Female veteran sues U.S. over denial of full benefits

Female veteran sues U.S. over denial of full benefits
The Pasadena woman, a 12-year Army veteran who served in Iraq, says she was denied full benefits because she is married to a woman. The suit targets the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.


By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times
February 2, 2012
A Pasadena woman who served 12 years in theU.S. Army, including tours of duty in Iraq, filed suit Wednesday against the Department of Veterans Affairs for denying her full disability benefits because she is married to a woman.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles by Tracey Cooper-Harris seeks a ruling that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally discriminates against legally married same-sex couples.

Cooper-Harris, who earned the rank of sergeant and more than 20 medals during her Army service, was honorably discharged in 2003 and married her spouse, Maggie, during the six-month period in 2008 when same-sex marriage was legal in California. The veteran who trained and provided care for military service animals, such as explosives-sniffing dogs, has suffered from post-traumatic stress disordersince returning to civilian life and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2010.

The regional VA medical center determined that Cooper-Harris' illnesses were "service-related" and she has been collecting benefits since the diagnosis but at the lesser rate paid to single veterans. She petitioned the VA for recognition of her spouse as her legal beneficiary but was denied in a letter in August in which the VA wrote that her marriage "is not valid under current federal regulations."
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