Despite the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the Marine Corps still fails to recognize gay and lesbian marriages as "real" marriages. For Marine Cpl. Ashley Vice and her civilian partner, Jaime Murphy, that meant they would not be eligible for the $1,200-a-month housing allowance made available to straight married Marines.

No unmarried couples, regardless of sexual orientation, are allowed to live together on the base. But without the allowance, Ashley and Jaime didn't make enough per month to afford to live in an off-base apartment. So they worked around the system.

They entered into sham marriages with Cpl. Jeremiah Griffin and Cpl. Joseph Garner, two male Marines also stationed at San Diego's Camp Pendleton. That arrangement made them eligible for two allowances. (The LA Times report makes no mention of what the men got out of the deal; presumably they split the money.)

Now they have all pled guilty to the scheme. The three Marines have been handed down bad-conduct discharges, were fined $5,000 each, and sentenced to "confinement" for anywhere from three to six months. Murphy, being a civilian, isn't subject to military law. [LAT]