Monday, October 8, 2012

“In Sickness & Health” Explores The Terminal Consequences Of DOMA




Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan and her wife, Karen, are the focus of the latest video from The Legal Stranger Project, a multimedia series exploring the stories of same-sex couples hurt by the Defense of Marriage Act. After an arduous tour of duty overseas, Charlie is currently battling incurable stage-four breast cancer. Should she not survive, Karen won’t receive the survivors’ benefits she needs to take care of their 5-year-old daughter, Casey.

The Morgans are currently plaintiffs in a lawsuit sponsored by the Service Members Legal Defense Network that’s challenging  laws like DOMA that prevent the military from providing equal recognition to same-sex military spouses.

“It’s unfathomable to me how anyone could look at the Morgan family and not be moved by this story and see how they’re being treated unfairly,” says SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis. “Here’s a service member, who has risked her life for our nation overseas and now is fighting for her life here at home. She shouldn't be forced also to fight for her family to be recognized, respected, and provided the same support as any of her peers would receive. It’s time to end the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act and treat all service members as first-class Americans.”


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