The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is suing the federal government on behalf of eight same-sex couples who are former or current members of the military. The lawsuit seeks for same-sex couples the same benefits, support, and recognition as heterosexual couples in the military - according the Associated Press. The suit also claims the federal Defense of Marriage Act violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples.
Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, tells the Stars and Stripes:
The Pentagon does not to offer the same benefits to same-sex couples as heterosexual married couples in the military because to do so would violate the Defense of Marriage Act. In addition, 39 states have laws or constitutional amendments which forbid state agencies from recognizing same-sex couples as married.
