From the battlefield to the alter: a military marriage story

The Huffington Post tells the story of two gay soldiers now living happily and freely:

Captain Adam Harmon is now 31 and the intelligence officer for a military police battalion at Fort Riley, Kansas. His partner, Captain Pete Bennett's picture sits openly on his desk in the headquarters building. And, for the past two weeks, Adam has worn a wedding ring on his left hand.

They were married on Oct. 8, just 19 days after the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Because of privacy laws, the Department of Defense has no data on how many gay and lesbian servicemembers have married since the Sept. 20 change. But Adam and Pete are surely among the first couples to test the limits of the Army's acceptance under the new policy.

The pair are familiar with uncomfortable moments, mostly in the form of insults shouted from cars when they hold hands in the street. And when they attempted to register at a Macy's in Columbus, Ga., where Pete was on temporary duty at Fort Benning, a clerk politely but adamantly changed their marriage to a "commitment" on the couple's paperwork.

Macy's apologized to Pete and Adam, and Pete doesn't blame the employee, whom he thought was well-meaning. But still, he said, "almost on a daily to weekly basis we're reminded how we're still not quite viewed as equal by a good portion of the United States. And this was just a really good example of that."

Throughout their time in service, they were also unequal by law. But according to Pete, now 27 and a supply officer with the 10th Brigade Support Battalion at Fort Drum, N.Y., the law has always lagged behind the treatment the pair has received from fellow soldiers.

"The military has been great," said Pete. "Which is kind of crazy because usually the military is a microcosm of society, but I definitely think that in this case ... the military is far ahead of where society is right now on this issue."

Their whole story can be read at the Huffington Post.