Carmen Cardona, 45, of Norwich, Conn., is a disabled Navy veteran. She's also a lesbian who was just wed to her lover last year in Norwich. Cardona receives disability benefits from Veterans Affairs but when she applied for an increase for her wife, she was denied. VA cited her spouse's gender as the reason.
In a press conference Thursday morning, Cardona announced her intent to take on the ruling. She's filing an appeal with U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. And she hopes to send a message to the federal government that denying her the benefits she earned by fighting for her country simply because of her sexuality and her spouse's gender is discrimination. And maybe do away with a pesky law defining a “spouse” for the purposes of veteran benefits as a “person of the opposite sex who is a wife or husband.”
“We could use the help to pay our mortgage, but this is not only about the money,” Cardona said in a statement. “President Obama is right that [the Defense of Marriage Act] discriminates against gay and lesbian people. There are many other veterans out there just like me. I am standing up and asking to be treated equally in part to let others know they are not alone.”
Sofia Nelson, a law student intern who is on the case, says there are about three million gay and lesbian veterans in the United States. Let's hope Carmen and her wife are just the first in a long line of veterans to come forth and demand equality.
In a press conference Thursday morning, Cardona announced her intent to take on the ruling. She's filing an appeal with U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. And she hopes to send a message to the federal government that denying her the benefits she earned by fighting for her country simply because of her sexuality and her spouse's gender is discrimination. And maybe do away with a pesky law defining a “spouse” for the purposes of veteran benefits as a “person of the opposite sex who is a wife or husband.”
“We could use the help to pay our mortgage, but this is not only about the money,” Cardona said in a statement. “President Obama is right that [the Defense of Marriage Act] discriminates against gay and lesbian people. There are many other veterans out there just like me. I am standing up and asking to be treated equally in part to let others know they are not alone.”
Sofia Nelson, a law student intern who is on the case, says there are about three million gay and lesbian veterans in the United States. Let's hope Carmen and her wife are just the first in a long line of veterans to come forth and demand equality.
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