Same-sex unions and military policy

The topic of same-sex unions and military service concerns the government treatment or recognition of same-sex unions (including same-sex marriages, civil unions, domestic partnerships or cohabitation) who may consist of at least one servicemember of a nation's military.

The issue of recognition is usually predicated upon two pre-existing or debated criteria:

If both criteria are fulfilled, the question becomes a matter of how many rights, liberties or benefits are conferred by a military upon same-sex spouses of military servicemembers. Such stipulations include:

No data currently exist on adoption of children or parenting by same-sex military families. In countries which legally recognize at least same-sex unregistered cohabitation, same-sex adoption and open service in the military, the allowance of same-sex adoption by such countries' armed forces is more likely assured.

In addition to the issues and occurrences which are encountered in general LGBT parenting, children in same-sex military families would also encounter issues which are endemic to children of opposite-sex military couples, such as deployment, frequent household reassignment, life among other military children (i.e., in school, playtime, socialization), care for wounded parents, life after the death of a parent, dependent benefits, and so on.

In 2002 the South African National Defence Force extended medical and pension benefits, which had previously only been available to the spouses of military personnel, to their life partners without regard to gender. This came about as a consequence of the Constitutional Court's ruling in Satchwell v President of the Republic of South Africa; although that case involved the same-sex partner of a High Court judge, the reasoning was applicable to all government employees.Same-sex marriages have been possible since 2006 and are legally equivalent to opposite-sex marriages.

The Brazilian Armed Forces recognize same-sex cohabitation unions and marriages and treats same-sex couples with military spouses as legally equivalent to different-sex couples. Married couples, though, may have more rights than those in "stable unions" or cohabitation.

...
Wikipedia