PO2 Jerrel Revels, proposes to his boyfriend, Dylan Kirchner earlier this week
Also Offering Leave For Same-Sex Marriage
August 14, 2013
Gay spouses of service members and Pentagon civilians will begin receiving military benefits by Sept. 3 as long as they have a valid marriage certificate, the Defense Department announced Wednesday, clearing up months of confusion over the policy.
Same-sex spouses and immediate family members will have access to military health insurance, on-base grocery and retail stores, housing allowances and all other benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.
In addition, the Pentagon will allow up to 10 days of leave for gay service members to travel to one of the 13 states that permit same-sex marriage to get married if they are stationed more than 100 miles from one of those states.
The news comes nearly two years after the Pentagon ended “don’t ask, don’t tell,” its longtime ban on open homosexuals — and just in time for gay service members like Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jerrel Revels, who proposed to his boyfriend, Dylan Kirchner, this week when his submarine, the USS New Mexico, docked at Groton, Conn., after a six-month deployment.
Read more here: The Washington Times
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