Senate Minority Blocks Same-Sex Marriage Veterans Benefits

[Blue_Tires]

Source: RollCall.com

Updated 3:49 p.m. | A Senate minority successfully blocked an amendment aimed at ending discrimination against same-sex marriage benefits for veterans Thursday.

With the Supreme Court set to rule on gay marriage, 53 senators voted for the amendment sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., seven shy of the 60 needed under the rules. Her amendment would have deferred the definition of marriage for qualifying for veterans benefits to the state where the marriage was issued.

Eight Republicans joined Democrats: Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Susan Collins of Maine, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Rob Portman of Ohio.

Ayotte, Johnson, Portman and Kirk all face competitive reelections in 2016 in states won by President Barack Obama. Ayotte said she supported a similar amendment in the Senate’s budget and that in her opinion, “this is an issue of equal treatment under the law.”

Read more: http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/senate-minority-blocks-same-sex-marriage-veterans-benefits/?dcz=

[DRoseDARs]

1. Rah-rah! We support the troops! ... except the fag ones.

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.

[romanic]

5. Ain't that the truth.

[rpannier]

2. Johnson probably voted for it cause he knew it wouldn't pass

Likely the same with Kirk, Capito and Ayotte. They could claim they supported it while not having to suffer serious fall out from its passage

[SunSeeker]

3. Stupid, misleading headline. REPUBLICANS blocked this.

The Senate Minority are the Democrats. What Roll Call is referring to here is a minority of senators voting on that measure in the Senate, not the Dems. And this "minority" is Republican. Why the euphamisms, Roll Call?

[Behind the Aegis]

4. And some STILL don't realize the trials and tribulations of GLBT in the US.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. Some on DU claim that benefits paid to spouses of veterans are not an economic issue if the veteran

is LGBT. 'Those silly social issues, they really don't matter'.