With Help From New Hampshire Senator Shaheen National Guard Member Charlie Morgan Now Allowed To Bring Her Domestic Partner To Military Ceremony

An update on a previous post, National Guardswoman Charlie Morgan learned Wednesday that her civil union partner Karen will be able to attend a “yellow ribbon reintegration” program this weekend, in spite of federal law which excludes same-sex partners as dependents. Until Wednesday, Morgan, 47, of Rye, was told her partner was barred from the two-day event, which is held for recently deployed Guard members and their families. While the National Guard states returning soldiers' “family members are strongly encouraged to attend” the event, Morgan was the exception because she's a lesbian. U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen told The Portsmouth Herald on Wednesday that military regulations allow a member of the military to “bring a person of their choice” to such events and “that does apply in this situation,“ adding that “It's good news for Chief Warrant Officer Morgan and her spouse of 11 years and it's important that they can attend this as a family.” Morgan said she was “proud” of Shaheen and the National Guard. “We've still got the other issues with benefits, but it's a good start,” she said. On Tuesday, Shaheen sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, urging him “in the strongest terms to end a discriminatory policy that bans the same-sex spouses of returning National Guard members from participating in official National Guard family events.” Wednesday, Shaheen said “We made the decision as a nation that it was time to allow gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly in our military. It makes no sense to ask them for the same sacrifice we ask of straight soldiers, while denying them the same benefits. We are better than this.” The senator said Wednesday she believes the letter “helped get attention to this issue,” but she credited Morgan with bringing it up in the first place. Shaheen said she hopes the news will “serve as a message and a model to people across the country,” adding “Don't be afraid to speak out.” Morgan she said “spoke up for lots of other people in this situation.” Recently home from a deployment in Kuwait, where she helped run base camps and “prepare for the draw down,” Morgan joined the U.S. Army in 1982. She then signed on with the Kentucky National Guard, from which she transferred to the N.H. National Guard. She's been in a civil union with Karen for 11 years and they're parents of a 4-year-old daughter. Federal law continues to prohibit same-sex couples from attending events like the yellow ribbon program in North Conway this Friday and Saturday. “The purpose is to reconnect the families,” Morgan told the Herald on Monday. “My unit wants to meet my family, but it's out of their hands because of this law.” According to the National Guard's Web site, the “intent of this event is to help service members and their families reconnect after deployment,” as well as to offer information about counselling and other services available to military families whose lives were interrupted by their service. “We deserve to connect,” said Morgan, who described her family as “directly affected.” Shaheen said the decision to exclude same-sex couples from the yellow ribbon event is based on the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the extension of military benefits to same-sex couples. She said the Act is in conflict with the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and she is “hopeful” for a similar repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. “We want to make sure everyone serving the country is treated the same,” she said. Morgan made national headlines last month when, hours after the September 20 repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, she went on national television and declared, “I'm finally proud to announce that I'm a lesbian.” Now she's battling the way the military classifies dependents as only for heterosexual families and not just because her spouse is barred from the reintegration programs this weekend. For the past three years Morgan has been battling breast cancer and while her prognosis is good, her health challenges highlighted military policy which prohibit her from naming her partner as a beneficiary for survivor benefits.