NEWS FLASH

Three Gay Marines Discharged For Sham Marriages | Three Marine corporals have received bad-conduct discharges for entering sham opposite-sex marriages in order to receive housing benefits and live with their same-sex partners. Because unmarried couples (including all same-sex couples) are not permitted to live together on base, these fake marriages were the only way they could qualify for the for the $1,200/month spousal housing benefit to supplement living together off-base. Though gay and lesbian servicemembers can now serve openly, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act still denies them the same spousal benefits that opposite-sex couples are eligible for. Cpl. Ashley Vice, Cpl. Jeremiah Griffin, and Cpl. Joseph Garner were each fined $5,000 and sentenced to confinement for from three to six months after pleading guilty to stealing from the government through fraud.