Atlanta, GA (JUL 9, 2012) – American Veterans For Equal Rights congratulates Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and OutServe on their planned merger. “When organizations in the LGBTQ military community unite their efforts, our service members and veterans benefit from their combined resources,” said AVER National President Danny Ingram. “AVER is proud to support our sister organizations as they join together, and we remain committed to working with them to ensure that all service members and veterans receive the full benefits, equal treatment, and just respect due them as America’s patriotic warriors. We are confident that this merger will strengthen that mission.”

American Veterans for Equal Rights is the nation’s LGBTQ chapter-based 501(c)(3) Veterans Service Organization, providing a home for proud vets who support our nation’s military and all those who serve to defend our freedom. AVER: Taking care of those who serve. Welcome Home.

Contact: AVER National President Danny Ingram averusa@yahoo.com

(ATLANTA) “AVER is very pleased to hear President Barack Obama express his support for same sex marriage,” said Danny Ingram, National President of American Veterans for Equal Rights, the nation’s LGBT Veterans Service Organization.”Not only does the Commander in Chief help complete the mission of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, by creating equality in the United States military for LGB service members who otherwise cannot access the same valuable benefits as their married heterosexual comrades, but he also reaffirms his own oath as President, the same oath for which many thousands of honored war dead have given their lives, to defend the Constitution of the United States,” continued Ingram. “The constitution clearly calls for equal protection under the law for every American citizen in the 14th Amendment.” Ingram concluded. “Its about time our political leaders started to take their oath to defend our nation’s freedom as seriously as the men and women in the armed forces who place their lives on the line for it everyday.”

Contact: Denny Meyer, AVER Public Affairs, 718 849-5665
Danny Ingram, AVER President, president@aver.us

Are you or do you know an unemployed Veteran age 35-60?

If so, there is a new Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Labor’s (DOL) education benefit program that helps train Veterans in high demand occupations.

As a VetSuccess.gov user we would like to share information about our new programs and benefits that are underway due to the enactment of a new law. In an effort to reduce Veteran unemployment, the President signed into law the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 last November. Included in this new law is the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) for unemployed Veterans, which VA begins accepting applications May 15, 2012.

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On behalf of the National Board and the members of American Veterans for Equal Rights, I wish to express my sadness on the passing of Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Dave Guy-Gainer. Dave served AVER as an officer and was a founding member of SLDN. Dave devoted his time, money, and energies into seeing DADT repealed. He was one of the first people to congratulate me on my election as AVER National President, and his wise counsel was always greatly appreciated. It was such a wonderful honor to hug Dave and share the victory of the repeal signing ceremony in Washington. America is a freer and stronger nation because of his dedication. He helped the United States become true to ourselves in honoring equality for all Americans and our commitment to genuine justice and liberty for all our citizens.

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On Thursday Servicemembers Legal Defense Network sued the federal government on behalf of legally married, same-sex service members, veterans, and their spouses, seeking equal recognition, benefits and the same support as married heterosexual couples who serve in the military. This lawsuit challenges the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as well as U.S. Code Titles 10, 32 and 38.  The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston says the government’s Defense of Marriage Act violates their constitutional rights and asks the military to recognize their legal marriages.

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Lee Reinhart, a US Navy and US Coast Guard Veteran who was discharged from the Coast Guard due to the recently repealed DADT policy, has reenlisted in the US Navy Reserve on Monday Oct 24th.  After honorably serving in the Navy in the 1990s, Reinhart reenlisted in the Coast Guard following the 911 attack, in order to do his part to serve our nation.  After serving only a few months in the Coast Guard, he was discharged after it was discovered that he is gay.  Since then Lee Reinhart has dedicated his volunteer efforts towards the repeal of the DADT policy through his work with American Veterans For Equal Rights, as a member of the Chicago AVER Chapter and currently in reestablishing the AVER Columbus Chapter.  He is among the first of those discharged due to DADT to reenlist in our armed forces following the repeal of the policy.

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