Gays serve in militaries around the world, although several countries (including the U.S. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy) prohibit service by openly gay soldiers and sailors.
Associated Press (AP), Posted: 2/14/2010, 1:47 PM As promised, the Pentagon has begun examining how the ban on gays serving openly could be eased and then repealed, but a complete repeal of the ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy is probably years away. The two officials appointed to lead a yearlong internal assessment -- Gen. Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, and Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson -- met for the first time on Feb. 9. As that study gets under way, officials were expected by mid-March to suggest ways to relax enforcement of the law. Of particular interest is minimizing cases of ''third party outings,'' where a service member is kicked out after being reported by others to be gay. The protracted time line is about more than giving military leaders time to assess the impact on troops and put new rules in place. The multiyear process also is a strategic way of getting troops used to the idea before they have to accept change.
New York Times, Posted: 2/13/2010, 4:30 PM In a sign that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy may be weakening under pressure from the White House and the Pentagon’s top leadership, Lt. Dan Choi, who is facing discharge from the New York Army National Guard because he publicly announced that he was gay, took part in a drill last weekend with his Guard unit at what he said was the encouragement of his commander. In a telephone interview on Thursday, Lieutenant Choi said that his commander was “totally supportive” and had asked him to participate in a weekend drill with his unit, the First Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, in Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., near Harrisburg. The unit is facing possible deployment to Afghanistan in 2012. Lieutenant Choi was never discharged from the New York Guard, but since April had not been in drills with his unit as he grew increasingly busy lobbying for an end to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law. He instead went to substitute drills, as the Guard allows. In many cases, he said, a substitute drill consisted of administrative work at the 69th Regiment’s armory at Lexington Avenue and 26th Street in Manhattan.
Chicago Tribune, Posted: 2/13/2010, 3:25 PM Some of the military's top brass are urging the end to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay service members, but a new poll from the rank and file shows half oppose the repeal. In a Military Times survey of 3,000 active-duty readers of the specialized weekly newspapers it publishes, about 51 percent said they oppose repeal of the policy. Marines were most likely to be against open service by gays, with 64 percent taking that position. Fifty-two percent of Army soldiers, 48 percent of Air Force airmen and 45 percent of Navy sailors shared that point of view. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents said they believe a member of their unit is gay. About 2 percent identified themselves as gay or bisexual, while 3 percent said they were unsure or declined to answer.
Washington Post, Posted: 2/12/2010, 1:55 PM Three-quarters of Americans say that they support openly gay people serving in the U.S. military, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, a finding that could lend momentum to the Obama administration's effort to dismantle the policy known as "don't ask, don't tell." The level of public support for allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly far outpaces that in the spring of 1993, when Congress and the Clinton administration established the policy. Civilian and military officials held their first meetings this week to begin a year-long review of "don't ask, don't tell," which forbids commanders to ask about service members' sexuality and requires the discharge of openly gay men and women. President Obama called for the policy's repeal last month in his State of the Union address, and the military's top civilian and military leadership has also expressed personal support for a repeal.
Politico, Posted: 2/11/2010, 4:58 PM Congressional liberals were heartened when Barack Obama pledged to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but their initial elation has given way to concerns the repeal will stall in the penalty box of presidential promises: the U.S. Senate. Obama’s historic commitment — featured prominently in his State of the Union speech last month — helped soothe his frayed relationship with the politically powerful gay and lesbian community. It also sent a strong signal to the Democrats’ demoralized, demobilized progressive base that he’s still on their side, after delays and compromises on the public option, cap and trade and the closing of Guantanamo Bay. But House Democratic leadership aides tell POLITICO they are growing increasingly worried over the lack of a detailed White House road map for passing a repeal — and that without such a road map, repeal will end up in the same kind of Senate gridlock that hobbled health reform. And hopes that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) would galvanize moderates in both parties to the cause by introducing the repeal bill have yet to materialize despite months of negotiations between Lieberman and the White House, according to people familiar with the situation.
Gay City News, Posted: 2/7/2010, 3:54 PM New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, speaking at the annual New York dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, said she will “introduce an amendment to the budget that will bar the use of funds for the enforcement” of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, which prevents gay and lesbian soldiers from serving openly. That pledge, made February 6 at Manhattan’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, came just four days after the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the policy at which Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Admiral Michael Mullen testified that it is time to look at overturning the policy. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell became law in 1993, when President Bill Clinton surrendered his campaign commitment to eliminate existing regulations against military service by gay and lesbian Americans, in the face of opposition from some Democrats in Congress and even his own Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gillibrand, who does not sit on Armed Services, nevertheless played a critical role in convincing the committee’s chairman, Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, who also opposes the policy, that hearing should be held.
Army Times, Posted: 2/5/2010, 9:14 PM Socially conservative House members on Wednesday echoed their Senate colleagues’ criticism of the Pentagon’s proposal to repeal the military’s ban on open service by gays, with the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee expressing “serious concerns” about overturning the ban during wartime and calling for repeal without providing input from the four service chiefs. “Congress deserves to see from the services concrete, in-depth evidence that readiness concerns require a change and that such a change would not degrade wartime military readiness in any measurable, significant way,” said Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., addressing Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen. “Many of us on this committee have serious concerns with putting our men and women in uniform through such a divisive debate while they are fighting two wars.” And, McKeon added later, “this position in support of repeal comes before your service chiefs have had the opportunity to conduct an in-depth review of the impact a repeal would have on military readiness. It seems that your path places the cart before the horse.”
Posted: 2/5/2010, 8:44 AM One week after President Obama raised the prospect of repealing the Don't Ask Don't Tell law preventing gays from serving openly in the U.S. ministry, a top Brazilian general has caused a firestorm by saying that gays have no place in that country's armed forces. "Military life contains certain characteristics, including combat, that cannot be adjusted to fit the life of this individual," said Gen. Raymundo Nonato de Cerqueira Filho, referring to gays. He made the comments during testimony before the Brazilian Senate's Constitutional and Justice Committee, according tot he newspaper O Globo. "Most of the armies of the world do not allow this type of [sexual] orientation."
Washington Post, Posted: 2/4/2010, 1:53 PM For many lawmakers, "don't ask, don't tell" makes a lot of sense - for themselves. Ten months before elections, neither party sees much to gain in stirring up the once-volatile issue of letting gays serve openly in the military. Any candidate who isn't laser-focused on jobs is making a big mistake, strategists from both parties said Wednesday, noting that public support for gay rights has grown substantially in recent years. Only a decade or so ago, if the Pentagon and White House had suggested such a policy change, it probably would have triggered public outcries similar to those that tripped up Bill Clinton in 1993 and led to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" compromise. But the Pentagon's top leaders this week embraced President Barack Obama's call to phase out the policy that bars gay men and lesbians from military service if they divulge their sexual orientation. The political reaction? Barely a whisper. The National Republican Congressional Committee, which is heading the GOP bid to gain dozens of House seats this November, said its official position was summarized by House Republican leader John Boehner last weekend. "I don't think it will be a campaign issue," Boehner told NBC. "In the middle of two wars, and in the middle of this giant security threat, why would we want to get into this debate?"
Associated Press (AP), Posted: 2/4/2010, 9:43 AM The Pentagon's move to consider letting gays serve openly is generating lively debate on social media sites and among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who've returned to the U.S. The fireworks are less evident among troops in Afghanistan. Active-duty troops are generally cautious about commenting because of a ban on publicly opposing Pentagon policies. The few in Afghanistan who would talk about it seemed nonplussed by the issue. "Do I care if someone is gay? I have no qualms," said Army Sgt. Justin Graff, who's serving with the 5th Stryker Brigade in southern Afghanistan. The Army's official Facebook site has been swamped with hundreds of comments, pro and con, since Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate committee Tuesday that it's wrong to require gays to "lie about who they are" to defend their country. It's unclear which people posting on the site are currently serving, veterans or nonmilitary. A U.S. military spokesman, Col. Wayne Shanks, said no specific gag order had been issued forbidding soldiers to discuss gays in the military but troops are as a rule advised that it is "inappropriate" to comment on defense policy issues. "There's been no directive that you can't talk about it," he said. "But anybody knows that they're not going to comment on a policy decision."
Politico, Posted: 5/26/2010, 3:01 PM
QUICK LOOK:By MAJ. PETER KEES HAMSTRA & LEIF OHLSON & LT. COM. CRAIG JONES: As openly gay officers with decades of combined service experience in the British, Dutch and Swedish armed forces, we are closely watching U.S. developments around the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell." We were just in Washington at a Brookings Institution/Palm Center conference, where representatives from the world's militaries discussed this matter. Though we maintain a respect for the American people, their military and their political process, we share a sense of puzzlement — and a sort of shock — at the rhetoric we heard surrounding "Don't ask, don't tell." As Congress prepares to vote on this, we hope our international perspective can be of some value. The U.S. armed forces are the world's most formidable, with an unrivaled might and a readiness to accept worldwide deployments to engage in a range of military conflicts that no other nation views with the same sort of international responsibility. Yet it is also true that U.S. military power depends, in most cases, on an international coalition of partners. Members of Congress don't always seem to appreciate that America's allies are put off in serious ways by the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. For example, units of our own or other armed forces have refused to deploy in some joint operations with U.S. forces because gay service members would not work with the Americans — for fear of hostile reactions.
Washington Post, Posted: 4/20/2010, 8:03 PM
QUICK LOOK:BY JONATHAN CAPEHART: President Obama flew out to California to help the sagging reelection effort of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and came face-to-face with frustration over efforts to repeal the ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military. He was interrupted a couple of times during his rah-rah for Boxer, in fact. Now, here's my frustration: These same protesters don't bother to interrupt fundraisers and other events for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). With Obama out, loud and proud in his support for repeal of "don't ask don't tell," those congressional leaders are the ones who hold the key to it actually happening. And they are content to let Obama take all the heat. Hammering away at Obama on this issue is understandable. During the campaign, he promised to do away with the law that hurts the nation's military effectiveness. (I mean, how effective can the U.S. be in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the war on terror if it's booting desperately needed Arab linguists simply because of who they are?) But I must remind my gay brothers and sisters that Obama is not king. Don't ask don't tell is an act of Congress. And it will take Congress to permanently do away with it. Gay men and lesbians are right to hold Obama's feet to the fire on this. But by continuing to ignore Pelosi and Reid, not only are they giving them a pass the leaders don't deserve, they are also slowing down a resolution to an honorable cause.
Posted: 3/26/2010, 12:06 PM
QUICK LOOK:It's been one year since Lt. Dan Choi came out of the closet very publicly to challenge the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy on gays in the military. An Arab linguist now facing discharge, Choi was back in the headlines last week when he showed up at a Human Rights Campaign rally featuring comedienne Kathy Griffin and, according to some, "hijacked" the event by asking those present to join him for a short two-block walk to the White House, where he handcuffed himself to the fence in a protest of civil disobedience. He spent the night in jail but was back out protesting over the weekend, joining the LGBT contingent in the large immigration rights rally on the National Mall. One year after it all started, Choi went back on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show to talk about the latest developments in DADT repeal.
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