Texas Military Forces Takes Positive Steps to Address Continuing Issues of Processing Same-Sex Military Spouses for Federal Military Benefits

WASHINGTON - March 25, 2015 – On Friday, March 13, 2015, three same-sex military couples were denied assistance by the federal military identification card enrollment center at Camp Mabry, the headquarters of the Texas Military Forces (TMF), near Austin, Texas. All three couples were told by the center's employee that they would not be provided service because their marriages were not recognized by the state of Texas, regardless of the fact they were seeking federal military benefits.

After intervention by representatives of the American Military Partner Association (AMPA), the Texas Military Forces clarified that those couples should not have been denied assistance and subsequently contacted one of the couples for a priority appointment to enroll them for their benefits and ID card.

However, on March 18th, AMPA learned of another member who had been denied service in updating his marital status at two different Texas National Guard locations. Since this seemed to contradict earlier assurances by a Camp Mabry spokesperson that budget cuts and a "fairly new" clerk were the cause of the earlier issues, AMPA again reached out to officials at Camp Mabry, who promised a thorough and immediate inquiry into the situation.

AMPA President Ashley Broadway-Mack issued this statement after a debriefing yesterday by Camp Mabry officials: "We are extremely pleased at the manner in which Texas Military Forces leadership has stepped up and immediately addressed these issues when brought to their attention. We are satisfied that they have now determined the underlying causes and are taking appropriate steps to correct the situation, not only for our service members who were recently denied service, but for all LGBT service members and their families who will need service in the future. We applaud the leadership of the Texas Military Forces for taking ownership of this issue and for working collaboratively with us in ensuring our members are treated with the dignity and respect that all military families deserve."

The TMF determined there had been a failure in communicating the appropriate rules and procedures to all personnel statewide involved in benefits processing. Although many involved in the process were properly educated, there was still a gap in the communication and training of some others. Having now identified that there are some personnel who were not properly trained, a statewide training session has been scheduled for later this week.

Additionally, TMF has promised to proactively reach out at the unit level to all personnel who were initially denied service and to promptly process their marital benefits.

For more information about the American Military Partner Association and LGBT military families, please visit our home on the web at www.MilitaryPartners.org.

The American Military Partner Association, a non-profit and non-partisan organization, is the nation's largest organization for the partners, spouses, families, and allies of America's LGBT service members and veterans. Based in Washington DC, AMPA is committed to education, advocacy, and support for our modern military families."