Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Gold Star Families Equality Act

Lapel button for next of kin of deceased members of the Armed Forces

(a)

Service-Wide adoption of next of kin lapel button

Section 1126 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— (1)by striking subsection (b); (2)by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and (3)by inserting after subsection (a) the following new subsections:

(b)A lapel button, to be known as the lapel button for next of kin of deceased members of the armed forces, shall be designed, as approved by the Secretary of Defense, to identify widows, parents, and next of kin of members of the armed forces who die, under circumstances not prescribed by subsection (a), while serving on active duty or while assigned to a reserve component in a drill status. (c)Under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary concerned, upon application to the Secretary, shall furnish— (1)one gold star lapel button without cost to the widow and to each parent and next of kin of a member who lost or loses his or her life under any circumstances prescribed in subsection (a); and (2)one lapel button for next of kin of deceased members to the widow and to each parent and next of kin of a member who lost or loses his or her life under the circumstances prescribed in subsection (b).

(b)

Conforming amendments

Subsection (d) of section 1126 of title 10, United States Code, as redesignated by subsection (a)(2), is amended by inserting or lapel button for next of kin of deceased members after gold star lapel button both places it appears. (c)

Use of existing design

The design of the lapel button for the next of kin of deceased members of the Armed Forces required by subsection (b) of section 1126 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(3), shall be based on the design of such a lapel button provided by the Secretary of the Army to certain survivors of deceased members of the Army, including the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard, pursuant to Army regulation 600–6–18, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. (d)

Retroactive availability

The lapel button for the next of kin of deceased members of the Armed Forces required by subsection (b) of section 1126 of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(3), shall be available to provide appropriate recognition for the survivors of members of the Armed Forces who have died since September 10, 2001.

Gold Star Installation Access Card

(a)

Service-Wide adoption of access card

The Secretary of each military department and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating (in this section referred to as the Secretary concerned) shall provide for the issuance of a Gold Star Installation Access Card to Gold Star family members who are the survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned to expedite the ability of a Gold Star family member to gain unescorted access to military installations for the purpose of obtaining the on-base services and benefits for which the Gold Star family member is entitled or eligible. (b)

Service-Wide acceptance of access card

The Secretaries concerned shall work jointly to ensure that a Gold Star Installation Access Card issued to a Gold Star family member by one Armed Force is accepted for access to military installations of another Armed Force. (c)

Protection of installation security

In developing, issuing, and accepting the Gold Star Installation Access Card, the Secretary concerned may take such measures as the Secretary concerned considers necessary— (1)to prevent fraud in the procurement or use of the Gold Star Installation Access Card; (2)to limit installation access to those areas that provide the services and benefits for which the Gold Star family member is entitled or eligible; and (3)to ensure that the availability and use of the Gold Star Installation Access Card does not adversely affect military installation security. (d)

Implementation

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretaries concerned shall complete implementation of this section. (e)

Gold Star family member defined

In this section, the term Gold Star family member means a person who has received a Gold Star Lapel Button or a Lapel Button for the Next of Kin of Deceased Members of the Armed Forces under section 1126 of title 10, United States Code.

Use of commissary stores and MWR retail facilities by parents of deceased members of the Armed Forces

(a)

Use authorized

The Secretary of each military department and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to ensure that a parent of a deceased member of the Armed Forces who receives a Gold Star Lapel Button or a Lapel Button for the Next of Kin of Deceased Members of the Armed Forces under section 1126 of title 10, United States Code, is permitted to use commissary stores and MWR retail facilities on the same basis as any surviving spouse or child of the member. (b)

Definitions

In this section: (1)The term MWR retail facilities means exchange stores and other revenue generating facilities operated by nonappropriated fund activities of the Department of Defense or the department in which the Coast Guard is operating for the morale, welfare, and recreation of members of the Armed Forces. (2)The term parent includes mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, mother through adoption, father through adoption, or foster parent who stood in loco parentis.