department of personnel

The U.S. Department of Justice will no longer defend laws that prevent legal same-sex spouses of military personnel from receiving the benefits available to opposite-sex spouses.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the U.S. military can no longer enforce the "dont ask, don't tell" policy. The panel ruled that DADT must be lifted immediately and cited the recent Department of Justice brief in Golinski v. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in which the government said, “gay and lesbian individuals have suffered a long and significant history of purposeful discrimination.”

In a new memo a senior Pentagon personnel official warns service members against coming out despite a federal judge's order barring further enforcement of "don't ask, don't tell." Under Secretary of Defense for personnel and readiness Clifford Stanley, who on Thursday filed a declaration to U.S. district judge Virginia A. Phillips in support of a stay of her injunction against DADT, wrote that service members "altering their personal conduct in this legally uncertain environment may [face] adverse consequences."

11 Firsts: Major Milestones After The Repeal of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell'

The Department of Defense issued new orders via email late Thursday afternoon informing all five branches of the military that they must comply with an injunction ordered by a federal judge  on enforcement of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” according to a Pentagon spokeswoman. The guidance came more than 48 hours after Judge Phillips initially placed the injunction on the policy – too late for gay veterans like Omar Lopez, who were anxious to reenlist when they first got wind of the policy’s suspension.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech to LGBT personnel Wednesday in which she remarked upon developments that have helped diversify the American diplomatic corps and advance human rights priorities within U.S. foreign policy over the past two decades.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is being urged to start expanding all benefits and recognition to the families, partners, and spouses of gay members of the military. Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network wrote an open letter to Panetta, calling for immediate action to expand such benefits, as the one-year anniversary approaches of the Defense Department issuing its guidelines on "don't ask, don't tell" repeal.

He's the same officer who tangled with out CNN anchor Don Lemon last week, and Lemon brought to light the video of the cop's speech.

John Berry, the highest ranking gay official in the Obama administration, tells The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld in an exclusive interview that the Obama administration hopes to "secure secure passage of Hate Crimes this coming week,"which would provide protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The leaders of the Fort Bragg Officers' Spouses Club have announced that they will review their rules, which prohibit same-sex spouses of officers, at their next board meeting next month.

The House of Representatives Thursday voted 248-175 for Rep. Virginia Foxx's amendment to the 2012 defense authorization bill restating the Defense of Marriage Act, one of three antigay measures proposed Wednesday as amendments to the bill. Rep. Dan Burton, of Indiana, introduced two other amendments to the defense spending bill Wednesday. The first would prohibit federal funds from being used to facilitate civil unions or marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples, as outlined by DOMA. The other would prevent the military from providing training on "don't ask, don't tell" repeal to personnel in combat zones.

While some of us in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are still holding our breath and, perhaps, even stomping our feet about the lack of an out cabinet member in Barack Obama's administration, the number of openly LGBT appointees, while scarcely two dozen, is actually scores more than we've ever seen before.

But federal laws make some married same-sex couples ineligible for certain Social Security and veterans' benefits, explains a new report.

Maj. Gen. John Nichols directed state-run facilities to refuse to process same-sex benefits, citing to conflicts with Texas's constitution.

The Department of the Navy is being asked to intervene in a case where the wife of a Ship’s Serviceman First Class was told that she could not be honored at her spouse's retirement ceremony because of the Defense of Marriage Act.