Madelynn Taylor, 74, served six years in the United States Navy. When she passes away, she says, she wants to be buried with the ashes of her late wife, Jean Mixner, in the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery.
But there's a problem. Because gay marriage isn't recognized in Idaho, Taylor's wish has been denied, even though the cemetery allows opposite-sex spouses to be buried or interred with veterans, KBOI.com reports.
"I'm not surprised," Taylor said to KBOI.com. "I've been discriminated against for 70 years, and they might as well discriminate against me in death as well as life.
"I don't see where the ashes of a couple old lesbians is going to hurt anyone," she continued. The couple were first married in 1995 and then legally married again in California in 2008. Mixner died in 2012.
Idaho's governor, C.L. "Butch" Otter, confirmed the state law wouldn't allow the couple to be buried together.
"The veteran’s cemetery rules require a valid marriage certificate in order for a spouse to be buried with a veteran. Idaho’s Constitution does not recognize same-sex marriage," Otter said in a statement released on Thursday. "The voters spoke in 2006 by passing an amendment to our Constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman. I am defending their decision and the Idaho Constitution in federal court, so I’m not going to comment any further."
Taylor says she will continue to speak out against the rule. She told KBOI.com that she recently joined the Add the 4 Words protest, a movement that seeks to add the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to Idaho's human rights act.
Taylor says she has no intention of being buried in the veterans cemetery without her late spouse. Should she pass away before the state law is changed, she wants her family to hold her ashes and Mixner's until a time in which they are allowed to be together.
