Holder won't block military, vet benefits for same-sex couples
The U.S. Justice Department said Friday it will cease defending legislation that prohibits same-sex couples from receiving military and veterans benefits, according to an article by the Huffington Post.
The Obama administration's position was outlined in a letter Attorney General Eric Holder sent Friday to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Huffington Post stated. Citing existing legislation, Holder wrote there is "no rationale for providing veterans' benefits to opposite-sex couples of veterans but not to legally married same-sex spouses of veterans."
Holder's said a section in the Defense of Marriage Act and provisions of Title 38 of the U.S. Code that govern veterans' benefits are "unconstitutional when applied to same-sex married couples," the Huffington Post reported.
At issue, according to the Huffington Post, again quoting the Attorney General, are benefits such as "medical and dental benefits, basic housing allowances, travel and transportation allowances, family separation benefits, military identification cards, visitation rights in hospitals, survivor benefits and the right to be buried together in military cemeteries."
