Posted on 11/02/2013 5:59:43 AM PDT by markomalley
Gov. Rick Perry stood his ground Friday in a showdown with the Pentagon over processing benefits for same-sex couples at National Guard offices, possibly setting the stage for yet another court battle with the federal government.
A spokesman for the governor insisted that the Texas National Guard would not process marriage certificates for same-sex couples, despite an order this week by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to do so.
The chief of the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Frank Grass, met Friday via teleconference with the leaders of eight state Guard organizations that have refused to process paperwork for same-sex benefits. Officials in Texas and Washington weren't disclosing their next moves, but neither side appeared to budge.
“I guess I couldn't be surprised that someone from the Obama administration is trying to force their will onto the states and bypass the state's constitutional authority to govern itself,” Perry spokesman Josh Havens said, adding the governor had “every intent to uphold the Texas Constitution and state law.”
Asked if Texas would go to court, he replied, “I think we have a pretty good track record of defending our state laws.”
The prospect of a court clash involving Texas, which has battled over redistricting, abortion and its new voter ID law, grew larger after Hagel said Thursday night he would ensure that all 54 Guard organizations complied with an Aug. 14 Pentagon edict to begin offering same-sex married couples the same benefits as other married troops.
He told the Anti-Defamation League that the recalcitrant states “will be expected to comply with both lawful direction and (Pentagon) policy.”
So far, Guard organizations in 46 states and jurisdictions, including Puerto Rico, process the documentation. States refusing to comply are Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, West Virginia and Texas, the Guard Bureau said.
Texas cited its state constitution and Family Code in refusing, and it has referred same-sex couples to active-duty installations around the state. So far, fewer than 100 same-sex couples nationwide have sought to obtain IDs for benefits, with the number in Texas under five, according to Guard officials.
Texas defines marriage as between a man and a woman. But the Defense Department this summer said it would issue benefits to same-sex spouses of military members as well as civilian workers after the Supreme Court ruled that part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional.
The Texas Guard's adjutant general, Air Force Maj. Gen. John Nichols, was among leaders from the eight states to talk with Grass. But Army Lt. Col. Joanne MacGregor, a spokeswoman for the Texas Guard, said she did not know the outcome of their conference.
She stressed that no one in the 22,000-strong organization had been denied benefits. However, Guard personnel on five state-operated facilities are barred from uploading a copy of the same-sex marriage certificate into a computer database, a key step required for issuing such military benefits as health care or housing allowances. The Texas Family Code forbids the acceptance of same-sex marriage certificates on state facilities.
MacGregor said the Guard was awaiting an opinion on the matter from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, but it isn't known when it would be released.
Just how Grass and state adjutant generals would solve the quandary wasn't clear, but the Arlington, Va.-based Guard Bureau issued a statement after the conference saying Grass would “employ all means available to ensure that the National Guard is 100 percent compliant” with the policy.
“Soldiers, airmen, and their family members who serve their nation deserve the full complement of benefits they have earned through their service and sacrifice. Nothing less is acceptable,” the Guard Bureau statement added.
Hagel said the Guard organizations refusing to facilitate same-sex couples' efforts to obtain benefits had “created hardship and inequality” by forcing them to travel long distances to federal military bases to submit paperwork.
“It causes division among the ranks, and it furthers prejudice, which (the Defense Department) has fought to extinguish,” he said.
MacGregor, the Texas Guard spokeswoman, said the adjutant general wants all soldiers to be treated fairly.
“I can tell you (Nichols) believes that he wants to take care of all his soldiers, of all flavors, types, and so his goal is provide them with the benefits but not do anything illegal,” she said. “He cannot break the law, and that's what this boils down to.”
There is no doubt that the national authority will prevail as it always does in conflicts with the state. The American people are strongly nationalist in these cases.
God, I love Texas.
Queer marriage is not legal in Texas. Don’t mess with the Texas National Guard, Hagel.
Should start calling this a Sodomitic Union instead of gay marriage.
C’mon Texas! Secede damnit and get this show on the road! The fedgov is out of fricking control.
And if the Supreme Court rules against Texas, will Perry have the cajones to refuse to obey?
There is no such thing as a marriage between homos. Call it what you will...but perverts are perverts are perverts.
“I guess I couldn’t be surprised that someone from the Obama administration is trying to force their will onto the states and bypass the state’s constitutional authority to govern itself,”
If you like your state, you will be able to keep your state. Period.
If you like your sovereignty, you will be able to keep your sovereignty. Period.
No one will take them away. No matter what.
If you like your military, you will be able to keep your military. Period.
If you like your generals, you will be able to keep your generals. Period.
No one will take them away. No matter what.
Germany: Babies can be registered as neither sex
Associated Press – 22 hrs ago
BERLIN (AP) — A new law has gone into effect allowing German parents to register their newborn babies as neither male nor female if they were born with traits of both sexes.
The German Parliament in January approved the law that went into effect Friday. The German Ethics Council, an advisory group, had urged the change to take the pressure off parents to make a hasty decision and possibly commit to surgery immediately after birth, the dpa news agency reported.
The council had argued, among other things, that many people born with both sex characteristics who were operated on as children say they wouldn’t have consented to the surgery.
Parents had previously been required by law to register their children’s name and gender within one week with authorities.
http://news.yahoo.com/germany-babies-registered-neither-sex-151713282.html
Watch...Perry will back down. All hat and no cattle
Perry talks big...but when someone sings a law allowing in-state college tuition for illegal aliens, forced STD vaccinations on little girls, seizing property of Texans to build the NAFTA SuperHighway for the North American Union...he will back down
Why folks fall for Perry’s antics is puzzling. His background and actions in the past are enough to tell me he will not have the stones to carry this out.
Do folks really believe someone who supports Globalism and the North American Union, like Perry does, is going to push for Texas secession over? Wake up people!
Just posted our version here in GA.
The State of Georgia does not recognize same sex marriages and is not authorizing the Georgia National Guard to process the applications for same-sex married benefits at state facilities. Any personnel seeking to apply for same-sex married benefits will be referred to federal facilities.”
Southern Translation of statement to DOD: Go to Hell!
/johnny
“...will Perry...refuse to obey?”
Why bother?
Perry can just copy Hillary and “lose” the “paperwork”.
For YEARS, if necessary.
And if any staffer objects, that staffer can be “Foster-ized”.
“...will Perry...refuse to obey?”
Why bother?
Perry can just copy Hillary and “lose” the “paperwork”.
For YEARS, if necessary.
And if any staffer objects, that staffer can be “Foster-ized”.
Greg Abbott won't. The prevailing hurricane in Texas (think Ted Cruz) is blowing Rinos away.
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