin said.
In a h e te ro se x u a l m a rria g e , if
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