Today's Badass Chick is Charlie Morgan, who just passed away from breast cancer at the age of 48 on Sunday. Charlie was a chief warrant officer in the New Hampshire National Guard who fought extremely hard to repeal the federal law that prohibited her wife from receiving benefits in the event of Charlie's passing. To break it down: under the Defense of Marriage Act, the Pentagon is required to ignore same-sex marriages. So when Charlie found out she had breast cancer in 2008, she was worried that her wife and her daughter might not be able to receive military and Social Security benefits, even though their marriage was legal in New Hampshire. Charlie decided to speak up: she was active at the first national convention of gay military personnel on active duty. She also came out on national television the day that the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy was repealed. A year ago she met with House Speaker John Boehner and just this past August, she and her wife testified before the Democratic Party's platform committee to further the cause. Charlie has passed but is not forgotten; there is still much more that needs to be done in this fight for equality. The late Charlie Morgan, you are my Badass Chick of the Day. Read all about Charlie's story.

If you have any suggestions for Badass Chick of the Day, please email me: loren@elvisduran.com or tweet me: @lorenraye - I love your ideas!