WASHINGTON – Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced today that same-sex spouses of active members of the military will begin receiving protections that were previously denied to them, including the issuance of military identification cards, access to family support initiatives, and joint duty assignments.

The Secretary noted that the Pentagon was doing what it could, within the constraints imposed by the discriminatory so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, said the Pentagon took a step in the right direction.

SAN DIEGO -- The locally based Military Acceptance Project (MAP) will be represented today (June 26) at the Pentagon's first-ever LGBT Pride event.

MAP members said they were startled to get an email invitation to attend the event in Washington, D.C., just days after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the Pentagon would hold such a celebration.

The email, according to MAP officials, acknowledged MAP’s “critical role in making milestones like this possible” and requested official
attendance of MAP representatives at this historic event.

WASHINGTON – The nation’s leading LGBT groups today praised the Pentagon’s decision to allow military chaplains to perform wedding ceremonies where they are legal and if such ceremonies are consistent with their religious traditions.

The Department of Defense today clarified this policy just days after the implementation of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Supporters are calling this an important step to preserving the religious freedom of military chaplains and removing discriminatory barriers for America’s troops.

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon will obey a California appeals court order for a worldwide ban on military discharges under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" (DADT), the Army Times is reporting today.

The news was welcomed by Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.