Texas Guard turns away same-sex spouses

Equal rights advocates were angered Tuesday to learn Texas was one of possibly two states whose National Guard offices refused to process requests for federal benefits now given to same-sex military couples.

On what otherwise was an uplifting day for gay spouses, many posting photos on social media of their first military ID, others were turned away from state offices in Texas and Mississippi.

“Overall, this is a happy day. But it makes you wonder why only Texas and Mississippi are not letting them apply for benefits,” said Chad Reumann, San Antonio-area representative for the Human Rights campaign.

Maj. Gen. John Nichols, adjutant general of Texas and commander of Texas Military Forces, issued a policy memo Friday that said extension of benefits announced last month by the Defense Department clashed with the Texas Constitution and state Family Code.

Because of the “potential conflict,” Camp Mabry in Austin and other state facilities cannot enroll same-sex families “until we receive clarification,” he wrote.

Joedy Yglesias, a gay man and chief petty officer in the Navy, said members of the Texas Guard have actively supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and should not have been turned away Tuesday, the first day same-sex military spouses could apply for benefits.

“It's a sad day for Texas,” the San Antonian said. “It's unfortunate that they waited until the last minute to put out the information. It's a slap in the face to be denied benefits that you were expecting.”

Because of a 2005 state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the “union of one man and one woman,” Texas law appears at odds with a Pentagon policy extending benefits to same-sex couples, Nichols wrote.

The health care, housing and other benefits are retroactive to June 26, when the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

Texas Military Forces said same-sex spouses of members of the Texas Army National Guard and Texas Air National Guard can enroll for federal benefits at 20 U.S. military sites statewide.

More Information Same-sex couples will get military benefits

Brent Boller, spokesman for Joint Base San Antonio, confirmed same-sex couples can apply at Randolph, Lackland and Fort Sam Houston.

Their marriage has to have been recognized in the District of Columbia or one of 13 states that allow same-sex marriage.

“All federal installations in Texas are issuing those,” Boller said, referring to U.S. military identification cards and the federal benefits system.

But the reluctance to provide registration at state offices may not bode well for the likelihood of state benefits being extended to same-sex spouses of Guard troops and veterans in Texas.

Even at the federal level, the Veterans Affairs Department has fought lawsuits to avoid expanding its benefits, arguing it defines a spouse as a person of the opposite sex.

In Texas, the state provides educational, employment and survivor benefits for veterans' spouses. Reumann said same-sex couples here are on a learning curve, trying to gauge the impact of a Defense Department policy change that has entered “uncharted territory.”

Retired Army Lt. Col. Nancy Russell, a San Antonio veteran and former president of American Veterans for Equal Rights, said everyone who fights wars should have the same eligibility.

“We shouldn't have different sets of rules for people,” she said.