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Military Issues Discharging Gays Cost Pentagon $200 Million 1/20/2011 - WASHINGTON (AP) — A government analysis says that discharging gay service members cost the Pentagon nearly $200 million from 2004 to 2009. The money went mainly to recruit and train replacements. The Government Accountability Office report says it cost an average of $52,800 per discharge. The totals are estimates because of differences in how the military services compile and report budget data. Congressional investigators say that of the 3,664 service members dismissed for being gay, more than 1,400 held critical jobs or spoke an important foreign language. ================================================================================================= Saturday afternoon, December 18, 2010 we watched with enormous pride as the U.S. Senate passed the stand-alone bill to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," passed by the House earlier this week. After more than 17 years of lobbying, this is a defining moment in the fight for repeal. Gay, lesbian and bisexual service members posted around the world are standing a little taller today, but they’re still very much at risk because repeal is not final. On Saturday the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network respectfully asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to use his authority to suspend all ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ investigations during this interim period. The President has signed the bill, but until there is certification, and until the 60-day Congressional period is over, no one should be investigated or discharged under this discriminatory law. Even with this historic vote, service members must continue to serve in silence until repeal is final. All couples are not created equal in the tax code>>>>go to this link to see the penalties lgbt couples pay:
Marriage is a powerful legal and social institution that protects and supports intimate family relationships by providing a unique set of rights, privileges, and benefits. However, with the exception of Massachusetts and California, same-sex couples are currently denied the right to marry in every state in the United States. Since 2000, PFLAG has had an official policy statement on marriage equality that states its opposition to any attempts at either the federal or state level to introduce constitutional amendments restricting marriage to heterosexual couples, rendering LGBT people second-class citizens. Thank you Judge Walker for overturning Prop 8, disallowing any gay marriages, in California which now permits gay marriages once again starting 8/18/10. Hopefully some gay marriages will be performed before the appeals are filed & the stay is put back in place. Judge Walker determined Prop 8 to be unconstitutional. This whole issue will surely end up in The United States Supreme Court.
Delaware Passes Civil Unions Bill >>> EFFECTIVE DATE 1/1/2012
DOVER -- Delaware's House of Representatives voted 26-15 Thursday night to grant legal status to same-sex civil unions, giving those couples the same rights, protections and obligations now granted only to married couples. The vote followed three hours of debate that covered a wide range of concerns -- some fiscal, some related to family relations, some related to equal access to civil unions for opposite-sex couples. When the vote was announced, the balcony -- filled with supporters of the bill -- erupted into cheers, applause and cries of "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The bill now has been signed by Gov. Jack Markell, who has championed gay rights throughout his public service career. The bill addresses the needs of children and families throughout Delaware, ensuring their protection under the law, he said.  
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