Here Are 13 GOP Congressmen Who Oppose Gays More Than Than They Support Our Troops

13 Republican Congressmen have voted against giving spouses of veterans in same-sex marriages benefits equal to those of spouses of veterans in different-sex marriages.

In yet another display that last year’s Supreme Court ruling striking down only Section 3 of DOMA did not go far enough, yesterday 13 Republican Congressmen on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs refused to pass an amendment that would merely have extended equal benefits to spouses of veterans in same-sex marriages.

Those benefits include medical and disability benefits, death and burial benefits, insurance, housing, education, and more.

The Committee is chaired by Jeff Miller, Republican of Florida, and the amendment, which failed in a 12-13 vote nearly across party lines, was sponsored by Dina Titus, Democrat of Nevada. 

“This inequality for those who wore the uniform of the United States armed forces and their families is unacceptable,” Titus said yesterday. 

All Republicans on the Committee, but one, voted against the amendment. The lone Republican supporter of equality was Jon Runyan (R-NJ). All Democrats on the Committee voted in favor of the amendment.

The anti-gay Republicans claimed theirs was merely an issue of states’ rights, not animus.

“Deference to the state is not motivated by hostility, it is motivated by adherence to the Constitution,” Chairman Miller told the Washington Blade. “As such, I believe that it is not appropriate to usurp the states’ power to democratically define marriage for their citizenry — not for personal belief, and not for bureaucratic convenience.”

One notable Republican who voted “no” on the amendment was Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.), who’s considered one of four sitting House Republicans to support marriage equality.

Although he said “the current system is not fair” for gay veterans, Jolly said he couldn’t bring himself to support the amendment because he felt it was non-germane to the larger bill.

One of Congress’ most anti-gay members, GOP Rep. Tim Huelskamp, claimed, “I don’t want the VA or this committee to impose its views on the State of Kansas.” Congressman Huelskamp is pushing a bill that would add a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Congresswoman Titus, after the amendment failed, said, “It makes no sense that legally married soldiers receive benefits while in the military but lose those benefits when they become veterans if they live in the wrong place. Sadly, my Republican colleagues chose no.” 

There may still be long-term hope. The U.S. Supreme Court will likely take up at least one same-sex marriage case this fall. And civil rights group Lambda Legal is suing the Department of Veterans Affairs, “arguing that the denial of benefits to same-sex spouses of veterans living in states that refuse to recognize their marriages is in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision striking down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act.”

 

Jeff Miller (FL), Chairman

 

Doug Lamborn (CO), Gus M. Bilirakis (FL), David P. Roe (TN), Bill Flores (TX), Jeff Denham (CA), Dan Benishek (MI):

Tim Huelskamp (KS), Mike Coffman (CO), Brad Wenstrup (OH), Paul Cook (CA), Jackie Walorski (IN), David Jolly (FL):

 

 

All images official government portraits, via Wikipedia