NEW HAVEN, CT – Three Yale law students have filed a notice of appeal which, for the first time, is asking the Veterans Administration to recognize same-sex marriage. The filing was on behalf of Navy veteran Carmen Cardona who is legally married yet was denied benefits for her wife.

According to WTNH-TV in New Haven, Cardona served in the military for 18 years. Shortly after she was honorably discharged in 2000, she began receiving service-related disability benefits from the V.A. for carpal tunnel syndrome that developed as a result of her military duties. In 2010, Cardona legally married her longtime partner in Norwich, Connecticut. She then applied to the V.A. spousal benefits.

Military veterans with a service-connected disability of 30% or more are eligible for dependency benefits for their spouses. Cardona is rated 80% disabled by the V.A. She has been told by the V.A. that her wife does not qualify as a dependent.