The American Military Partner Association
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| Founded | 2009 |
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Key people
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Stephen Peters, Founder and President Emeritus |
| Mission | "Connecting, supporting, honoring, and serving the partners and spouses of America's LGBT service members and veterans." |
| Website | www |
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Formerly called
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Campaign for Military Partners |
Stephen Peters, Founder and President Emeritus
Ashley Broadway, President
The American Military Partner Association (AMPA) is the nation's largest organization for the partners, spouses, and families of America's LGBT service members and veterans. AMPA traces its roots to the "Campaign for Military Partners", an organization founded by the same-sex partners of service members and sponsored by Servicemembers United, AMPA's mission is to connect, support, honor, and serve the partners and spouses of LGBT service members. With the close of Servicemembers United, AMPA organized as an independent non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)3 organization founded by Stephen Peters in Washington, DC. Ashley Broadway, the spouse of an active duty soldier, and Jim Cassidy, the spouse of an active duty sailor, joined Stephen as founding board members.
AMPA is committed to connecting LGBT military families, supporting them through the challenges of military service, honoring them for their commitment to our country, and serving them by advocating on their behalf.
Since its founding, the non-profit organization has managed to:
In December 2012, when the same-sex spouse of a U.S. Army officer was denied membership in the Association of Bragg Officers' Spouses at Fort Bragg, she reported her experience on the AMPA website.
In June 2014, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it would only provide benefits to the same-sex spouses of veterans who either (1) married in the state in which they resided or (2) live in a state that recognizes their marriage when they apply for benefits. On August 18, the AMPA filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit challenging the VA's interpretation of federal law. Their brief cited Windsor and many federal court decisions since Windsor that have held denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples unconstitutional. It said the VA's policy ruling "imports into federal law unconstitutional state definitions of marital status."
In its effort to connect LGBT military partners and spouses around the country, the American Military Partner Association holds local social events to bring military partners face-to-face with others in the same situation for mutual support and encouragement. For LGBT military partners and spouses who are not near major military bases where these events usually occur, a private online social network was established to help connect partners/spouses in remote locations to build camaraderie and mutual support.
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Wikipedia