New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen introduced legislation this week that would extend military benefits to same-sex military families.
Shaheen says the Charlie Morgan Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act of 2013 is named after the New Hampshire National Guard Chief Warrant Officer who died Sunday.
“As she was dying of breast cancer, she knew her wife and her daughter were not going to be able to get the benefits that she had earned on her active duty and guard service and that’s not right. It needs to change and this legislation is designed to do that.”
The bill would require the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to honor any marriage that has been recognized by a state.
Shaheen says same-sex military families should receive the same benefits as heterosexual couples, such as access to the military health care program.
