Despite what DoD officials told Congress last year, gay and lesbian families will have access to on-base housing, a Military.com story reported Friday.
The distinction is in how they get it. According to DoD officials, having a gay or lesbian partner will not qualify personnel for sponsored housing and other spousal benefits (since the federal government does not recognize their union as “marriage”). But those who have dependents, such as children, do qualify for housing just like any other servicemember, the story says.
DoD sought input from spouses on this issue via a survey in August of last year. (Did any of you take that? I didn’t receive one). At the time, an advocacy group for homosexual servicemembers put out a memo saying the survey was pointless, since DoD had already said housing wouldn’t be an issue.
From the story:
"The question does not belong in a survey on the potential impact of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to begin with because repeal does not create federal recognition of same-sex marriages – a requirement for qualification for on-base family housing," the memo says. "Troops with partners, girlfriends, or boyfriends, even if long-term, are not given on-base housing. This question is both misleading of the survey taker, in that it suggests that repeal would permit gay and lesbian couples to live in on-base housing, and wholly unnecessary in a survey on the impact of repeal, because this scenario would not be a result of repeal."
No, the repeal does not permit gay and lesbian couples to live in on-base housing by virtue of that fact alone. But it does allow those with children to do so openly.
There are several sides to this issue, many of them not about how we feel about homosexuality (such as parents faced with explaining sexuality to their children earlier than they would have liked).
Since DoD already brought it up for our discussion, what do you think about this policy change coming into your on-base neighborhood after all? Take our poll.
Please note: SpouseBUZZ doesn't dabble in politics. Politics and military policy do intersect, and when that happens, we try to keep the focus on how (or if) the policy will affect the daily lives of military families. Please refrain from political attacks on a party, person or each other.
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