The Pentagon Will Grant Gay Families In The Military Equal Benefits

Brian JonesAug 14, 2013, 06:11 IST

Reuters/US Navy PhotoPetty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta (L), assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), kisses her partner Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell, following the ship's return to homeport after a three-month deployment in the Caribbean, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in this handout photograph taken and released on December 21, 2011The Pentagon will announce tomorrow a plan to extend all military benefits to same sex couples, an unnamed source told NBC News.

The changes will grant military members leave explicitly to travel to states where gay marriage is legal, and also allow same-sex couples base housing privileges.

This after the June Supreme Court decision that declared the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law.

The 5-4 ruling removed the final hurdle for a full recognition of gay marriages just two years after congress repealed, "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," and allowed gay and lesbian troops to serve openly.

NBC says the latest move could go into effect as early as Sept. 3.

Same sex couples were granted partial benefits, including survivor benefits and access to things like base grocery stores and other facilities, in early June even before the DOMA repeal, by order of then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

The Pentagon Will Grant Gay Families In The Military Equal Benefits