Talk:Mychal Judge

Judge Act
I added a note that the Judge Act extends benefits to chaplains of police and fire departments. This is explained in the cited NYT article. As the article stands--mentioning an act named after him and describing it as extending benefits to same-sex couples--is quite confusing since there is no other indication in the article why such a law would be named after the subject. This talk pages mentions that the subject is thought in some circles to be homosexual, but the stated reason (NYT cite) for naming the Act after him is that it extends benefits to clergy named as beneficiaries.

There should also be reference to support that this is the first Act to extend benefits to same-sex couples. This is an act of general application, in that any named beneficiary (including same-sex domestic partners) can receive federal death benefits. Is it actually the case that there was never previously any act that allowed the testator to name anyone (not just spouse) as beneficiary?