According to a report this week from
American Forces Defense Service, nine states are defying a Department of Defense directive instructing National Guard facilities to issue new ID cards to same-sex spouses. The new IDs will allow them to obtain spousal and family military benefits in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's
decision striking down Sec. 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. Indiana, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia, however, are requiring their National Guard members to go to a federal military base if they want to obtain the new ID. In a speech (
full text) to an Anti-Defamation League Dinner on Thursday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in part:
... [A]ll spouses of service members are entitled to DoD ID cards, and the benefits that come with them. But several states today are refusing to issue these IDs to same-sex spouses at National Guard facilities. Not only does this violate the states’ obligations under federal law, but their actions have created hardship and inequality by forcing couples to travel long distances to federal military bases to obtain the ID cards they’re entitled to.
This is wrong. It causes division among our ranks, and it furthers prejudice, which DoD has fought to extinguish, as has the ADL.
Today, I directed the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Frank Grass, to take immediate action to remedy this situation. At my direction, he will meet with the Adjutants General from the states where these ID cards are being declined and denied. The Adjutants General will be expected to comply with both lawful direction and DoD policy, in line with the practices of 45 other states and jurisdictions.
