USAA and repeal of Don't Ask may finally change USAA and make them more gay friendly?

[Anonymous]

Disclosure: USAA member through service from 2006, insurance and banking services used.

USAA is not in my eyes particularly customer gay "friendly," or accepting, they do not recognise Domestic partnerships and I have found them unhelpfull over the phone when asking questions.

Their website is also I feel conspicously absent in regards to quidance and policy as well.

Granted their blanket disallowance of any type of Dom Partner is a good excuse, but since gays will be able to openly serve, but in some states cannot marry, and in the case of the DOMA the FEDGOV cannot recognise their marriage if they can marry- will they start to change their tune? Otherwise they are openly discriminating against their cherished member base.

I have always kinda written it off to them being primarily a military service organizationand the fact that you cannot serve openly gay has allowed them to stay an old boys network of discrimination when possible, (not that I am saying gays do not serve, nor have gays served, or that gays are not serving right now.) and have moved much of my business elsewhere (NFCU and their affiliates).

But with the repeal of DADT, will they finally change their tune?

I can only hope.

Anyone else want to chime in.

[haulingthescoreup]

I figured that they were just following the DOMA ("Defense of Marriage Act") that applies to federal employees, straight or gay. For instance, if I were a VA employee, and I had a domestic partner (as opposed to a spouse), I couldn't include said partner in my health insurance and so forth, unless this has recently changed. And that was true whether the partner was same or opposite sex.

I didn't know that USAA was less friendly to same-sex relationships. 

In general, I realize that people have a lot of varying opinions on this sort of thing, but when we live in a world where you have to have health insurance, etc. to function --and having health coverage is now going to be required by the health care legislation --I don't agree with denying coverage to partners who are functioning as a household, whether it triggers someone's "ick factor" or not. JMO

[laz98]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

In general, I realize that people have a lot of varying opinions on this sort of thing, but when we live in a world where you have to have health insurance, etc. to function --and having health coverage is now going to be required by the health care legislation --I don't agree with denying coverage to partners who are functioning as a household, whether it triggers someone's "ick factor" or not. JMO

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ditto! 

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

I figured that they were just following the DOMA ("Defense of Marriage Act") that applies to federal employees, straight or gay. For instance, if I were a VA employee, and I had a domestic partner (as opposed to a spouse), I couldn't include said partner in my health insurance and so forth, unless this has recently changed. And that was true whether the partner was same or opposite sex.

I didn't know that USAA was less friendly to same-sex relationships. 

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DOMA has only been around 15-16 years. And being Federal, there is no onus on USAA to follow it, if that is their "reasoning" they use it as an excuse. BTW DOMA addresses same sex relationships without calling out opposite sex couples.

USAA as a corporation has never responded to the HRCs surveys they send out to companies to rate their gay/transgender acceptance and openness as both an employer to their employees, and to their customers.

[laz98]

i didn't think that DOMA had been around that long.  that's interesting.  learned something new! 

[sybo40]

I just read this post and, as a prior USAA customer, it doesn't appear that they are not very gay friendly.  I tried to open a savings account so that my partner and I could both contribute via direct deposit and noticed the instruction to call them for any other relationship outside the traditonal family (from their pull-down menu).  I felt uncomfortable even calling to ask about it.  I did the same thing with PenFed and had the same feeling.  I just decided to stay away from both of them altogether and put my business elsewhere.  I'll keep watching, but I won't expect much to change...especially not anytime soon.

[Anonymous]

If you do not write them and let them know how will they know?

This month I was talking to a friend of mine, a, as currently necessary closeted Gay Capt in charge of an infantry company at Camp Pendleton.

USAA came up as he was telling me he loved using it. I explained their hiding behind both the Domestic Partner thing and DADT as their excuse.

He actually wrote them a letter asking for them to clarify their policies and if they would change them to be more friendly for gay servicemembers, their so called beloved membership pool,  In addition he stated that as a current leader and future leader of openly gay  Marines he would not be able in good faith to endorse a discriminatory company,

He sent me a copy of the letter, on company letterhead, and well we are waiting for a response.

Protesting silently does not work.

PS NAVY FEDERAL  AWESOME!!!!

[laz98]

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@sybo40 wrote:

I just read this post and, as a prior USAA customer, it doesn't appear that they are not very gay friendly.  I tried to open a savings account so that my partner and I could both contribute via direct deposit and noticed the instruction to call them for any other relationship outside the traditonal family (from their pull-down menu).  I felt uncomfortable even calling to ask about it.  I did the same thing with PenFed and had the same feeling.  I just decided to stay away from both of them altogether and put my business elsewhere.  I'll keep watching, but I won't expect much to change...especially not anytime soon.

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i would feel the same way.  it's like inviting discrimination over the phone!  i wouldn't even know how to handle that scenario.

[Anonymous]

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@laz98 wrote:

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@sybo40 wrote:

I just read this post and, as a prior USAA customer, it doesn't appear that they are not very gay friendly.  I tried to open a savings account so that my partner and I could both contribute via direct deposit and noticed the instruction to call them for any other relationship outside the traditonal family (from their pull-down menu).  I felt uncomfortable even calling to ask about it.  I did the same thing with PenFed and had the same feeling.  I just decided to stay away from both of them altogether and put my business elsewhere.  I'll keep watching, but I won't expect much to change...especially not anytime soon.

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i would feel the same way.  it's like inviting discrimination over the phone!  i wouldn't even know how to handle that scenario.

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A funny OT anectdote.

Outgoing gay male friend of mine working in Ohio (A BANNED GAY MARRIAGE STATE) invited one of the new employees to go to lunch. FINE. Told new employee before they left that he was gay as he did not want to shock the guy if anyone saw them going off to lunch and said anything, and did not want the new employee to feel the lunch request was anything but lunch. basically as he told me going out to lunch with the guy Monday and then having him find out Tuesday that he was gay, and therefore thinking there was something beyond a food issue going on there was a scene he did not want to deal with.

new Employee was extremely fundamentalist and went to management thinking that there was some overt sexual overtone in the lunch plans he did not go on.

Management confronted my friend and told him that among other things, "You dont see me telling everyone I am straight around here."

My friend replied, "Well your wedding ring and your wife's picture on your desk gives it away."

[laz98]

HA HA!  that is funny.......i think it's funny when people say dumb things like that