Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Gay Ca. veteran sues over denial of benefits

    By JESSICA GRESKO | Associated Press – Wed, Feb 1, 2012

    WASHINGTON (AP) — A gay Army veteran and her wife sued the federal government on Wednesday after they were denied military benefits granted to straight spouses.

    The lawsuit announced in Washington involves a 12-year veteran of the Army, Tracey Cooper-Harris. After leaving the Army she married Maggie Cooper-Harris in California in 2008. Two years later, Tracey Cooper-Harris was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and she has received disability benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a result. But her application for additional money and benefits that married veterans are entitled to was denied.

    The couple's lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Los Angeles, argues that a federal law and military policy that resulted in the denial of benefits are discriminatory and unconstitutional.

    If the couple were straight they would receive about $125 more a month in disability payments as a result of Tracey Cooper-Harris' illness, which has no cure. In addition, Maggie Cooper-Harris would be eligible for approximately $1,200 a month in benefits as a surviving spouse after her wife's death. The pair would also be eligible to be buried together in a veterans' cemetery.

    "We're only asking for the same benefits as other married couples. We simply want the same peace of mind that these benefits bring to the families of other disabled veterans," said Tracey Cooper-Harris at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday.

    During her military service, Cooper-Harris helped take care of drug and bomb-sniffing dogs. She met her wife, a former teacher, when the two played on opposing rugby teams in California. They now live in Pasadena, Calif.

    The military has recently become more tolerant of gay service members. In September it ended its 18-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy and began allowing gay and lesbian service members to serve openly.

    But the Pentagon has said that a federal law enacted in 1996 that defines marriage as the legal union between a man and woman prohibits the military from extending benefits to the partners of gay service members, even if they are legally married in certain states. The Defense of Marriage Act is being challenged in a number of court cases, including one by military service members filed in Massachusetts in October. Those service members were suing over a wide range of benefits that married couples receive. The Obama administration has said it will not defend the law in court.

    The telephone message seeking comment from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday was not immediately returned.

    Same-sex marriage is now legal in six states and the District of Columbia. Tracey and Maggie Cooper-Harris were married in California during a brief window in 2008 when same-sex marriage was legal in the state before residents voted to ban it. Marriages performed before the ban are legal, though no new marriages are currently being performed.

    The couple is being represented by attorneys from the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization, and the law firm WilmerHale.

    ___

    Jessica Gresko can be reached at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko

     

    4 comments

    • tiger
      tiger  •  Chicago, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      That's the way to go, Sue the pants off them. You go girl.
      • Joe Rubbuh
        Joe Rubbuh 3 mths ago
        Pants off? God I hope not. Both of these oyster bumpers are repulsive.
    • Murphy
      Murphy  •  Tucson, Arizona  •  3 mths ago
      Go Tra and Maggie! You are both sweet, wonderful, beautiful, courageous women! You deserve all the rights and benefits due a married service member, and you are heros for putting yourselves out there, fighting the good fight!
    • quip
      quip  •  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  •  3 mths ago
      She served our country for 12 YEARS!
      ...I hope she gets what she deserves.
      Good Luck.
      You're going to need it...
      our Gov is cheap and ungrateful.
    • J C
      J C  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  3 mths ago
      Is the multiple sclerosis a "service related illness or injury" and is Tracy rated at 100% TDIU? If not, her marital partner is not even considered in the benefits. However; Tracy may be eligible for Social Security Disability. Both VAB and SSD is NON-Taxable, netting about $4200 a month. I wish you both the best and hope that your case does set a precedent. There are many straight life-partners (common law) that this could also apply to. Hang in there, keep your head high and you will prevail in your case.
     Post a comment
    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    News For You

    Loading...