Supporting With Pride: All Military Families Are Our Priority
At the National Military Family Association, we support and stand beside all military families. During the month of June, we take a moment to recognize Pride Month.
What Is Significant About Pride Month?
Pride Month raises awareness about the current state of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) rights and how this community, of which service members and their loved ones are part, continues to advocate and protect equal rights for all of its members.
On May 31, President Biden signed a proclamation to mark the start of Pride Month. The proclamation is a staunch reminder of the progress made by the LGBTQI+ community in the fight for justice, inclusion, equality, and the right to live authentically.
What Should the Military Community Know?
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kathleen Guzman, an active-duty officer with eight years in the Army, shared, “I would like others to know that we want to serve openly and have the same respect as other service members.”
Guzman said her family unit holds great importance for her—the one at home and the one she works with.
“Family is an incredibly important part of the support system a soldier leans on during stressful situations, and it is important all families are recognized and welcomed within a unit.”
Air Force Staff Sergeant Sam Love agrees. With nine years of military service, she knows not all families look alike. “It is not blatantly obvious what someone's family may look like when you first meet,” she said. “That is why it is great we are now moving in the direction of respecting members' pronouns.”
Love added that when getting to know fellow military families, rather than asking questions with an assumption like, “What is your husband's name?” consider instead, “What is your spouse's name?”
Guzman and Love both agreed that any show of support will always be appreciated. But there's more that needs to be done to guarantee equity among all military families. “Support and programs that help LGBTQI+ service members grow their families would be a wonderful benefit,” Guzman said. “TRICARE fertility coverage is limited.”
Our Focus on All Military Families
Historically, service members and their families who identify as part of the LGBTQI+ community have felt a stigma, but significant progress has been made toward acceptance and inclusion. That’s in large part thanks to the service members, spouses, partners, and veterans from OutServe-SLDN and the American Military Partners Association, which joined together to form the Modern Military Association of America (MMAA). MMAA offers programs, advocacy, community, and legal support for and LGBTQ+ families.
NMFA stands by this progress, most recently by providing testimony before the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs (DAMA) Subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC). In our testimony, we advocated for the Department of Veterans Affairs to update its statutes and regulations to include all same-sex couples to ensure survivor benefits and true marriage equality are reflected.
We will continue to support, welcome, and represent all military families—including those who are part of the LGBTQI+ community—and we are committed to improving their well-being, helping grow their communities, and empowering them on their unique military journey.
By: Angela Sablan Tenorio, Content Manager
