© AP Photo/Allison Hanson
In this undated photograph made available by Allison Hanson, Hanson, left, poses with her partner, Sgt. Karen Alexander. Alexander, who is stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., married Hanson in Washington. The U.S. Army has denied the couple housing allowance and other family-friendly benefits. Pentagon officials say their hands are tied by the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which forbids the federal government from recognizing any marriage other than between a man and a woman.
Sgt. Karen Alexander fought for her country in Iraq, but back home she often feels the U.S. Army is fighting against her.
Married to another female soldier with a 4-year-old son, Alexander is denied the same housing allowance and other family-friendly benefits she would be entitled to if married to a man. As far as Uncle Sam is concerned, she's still single.
"I'm married to my best friend, who just happens to be of the same sex as me," said Alexander, 29, who is stationed at Fort Bragg. "We fight for everyone else's rights, but we're treated as second-class citizens."
Nearly a year and half after President Obama and Congress ended "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," same-sex couples are faced with daily reminders of the conflict inherent in serving openly as gays and lesbians under a government that still refuses to acknowledge their relationships.
