FORMER MARINE STAFF SGT ERIC ALVA NAMED SPEAKER FOR AVER NATIONAL CONVENTION
The Rocky Mountain Chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights has announced that former Marine Staff Sergeant Eric Alva will be the keynote speaker for the 2013 AVER National Convention being held September 20-22, 2013 at the Denver Renaissance Hotel. Attending the event from across the country, will be active duty service members and veterans going back as far as WWII.
Atlanta, GA (JUN 26, 2013) – In yet another historic victory in the struggle for LGBT civil rights, the Supreme Court today overturned the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the law barring federal recognition and benefits to legally married same-sex American couples. This milestone by the nation’s highest judicial body demonstrates the continuing evolution of the understanding of equality and justice in a nation which holds those ideals as core principles of our democratic society. The Supreme Court has affirmed there simply is no justification to deny benefits to one legally married couple that are readily available to other legally married couples. Prejudiced policies that deny equal treatment under the law to LGBT citizens of the United States accomplish nothing more than punishing minority Americans for being different from the majority. There is no rationale in a just society for such a denial of basic rights.
Today is Jack Strouss’s 90th birthday. Jack’s granddaddy fought in the Civil War, and not many people can say that. Jack’s great uncle Clement was General Clement A. Evans, whose portrait hangs in the Georgia State Capitol. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Jack W. Strouss is a quintessential Southern gentleman who can “charm the spots off a leopard”, according to some of his friends. Born June 24, 1923, Jack attended public schools in Atlanta and graduated from Technological High School in 1942.
There is news this morning of a shakeup at OutServe-SLDN. American Veterans for Equal Rights strongly supports the mission of SLDN and Outserve. We stand with our sister organization as they face some troubling times. Few organizations have accomplished as much over the years to secure the rights of LGBT service members and provide direct legal support as SLDN, and Outserve is an essential organization in provided support to active duty LGBT service members. This mission is critical, and we wish great success to this organization in overcoming these current challenges. The mission of supporting our LGBT men and women in uniform is first and foremost the basic element of all we do. AVER is confident that OutServe-SLDN will continue to carry out its important and highly valued mission.
June 14th marks the 238th birthday of the United States Army. The Continental Army was established on this day in 1775, marking the birth of the United States Military.
You can view the Army’s birthday website here: http://www.army.mil/birthday/238/
When I was visiting in DC a few weeks ago for Memorial Day, former AVER DC Chapter President, Tony Smith shared with me some correspondence he received from Major Alan G. Rogers, a member of DC AVER and the first openly gay casualty of the war in Iraq. Alan was killed by an improvised explosive device on January 27th, 2008. Tony received the second message below on January 26th, the day before Alan died. These notes are a reminder of the serious nature of military service, the dedication of those who serve, and the fragile gift of life. Many of the people I met in DC knew Alan personally. Tony writes “He is missed by many friends and his memory lives on in all that we do.” Alan Rogers is a great hero to all of us in AVER, and we all remain inspired by his life and sacrifice, both those who knew him personally and those who did not have the gift of having met him.