US: Idaho veteran might finally get permission to be buried with her wife after marriage ban ruling
An Idaho veteran is hopeful she will finally be given permission to be buried with her wife, following the striking down of the state’s same-sex marriage ban.
Last month, the state denied 74-year-old Madelynn Taylor’s request for permission to be interred with her deceased wife Jean Mixner in the Veterans Cemetery, despite Taylor’s six years of service in the Navy.
The couple had married in California before Mixner’s death in 2012, but due to Idaho’s same-sex marriage ban, the state said it could not recognise the marriage, or afford them the burial rights of married partners.
However, following Tuesday’s decision by Judge Candy Dale to strike down the constitutional ban, it is possible that she will soon be granted permission to be interred with Mixner.
David E. Brasuel, the Idaho Division of Veterans Services Administrator, told KHOU that he might soon be able to approve the request, if same-sex marriage begins on Friday as expected.
He said: “We’re very sympathetic to Ms. Taylor’s situation. As veteran’s advocates, we have a great sympathy for her situation.
“We want to serve her, because she is an honourably discharged veteran, but we are bound, and we must follow the law.
“We’ll see if things change [on Friday].”
Taylor’s application will be reviewed at the end of the month.
Judge Dale refused to stay her decision, with marriages set to begin at 9am tomorrow morning, but the state’s governor Butch Otter is seeking a stay from the Supreme Court.
Taylor said: “Butch Otter and all those fuddy-duddies in the legislature are all on the wrong side of history, and they might as well own up to it.”
