Updated May 20, 2013
On a related note, Colorado began recognizing civil unions at midnight on Wednesday in accordance with a law signed by the governor last month.
As one of his last moves in President Obama’s Cabinet, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta extended certain benefits to same-sex couples in the military. Among the benefits are access to family support initiatives and joint duty assignments. Yet even with this action, the federal Defense of Marriage Act prohibits gay service members and their families from accessing more than 100 other benefits, including burial rights at national cemeteries and on-base housing. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a court case challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act next month.
AAUW believes that no American should be denied the full range of civil rights and civil liberties due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. AAUW is committed to freedom in the definition of family and a guarantee of civil rights in all family structures.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for February 15, 2013.