08.31.06
Lesbian vet leery of joining American Legion
American Legion Group is expected to reaffirm position against gay marriage
A lesbian who served 10 years in the Air Force said she’s hesitant to join the American Legion because the veterans organization supports the idea of a “natural family” that doesn’t include same-sex relationships.
“To think that my family wouldn’t be embraced by the American Legion saddens me,’ said Valerie Larabee, 45, who served during the first Gulf War and reached the rank of captain.
Larabee lives with her partner in Salt Lake City and is executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah.
The American Legion is holding its 88th annual national convention here from Aug. 26-31. The group is expected to reaffirm a 2004 policy statement on the family Aug. 30 during its general session.
Resolution 401 is considered an expression of American values, said William Pease, deputy director of Americanism and Children and Youth for the American Legion.
“The American Legion believes that marriage is an institution,” Pease said. “And it’s based on a union between a man and a woman.”
The resolution states the Legion’s belief in a child’s biological connection to a married father and mother “reduces the likelihood that either parent would abuse the child.” It also claims children in so-called natural families have better health, fewer behavioral and emotional problems and are less likely to use drugs or be arrested.
Utah state Sen. Scott McCoy (D-Salt Lake) one of two gay Utah legislators, called the resolution exclusionary, insulting and “holier than thou.”
But the Legion’s stance may seem familiar to Utahns.
In 2004, the Utah Legislature passed a bill defining marriage only as being between one man and one woman. And earlier this year, the city of Kanab passed a resolution defining the “natural family’ as a marriage, “ordained of God,” between a man and a woman who are “open to a full quiver of children.”
Larabee said she’ll need to do a little more research before deciding to join fellow vets as a Legion member.
“It’s kind of discouraging when you look at the fabric of America and understand that it’s built from many different origins of what people call family,” she said.