VA to extend benefits to LGBTQ veterans’ spouses
dallasvoice.comCAMBRIDGE, MA — Late last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it would expand survivor benefits to spouses who, due to anti-LGBTQ laws, were unable to get legally married, making them ineligible for survivor benefits.
This expansion of benefits was secured through a joint effort of Harvard’s LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic and Veterans Legal Clinic on behalf of Lawrence Vilord, the surviving spouse of a Vietnam war combat veteran who was not able to marry his spouse prior to the U.S.
Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges marriage equality decision. Vilord first met Rhett Chalk nearly 50 years ago, shortly after Chalk returned from active duty as a Navy Corpsman in Vietnam.
They fell in love and built a life together in Miami Beach, Fla., jointly owning a home, starting a business and exchanging rings to celebrate their commitment.
