I cannot help but notice that the Republican Party is always ready to send American troops all over the world for the craziest of reasons, but when those members of the armed forces return home, that very same GOP is more than willing to turn their backs on the veterans they have so gladly placed in harm’s way.

A perfect example of this took place this week when the Republican-controlled Senate refused to approve benefits for same-sex veterans through the use of the filibuster, one of their favorite weapons.

The bill, which had been proposed by New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, would have given full benefits to same-sex veterans. Under current law, veterans in same-sex marriages who live in states that refuse to honor their marriage receive significantly smaller monthly disability payments and are also ineligible to qualify for a VA home loan if the loan is taken with their spouse. And, in some cases, these veterans’ spouses and kids are not eligible to receive VA medical care.

And to this I can only say: WTF?! These people have put their lives on the line for all of us in this country, but the Senate cannot see the need to treat then with dignity and respect? Why didn’t Senate Republicans just go ahead and pass a resolution which says they want to spit on gay veterans while they’re at it?

To be fair, eight Senate Republicans did vote to end the filibuster and deserve to be named here for their courage and dedication to veterans: Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire), Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia), Susan Collins (Maine), Ron Johnson (Wisconsin), Mark Kirk (Illinois), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Jeff Flake (Arizona) and Rob Portman (Ohio).

Yeah, the GOP just loves to wrap themselves in the flag and say how they support the troops, but they’re all talk and no action. If they truly cared about the men and women who have sacrificed for this nation, they would do the right thing and give them the benefits they have earned, no matter what their sexual orientation may be.

This is indeed a dark day in the history of the United States.

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.