Category Archives: General Info

COL Cammermeyer to Receive Matlovich Medal

AMERICAN VETERANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 17, 2016

RE: Cammermeyer to Receive Matlovich Medal

Contact:  AVER Public Affairs, Denny Meyer 718.849.5665 publicaffairs@aver.us or AVER President, Steve Loomis, LTC, USA, (Ret) 505.301.1737

Atlanta, GA (MAR 16, 2016) – Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, the highest ranking active officer to challenge the US military’s ban on LGBT service members, will be presented the 2016 Leonard Matlovich Medal for Distinguished Service by American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), the nation’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans Service Organization.  The Medal will be presented to Dr. Cammermeyer at AVER’s 25th anniversary national convention to be held April 21-24, 2016, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.   Continue reading →

AVER 25th Anniversary National Convention

I want to personally invite you along with all other American Veterans for Equal Rights members to join me at this spring’s

AVER 25th Anniversary National Convention

in Albuquerque/Santa Fe from 21 April to 24 April 2016!

AVERlogo

Now that the holidays are behind us, I encourage each of you to register for our AVER convention.  We are going to have a great convention as we work into AVER’s future and protect the fights we have won.  Maj Gen Patricia Rose, the highest ranking out service member, is our great keynote speaker and Colonel Margerethe Cammermeyer will be presented the Matlovich Award for her service and advocacy on behalf of LGBT veterans and service members.

Continue reading →

Happy 225th Birthday U.S. Coast Guard

Happy birthday with gratitude to the United States Coast Guard, which turns 225 today 4 Aug 2015. The Coast Guard is the oldest continuous maritime service in the United States (the Continental Navy was disbanded in 1785), and is the only branch of the nation’s 7 uniformed services to operate under the civilian control of the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy in time of war. Continue reading →

Department of Veteran Affairs LGBT SURVEY

“LGBT VETERANS SURVEY:
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers are studying how stigma and harassment experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) service members while in the military is associated with current individual and social health-related factors and health outcomes.  The study asks military Veterans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender to complete a 15-20 minute anonymous survey about their military experiences and their current personal health and healthcare experiences.  Survey results will be used to better understand how negative experiences in the military may affect future health. Our ultimate goal is to provide clinically appropriate and culturally sensitive health care for LGBT Veterans. The survey is anonymous; no personal identifiers are collected.  Participants do not need to be enrolled in VA care to complete the survey.  Participants do not need to be “out” about their LGBT identity to complete the survey.  The study seeks a broad representation of LGBT military Veterans, especially people living in rural areas.
 
 
If you would like more information about this study, please contact 713-440-5615. “

Supreme Court Decision on Marriage Equality

AMERICAN VETERANS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS

June 26, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

RE: Supreme Court Decision on Marriage Equality

Atlanta, GA (JUN 26, 2015) –American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), the nation’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Veterans Service Organization, applauds the decision of the United States Supreme Court in extending the constitutionally mandated legal rights and protections of civil marriage to committed same-sex couples in every state of our nation. As proud military veterans who have sworn an oath to defend America’s freedom, AVER is deeply gratified that “liberty and justice for all” remains an essential element of our country’s core belief in shared equality for every citizen. This decision by the Supreme Court will extend the same benefits and privileges that are provided to the families of our honored veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs to the married spouses and children of Lesbian and Gay veterans in every part of our country, benefits from which they were previously excluded in states that did not recognize same sex marriages.

Contact:

AVER Public Affairs, Denny Meyer 718.849.5665 publicaffairs@aver.us

AVER President, Steve Loomis, LTC, USA, Ret 505.301.1737