ACLU Responds to DOJ Announcement That Same-Sex Spouses of Veterans Will Receive Federal Benefits

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WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today it will no longer enforce language in Title 38 of the U.S. code that restricted the awarding of spousal veterans benefits to opposite-sex marriages only. This will allow for legally married gay and lesbian spouses of military veterans to collect the same federal benefits that opposite-sex couples are entitled to.

“The continued unwinding of discrimination against legally married couples in the aftermath of the Windsor decision is a welcome development,” said James Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. “The federal government is right to ensure that legally married couples, where a spouse has served valiantly in the military, are treated equally. Federal protections that come with marriage should apply to all who are married.”