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Photo courtesy Tracy Johnson
Donna Johnson, left, and Tracy Johnson at their home in Raeford, N.C., in 2012.
When her spouse was killed in Afghanistan, Tracy Johnson drove across town to her mother-in-law’s house — clutching her marriage certificate — so she could hear the Army’s formal notification. No one from the military came to her door.
She later watched as the American flag that cloaked the coffin of her spouse, Donna Johnson, was offered, not to her, but to Donna Johnson’s mother – the next of kin, as U.S. law stipulates. She was denied death benefits, she said, that are standard issue to heterosexual spouses of service members who die in action: free health care, tuition assistance, and monthly indemnity compensation of about $1,200.
And then there was the ring. On Valentine’s Day 2012, Tracy Johnson placed that band on her wife's finger during their marriage ceremony in Washington, D.C. Last October, as Johnson escorted her wife's body home from Dover Air Force Base, the Army asked Johnson to carry the wedding ring, designated as a “personal effect.” After arriving in Fayetteville, N.C., Johnson was obliged, by a federal statute, to deliver the ring to an Army officer who then provided it to Donna Johnson’s mother who, in turn, gave it back to Tracy Johnson. She wears it on her finger today.
“I’m not considered ‘family’ (by the military). I’m not considered a spouse and I’m damn sure not considered a widow, by definition,” said Johnson, an Army National Guard staff sergeant who served in Iraq. “We didn’t marry for any of those benefits. We married out of love.
“And I’m not standing up here, whining: ‘Woe is me.’ We were adults, big girls, and we knew what we were getting ourselves into. But it doesn’t mean I have to stand idly by and see all this happen to somebody else who’s in a same-sex marriage (in the military).”
Johnson's experiences were mandated by the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which defines marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman. The 1996 law — followed by the Department of Defense and all federal agencies — bars same-sex military spouses from benefits made available to the heterosexual spouses of service members: dental and medical insurance, discounted military housing, and military ID cards, which allow spouses to visit on-base commissaries, child-care facilities and movie theaters.
Under DOMA, military leaders were not allowed to officially acknowledge Johnson, who believes she may be the first same-sex spouse to lose a partner to combat following the 2011 repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) — the policy that kept gays from openly serving in the armed forces. (Donna Johnson’s mother specifically asked Tracy Johnson to accompany the body home, allowing her a seat on the plane.) The only federal employee who openly referred to the dead soldier as Johnson's “wife,” was President Barack Obama, who sent Johnson a letter of condolence, she said.
On Thursday, Obama's nominee for secretary of defense, former Sen. Chuck Hagel, told congressional members during a confirmation hearing that he is "fully committed ... to doing everything possible under current law to provide equal benefits to the families of all our service members."
Furthermore, during his inauguration address on Jan. 21, Obama spoke broadly of gay rights, saying: "Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law."
Battle for equality
For now, current law stipulates that, following the military death of a same-sex spouse, the branches first must notify the “primary next-of-kin” — in Donna Johnson’s case, her parents. If U.S. troops list a same-sex spouse on their emergency-contact forms, that spouse eventually will receive word from the military — after the blood family is told.
“It is not like, though, it’s a day or 'x' number of weeks later. It would be almost immediately,” said Nathan Christensen, a Pentagon spokesman. “They (branch officers) would talk to primary next-of-kin first and relay the information. And then, whoever the (other designated person is), they would call them very soon thereafter. So we’re talking minutes or hours as opposed to days, weeks or months.
“DOMA is still the law we uphold. Even though that (DADT) repeal has been taken care of, there are certain benefits that are not applicable across the force,” Christensen added.
But pressure is mounting on the Pentagon and the White House to change that notification policy — and the other gaps in same-sex spousal benefits — by writing an executive order or a DOD-wide regulation.
Same-sex advocacy groups described the Jan. 25 electionof same-sex wife Ashley Broadway as Fort Bragg’s 2013 “spouse of the year” as a mandate to the military to figure out a way to override DOMA. That same day, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama is contemplating how benefits could be administratively extended to the spouses of gay service members, the Washington Blade reported.
'Just like all the other Army wives'
“No military spouse should have to hear second-hand that something has happened to their service member,” said Stephen Peters, president of the American Military Partner Association (AMPA), a Washington, D.C.-based support network for lesbian and gay military families.
"No military spouse should have to watch the flag that is draped over the coffin of his or her service member folded and handed to anyone else,” added Peters, whose husband, Marine Corps Maj. Alasdair Mackay, returned safely in January from a one-year deployment to Afghanistan. “Our families live through the daily fear of worrying about having something happen to their service member while they’re deployed. But we do it without access to the same supports and benefits that other military families get. Our service members, they go to war for our country for equality, yet their families are treated as if they aren’t important, as if they are somehow second class.”
Courtesy of Stephen Peters
Marine Corps Maj. Alasdair Mackay and Stephen Peters were married in New York City during Christmas 2011 before Mackay deployed to Afghanistan.
The AMPA asserts that Tracy Johnson was the first — and only, to date — same-sex spouse to lose a military wife or husband in combat. It's possible, however, that another same-sex spouse suffered that type of tragedy before DADT was rescinded and when members were not open about their sexual orientation — even if they were legally married.
Tracy Johnson was not listed on the emergency notification form that service members fill out, she said. Because DADT had been revoked, Donna Johnson assumed that Tracy would receive the same benefits that are granted to all military spouses — for example, being the first person to be notified by the military should a wife or husband die in combat, Johnson said.
"Donna didn't even realize she had to put me down. She thought I was automatically extended that benefit as her wife — just like all the other Army wives who are the first ones to notified," she said.
'What's right is right'
The point is moot — even if Tracy Johnson was listed, due to DOMA she still would not have been the first person that military officials would have visited in the hours after Donna Johnson was killed.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of DOMA.
Near Fort Bragg, N.C., Johnson holds tight to a fine philosophical line — honoring her wife and the Army while questioning the law. She describes how individual Army members privately treated her “with respect and compassion”, giving her an American flag — though not the same flag atop the coffin — during a private ceremony before Donna Johnson’s funeral. She lauds Donna Johnson’s family for supporting her, insisting that she sit with them in the front row during the memorial service.
But Donna Johnson’s mother, Sandra, is not so charitable with her summary of the events.
“Tracy’s unit supports her, her family supports her, and she was given support by the community itself. Why can’t the federal family be supportive?” Sandra Johnson asked. “I know: It’s the law. But what’s fair is fair. What’s right is right.
“The family is already going through grief. You don’t keep putting a knife in the wound and make it deeper. She’s dead, she’s gone, she can’t be brought back. So why are you treating this family, and treating Tracy, with this indignation?”
Related: Spouses club relents, says lesbian Army wife can be 'full member'
Leave a Comment:
How does gay marriage affect anyone other than the two people getting married? These people have as much right to happiness as anyone else. This woman died for her country and in return all she gets from people here is disrespected. It is shameful.
frivoluus if we have to explain to you all the ramifications of this law it would be useless to tell you because you would not have the intellectual fire power to understand
Check yourself before you try to fight an intellectual battle when you are clearly unarmed. You only had to copy a word or push the spell checker! No doubt you are repeating what others have said to you and if you weren't such a bully you might have my sympathy.
A legal marriage is a legal marriage. This should be an equal rights thing. If the homosexual people of America can fight and die for this country, they deserve the same respect as the heterosexual people. In order to be a true country of equal rights, this needs to be addressed.
She said she is speaking out in the hope that it will make a difference for other couples.
BTW, shouldn't our first concern be that so many people are borderline illiterate? It's "knew," not "new." "Their," not "there."
We are all typing in a hurry, and typos are expected. The eye usually slides past them. But this page is rife with comments from people who either did not, or should not have, graduated from high school. That concerns me a great deal more than same-sex marriage.
Have you noticed the side the least literate take?
what do expect from the public school system?
if they would focus on reading, writing and arithmetic ... instead of other activities
I'm confused. Is everyone gay in America now? That's all they talk about.
who is "they"?
Marriage has now been redefined, which basicly means it can become anything anyone likes it to be.
I don't see that. You still can't marry more than one person, or animals, or children, or inanimate objects.
sorry vermont guy but because of the homos a dude in colorado sued with the aid of the aclu and marriage to a horse is now legal
link? lol.
If you believe that your intelligence is correctly reflected in your ability to write a grammatically correct sentence in English.
75th forgot to mention islamic terrorists and socialists..if you only whine about liberals and homos and the aclu you don't get the full payment!
and truth is not a requirement of course. :)
Education, Including the correct spelling of words is not a reflection of IQ .
Ignorance can be cured with education, Arrogance can not!
The Islamists are not all wrong in their belief that America(the great Satan) is a nation of narcissists, drug using, fornicating, sodomites.
Those would be the people you hang out with?
For all you folks breaking out bible/torah/koran passages, kindly refer to the link provided which clearly illustrates how christianity, muslimism, judaism and a few other religions are all one and the same and based on the same origins - ancient Egypt. DOZENS of religions have many of the same occurrences of miracles, walking on water, virgin births, crucifixions, resurrections after 3 days, etcetera. Anybody who pays any attention to a few of the more "popular" religions must have surely connected a few dots...
Although there are slower paced versions which you can find, this one is compressed into 10.5 minutes of fast-paced and amazingly clear correlation of data of the sun, the moon, the stars, the twelve months and the significance as worked out in the various religions. PLEASE take a chance by copying and pasting this link into YouTube... Great Music, Too! ENJOY!!
I hope it enlightens some readers! ;>)
The Bible teaches God can't sin,but man can,and does in practicing wars,and polluting the
earth,so wars and pollution are not of God.Jesus teaches,God makes His sun to
rise on the evil and on the good,and sends rain on the just and on the unjust,so
all life is precious and sacred to God as all life depends on the sun and the
rain,but in wars life is expendable it isn't as precious and sacred as it is to
God.And pollution can cause the sun to make the earth hotter adding to Global
Warming,and it can cause acid rain destroying things.So if you're against
one,pollution and Global Warming,you should be against the other,wars as
well,otherwise it's hypocritical.And pollution can poison the air,and take away
the breath of life that the Bible says comes from God.Genesis says man is to be
steward of the Earth and so take care of it as it sustains all life.And Jesus
died on the Cross teaching that we are our brothers keeper,but in wars you kill
your brother in mankind.So the Bible teaches that all life is precious and
sacred to God,and Revelation warns of wars and natural disasters caused by man
that can make all life extinct.
@ Mike 2283408
Christianity is an Egyptian myth - Less than 11 minutes and you'll be so over all that gibberish you spouted. ;>)
Just trying to set you free, brother. YouTube has slower versions you can look up which are more calmly expressed, but I like this one because of the pace and great music. You can always pause and check, but you will see that many of the more influential religions around the world follow/followed almost the same old storyline each time. So maybe you should take a chance and watch the show. You'll be relieved there's no reason to worry about all that stuff you've been brainwashed to believe because it's just the latest version and one shared by a few other major world religions as of late. Religion is to control your mind... set it free and you shall be too! ENJOY!!!
Ah yes! Another situation that clearly underscores inequality and the xenophobes are all over it with their typical STUPID declarations that their phony god doesn't approve of it.
With over 50% of all heterosexual marriages ending in divorce before their first anniversary, it would appear to me that you folks have some work to do on your side of the equation before you start foaming at the mouth about who can marry and who can't.
And for all you azzwhipes out their trying to classify the widow as a "taker", you can just go f*ck yourselves because this situation is NO DIFFERENT than if it were heterosexual relationship. Amazing that a person has lost her life in defense of our nation and all you homophobic bible thumpers can do is quote your book of fairy tales and condemn her for something that modern Psychology has clearly and definitively declared is NOT a choice.
This is the only comment I will make in this string because the discussion will end up just like all the rest of them: The idiots will seize upon it with their stupid and hateful remarks over and over again while the MSNBC moderators set on their fannies and do nothing.
Leave the Gun ....
Ah yes as you are without God and continue to promote perversion and murder your babies via abortion ... so true you are living proof that you are doing well without God.
Wrong is NEVER right!
He loves to talk about perversion while typing with one hand!
And, right on schedule, the idiots show their ugly faces having nothing of substance to say.
You people must be really miserable f*cks to live with when you're only objective is to come online and put other people down because they won't buy into your warped view of how people should live.
Coming from someone who is denigrating someone because they have a belief in God...Priceless
I notice that our favorite homosexual "See to See" is back claiming everyone in the world is full of hate and he is so tolerant. Why don't you move to the Middle East, China, Russia or Africa and share the love. Or better go back to your park bench across from the elementary school.
lol, more "gays are pedophiles" stupidity from atelier. No surprise there, given the poster. :)
I was taught God loves everyone. It did not say only straight people. We as a people need to grow up. Be tolerent of things that you do not agree with. Same sex marriage does not hurt anyone. This particular one are soldiers, persons willing to give up their lives for a cause, which one did.
God is against homosexuality honey it is in his word ... Leviticus.
Yes and you follow all the laws of the old testament do you?
I have seen some military wives (and husbands....I know...I had one) that were soul and wallet sucking d-bags. I have also seen some supportive civilian spouses (rare IMO). Heterosexual or Homosexual...if these people make their lives together as a unit they should be recognized. However, there happens to be a law that says otherwise. As with DADT....the law needs to be changed. If there is one institution that follows the rules it's the military.
Wolfen ... If there is one institution that cannot stand homosexuality ... it is the military. If they accommodate any homosexuals it is because they were forced to!
and wrong, is after all, a self-proclaimed "expert" on what "the military" can "stand". lol.
His son is enlisted and he is worried that he might learn not to be as hate filled as his dad. he might even learn to be tolerant of others, oh my!
As the fiancee of a retired military member who is still quite active in the military community.... (USN Seabee Chief, 23yrs ret.) I can ASSURE you that the military is VERY tolerant of LGBT service persons and that people like you, WRONG, are few and far between.
Dear God ... Sorry for the stupidity of Man who choose to pervert your Word ... your children ... your people and go against Nature and go against Society. I now understand the downfall of Sodom and Gomorrah ... Rome ... Greece.
lol, rome fell because of gays? and greece?
dear humans: i'm sorry for the stupidity of Wrong. :)
No, you clearly don't.
Vermont ... so true honey called perversion ... homos ... funny you did not want to mention Sodom and Gomorrah did you ... ;)
lol, I didn't mention "sodom and gomorrah" because its a bible story that we know nothing about in terms of actual history, so really, why would you debate something that is just a story? :)
feel free to prove that gays had anything to do with what happened to greece and rome...unless you want to look stupid. :)
This guy is so busy talking about perversion, his favorite word, and typing one handed he can't think straight which is amazing since he is a HUGE homophobe!
Sea2See as a homosexual you can't tolerat other opinions. Like all those who base their self worth on their sexuality you define your self by your desperate attempt to be "normal". But once you accept the rationale for homosexuality (sexual orientation justifies all) then you must accept homosexual pedophilia and bestality. Love your dog.
atelier: people aren't claiming that "sexual orientation justifies all", so your post is therefore worthless. Your attempt to link consenting adult homosexuality to pedophilia is stupid. :)
Actually I am straight but if being gay was a choice I'd rather be a lesbian when I look at many of the men out there who think like you, but I wasn't born that way. If being normal is being a narrow-minded homophobe like you well you already know what my choice would be.
I can tolerate respectful discourse but when someone is running around throwing hate bombs I get upset and throw some back. When you equate pedophilia and bestiality, something you guys must think about a lot, to being homosexual it is both stupid and insulting.
So that would be 100% wrong!
WRONG is WRONG. "God" drowned the whole world in "a great flood." Wouldn't most agree it would have been a predominantly heterosexual world? Does that mean "He" made a mistake? Or, was Satan too powerful for "God?" "God" struck down Jericho after seven days... was that a homosexual city? What about when the slave nation of Israel was "freed" from Egypt after "God" dropped ten plagues on Egypt... the last being the death of the firstborn of Egypt. Was that another homosexual nation?
I could go on and on, but I'll make my point. Sodom and Gomorrah were supposedly destroyed because "God" could not find 10 righteous men to prevent the destruction of the FIVE cities of the plain. Jesus warned that inhospitality would receive WORSE punishment than those sinning in Sodom.
Anyways, if ya don't like homosexuality... don't do it!
But, STOP telling other Americans how to lead their lives based on YOUR religulous beliefs. If you want to know the REAL origins of your beliefs copy this link to YouTube - Great Music and 10.5 minutes later you may want to recyle some of your ideas. (yeah, right.)
PLEASE ENJOY!
Wrong Ain't Right..... don't EVER speak for me.... To God or anyone else.
The bestiality/pedophilia thing is so stupid...
People are talking about two adults that have the right to marry... being married (the sex is irrelevant.. that's the point) ... and you people start throwing dogs and kids into the equation... why?
What word of God is perverted by this? god loves everyone, even gay people.
sorry dude same sex marriage does hurt others. just as allowing gays to serve in the military. its morrally and scriptually wrong. the lack of common sense by the liberal minds never ceases to amaze me
who does same sex marriage hurt? other than your ego and need to control the lives of others? :)
your mind never ceases to amaze me. :)
In this story the person that was hurt was the lesbian and her spouse's family when they lost their loved one who was a patriot serving her country.
How does being morally and/or scripturally wrong hurt others exactly?
If I bought a dead chicken every month... had sex with it... then cooked and ate it... would that be morally wrong? why? And who exactly would it be hurting?
If I say the lords name in vein... why being "scripturally wrong".. how exactly does it hurt others?
Let us not forget the other two soldiers who were killed in the suicide bombing attempt. Sgt. Thomas Butler, 25, from Wilmington, North Carolina, and Sgt. Jeremy Hardison 23, of Marysville, North Carolina, were killed October 1, by a Taliban suicide bomber who struck as the soldiers were on patrol in an outdoor market in Khost, Afghanistan. All three soldiers were members of the 514th Military Police Company, 60th Troop Command, Winterville, North Carolina.
The gay couple had been together years before the repeal of DADT, when no reasonable hope of gaining death benefits could have existed. As stated before, the state they live in does not recognize gay marriages, even if the union occured in another state. As such, they were not legally married in their Home of Record (HOR). They were with a North Carolina National Guard unit, which is under the Govenor of that state, activated under title ten orders from the federal government. It is also is under North Carolina's definition of marriage.
In the short view, they were not legally married. The state's constitution (which supercedes law) expressly prohibits same sex marriage . The feds allow each state to determine the criteria for what constitutes a marriage. She was with a state national guard unit.
All of the early records state SGT Johnson was survived by Tracy Dice, I guess she never updated her last name at the time of SGT Johnson's death. In the months that have followed the SGT's death, she has decided to be known as Mrs Johnson, it gets a better read that way.
1. Not legally Married
2. Not on the forms for Benefits
Results: no benefits, same outcome for a male/female relationship which is not legally married and not on the forms which are filled out before each deployment.
Summary, bad choices, bad paperwork, but still wants the benefits.
That may be true but if her mother-in-law hadn't been the fair-minded person she is she wouldn't have the ring been at her funeral.
She may have made an error on the paperwork, what do you think would happen if a guy didn't put his wife on, it would go "by law" to the spouse.
The law is what it is but it needs to be changed.
The mother in law is an amazing person. Often when 400k is slapped on the table, people lose their minds. Although, I make assumptions, there was nothing in the article which spoke of how they divided the death benefit. But by what was said, the mother in law seems very supportive.
Equal benefits, please.
Deiphobes versus homophobes. Huh!
@Mike-2283408
I'm neither Atheist nor am I a homosexual. I am a human being (regardless of "how") that does not hate. I believe all human beings deserve to be treated fairly & equally.
What I dislike are people who think that they are entitled to attack people with their beliefs and preach to them about how they are wrong because they don't agree.
I welcome debate and discussion. And quite honestly don't care if you agree with me or not.
Now...
Get off of your holier-than-thou pedestal and look around. How many humans are born with birth defects to god-fearing, good christian living healthy heterosexual couples? Does that mean there is something wrong with them? Does God hate them?
What about children who grow up in abusive homes? Or are molested by their pastor, boy scout leader, father, mother, aunt, uncle, etc...? The ones who are abandoned? What about the mistreatment of our elderly? Aren't these also things in your bible that you should be protecting and tending to? Perhaps your time would be better spent actually living up to the teachings rather than hiding behind passages that you find fitting for the occasion.
There are a lot of things wrong with this world...and the Church is right there at the top of the list! How many other religions would condemn you for YOUR beliefs?
Is she the Husband or the Wife? It's confusing. If her lesbian lover had truly cared about her, then she could have changed the emergency notification paperwork, the life insurance policy ($400,000), etc to her lover. She didn't she kept it in favor of her own Mother. So much for lesbian love and responsibility. Now the survivor wants her $1200 a month claiming "fairness".
why does it matter who is the "husband" or the "wife"? lol. Its only confusing if you worry about irrelvant things. :)
and it wasn't clear to me that she didn't change the benefits she could change (like life insurance), since I didn't see that in the article, but maybe I missed it?
and if she was irresponsible, how does that translate to "so much for lesbian love and responsibility"? I see plenty of straight people not being irresponsible, does that mean all straight people are? lol.
They are both partiots and one died for her country!
If she was a PV1, or a even a PFC, I could understand being confused over paperwork. By the time you make SGT you are expected to be more on your game. After all, you are now a leader responsible for the safety and guidance of soldiers under you. Perhaps her and Tracy Dice had a spat before the paperwork was filled out, and the omission was by intent. Or perhaps she was an EEO promotion, and didn't yet have the basic skills to lead and fill out paperwork, we will never know.
No we won't but you have proved your less than fair minded view of a person who died in service to her country! Shame on you.
Sea2See,
I couldn't see how I could be more fair. I expect the same of someone else who has achieved the rank of SGT, as I expected of myself when I was at the SGT rank. If you feel I should lower my standards for her, then you are clearly not being equal or fair. It is an embarrasment if you feel the standards should be lowered for a woman or a lesbian.
It is sad that someone died. Okay everybody! Y'all got that?
But it is this idea of calling a homosexual union a marriage that is appalling and absurd.
There...is...no...such...thing...as "homosexual marriage".
there..is...homosexual...marriage...in a number of states. And coming soon to a state near you! :)
I know the truth hurts you. You homophobic bigots are dying off, and there is nothing you can do to stop gay marriage. Must suck to be you. :)
It does exist even if you punctuate with lots of periods!
But, there is Blanche, there is! In a number of states and TWO MORE just joined by the vote of the people!! It's happening and ya can't turn the clock back! Ain't progress great?!! ;>) Now we need to ensure women get equal pay to men and the Violence Against Women Act is reinstated, too. Or, don't ya like women to be treated fairly, either?
Equal right are equal rights. The day is coming that the supreme court can not deny same sex benefits. This issue trickles down to every citizen of the USA. How can we marginalize one group over another based on antiquated religious dogma? We can't. It's not right that if a gay spouse dies that they lose all their security. Security such as medical benefits, spouses social security benefits, etc.
How is that equal rights that a surviving gay spouse must work twice as hard to survive til death versus a heterosexual spouse that enjoys the security marriage provides?
It's going to happen. 1% of the population is not going to be a big dent in the already out of control entitlement programs....of which gay married couples deserve.
Especially those that serve and die in one of our most prestigious lines of work........the military.
Typical red tape and not following a case entirely through... Like everything else, now a days, one thing is changed in a law, but not totally completed to the last detail. It's like someone gets into a car wreck, rescue comes, but they don't do anything else... They leave you in limbo...
Discrimination is wrong, I don't care what religion you dress it up in--but even more so when it's one that claims to be a religion of peace and love. And christians wonder why people direct so much ire at them, here is is in a nutshell.
Civil Marriage Certificates were instituted to allow the government to prevent marriages, not to condone them. It was about stopping interracial unions and certain interfaith unions. It was also a way of putting down the poor who couldn't afford the tax --fee-- imposed to get the governments blessing. If it's just about the tax, heck the government shouldn't care who's marrying whom. Rename it a domestic partnership contract and recognize it as the legal document it is. Require all institutions to honor the contract -- insurance companies, employers, etc. It is the contract that conveys the rights not some notion of theology. The Constitution of the United States does not promote faith or any faith above another faith. The US is not a Christian Nation. It is a secular Republic whose citizens are free to hold any or no religious beliefs. Religion is not part of the government. If the government has an interest in domestic relations it should preserve, protect, and defend them all equally. A houlsehold might coisist of siblings, a child and aging parents, a heterosexual couple with or without children, a single adult with children, and a homosexual couple with or without children. All those domestic relationships should be honored equally under the law and domestic benefits should extend to each equally.
As an athiest, I would like "God" removed from the Oath of enlistment in the military. it's offensive to me!! I wasn't given the option to omit the word upon my initial enlistment. During re-enlistment I WAS given that option, but actually hearing the enlisting officer "say" it was SOOO offensive to me. Not to mention, the look I got in the room when I refused to say "God". People stared in disbelief and disgust.
In addition, at my federal job, prayer is common at work luncheons and in particular during black history month functions (mandatory attendance by the way). I refuse to bow my head or hold hands during prayer and I am regularly given looks of disgust and on two occasions, outspoken opposition was directed towards me. I was somehow evil for not believing in "God". Even the LGBT Program Coordinator is deeply religious and was appalled that I would demonstrate such disrespect (hyposcrisy??)
So, if we demand equality, let's demand it for ALL people, ALL lifestyles, ALL orientations, ALL religions and ALL things which arent directly harmful to people (though it may have long term negative implications on society and people in general).
OR....
I could just realize that my beliefs do not sit well with the large majority of the population and realize that I am on their turf and living under their traditional beliefs. I could also realize that my life is MUCH more peaceful when I just go about my day and keep my thoughts to myself. After all, being an athiest, I honestly want NOTHING to do with any of the programs, traditions, gatherings or words that are derived from religion or God.
Im also deeply curious why other groups want to be involved with things that were created by people and on principles that despise them.
Rob,
I enjoyed reading your post, it was honest and it was fair. Yes, the majority deserves as much respect as you do. Also I want to thank you for your service to our country. Do not feel your not bowing your head or omitting God in yout oath is viewed by all as disrespectful, for it is not.
I wish you the best, have a great day.