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.
Washington Blade, Posted: 7/23/2010, 9:40 AM Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) told the Blade on Thursday he’s expecting the full Senate to take up “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in September after lawmakers return from August recess. Advocates have been anticipating a vote on the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill — the vehicle to which repeal language is attached – since the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 27 attached the provision to the bill and reported out the legislation to the floor. Levin said the quickest possible route for passing repeal in the Senate is now reaching an agreement this month to take up the defense bill shortly after lawmakers return from August break. “What we’re hoping to do before August is to have an agreement which will pave the way for it being brought up right after the recess,” Levin said. Bryan Thomas, a Levin spokesperson, later clarified that Levin was referring to an agreement negotiated between majority and minority leadership. Levin, who had earlier said he was hoping for a vote on the defense bill in July, said this agreement would eliminate the possibility of a filibuster on a motion to proceed after lawmakers return. Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said his organization is also urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring the defense legislation to the floor “right after the Labor Day recess.”
Associated Press (AP), Posted: 7/17/2010, 10:23 AM A former Air Force officer testified Friday that he did not violate the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy but was discharged for being openly gay after a service member snooped through his e-mails. Former Air Force Maj. Michael Almy took the witness stand to support a federal court lawsuit filed by a Republican gay rights organization challenging the constitutionality of the military's ban on openly gay troops. The non-jury trial has forced the federal government to defend a policy that President Barack Obama is pushing Congress to repeal. Lawyers for the Log Cabin Republicans say they don't want to wait on Washington and are seeking a federal injunction to immediately halt the policy. Attorney Dan Woods has argued the policy violates the rights of gay military members to free speech, due process and open association. The group says 13,500 military members have been discharged because of the policy since 1994. "Don't ask, don't tell" prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members but requires discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or are discovered to be engaging in homosexual activity, even in the privacy of their own homes off base. Almy said he had been honored as a top communications officer in the Air Force for his leadership skills in running an exemplary unit that helped maintain control over the vast majority of Iraq's air space during the war. After his tour, he returned to his base in Germany, where he was called to his commander's office and questioned about a dozen personal e-mails he said the Air Force discovered after a service member searched through his computer in Iraq.
Associated Press (AP), Posted: 7/17/2010, 7:03 AM Prosecutors have dropped all charges against an openly gay Iraq War veteran who twice chained himself to a White House fence to protest the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Lt. Dan Choi and James Pietrangelo, a gay army captain honorably discharged for disclosing his sexual orientation, were in court Wednesday on charges of failure to obey police orders during the March and April protests. All charges were dropped against them. Choi and his attorney had subpoenaed President Barack Obama to appear, but an attorney for the prosecution said the subpoena wasn't served. Prosecutor Christine Chang declined to comment on why the government dropped the case. Choi said he believes Obama administration officials didn't want to draw attention to the policy.
Washington Post, Posted: 7/13/2010, 5:27 PM As the Pentagon continues studying the impact of repealing its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, a federal court case starting Tuesday in California will consider whether the policy banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in uniform is constitutional. A six-year legal fight by the Log Cabin Republicans culminates today in Riverside, Calif., where the group's lawyers will argue that the the gay ban violates due process and free speech protections. "We're trying to have the whole statute thrown out," said lead attorney Dan Woods. Over the course of the two week trial, Woods plans to call several expert witnesses and at least five former service members, who will tell the court how they were discharged under the policy for reasons unrelated to their performance. At least one heterosexual service member also is expected to testify about how working with gay men made no difference in his military service, Woods said. The judge in the case decided last week that the case could proceed despite government objections. Justice Department lawyers will argue that LCR has failed to identify any of its members personally harmed by the gay ban and that the group's claims of unconstitutionality fail under court precedent, according to government court briefs. But the case once again puts government lawyers in the awkward position of defending a policy impeding gay rights that the Obama administration hopes to one day end.
Talking Points Memo (TPM), Posted: 7/12/2010, 2:45 PM Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell is hitting back against criticisms of the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell survey, which was distributed to 400,000 members of the Armed Forces this week. Critics have blasted the survey for everything from its focus on the troops' supposed feelings about showering with gay and lesbian colleagues to its use of the bias-engendering term "homosexual." In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, Morrell was having none of it. He began the call by insisting that the media didn't have the full, 103-question survey (which, for the record, TPM did), and then transitioned to criticizing the groups that made the survey available to non-participants, saying that could "deter service members from participating" and "potentially skew the answers of those that choose to participate." Morrell also insisted that the questions with which most critics took the most umbrage -- i.e., those related to lifestyle issues like socializing outside of work as well as showering and sharing barracks with openly gay and lesbian colleagues (as though that does not currently occur) -- were developed as part of a process within the department and the working group to address the "privacy" issues of concern to heterosexual members of the military. Morrell said, "We think it would be irresponsible to conduct a survey that did not address these questions," but insisted they were asked to help the military determine what adjustments might be necessary "when DADT is repealed."
ABC News, Posted: 7/12/2010, 12:00 PM "If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed and you are assigned to bathroom facilities with an open bay shower that someone you believe to be a gay or lesbian Service member also used, which are you most likely to do? Mark 1." So asks the Pentagon survey of 400,000 non-deployed active troops regarding the pending repeal of the “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. The choices:
“Take no action;
“Use the shower at a different time than the Service member I thought to be gay or lesbian;
“Discuss how we expect each other to behave and conduct ourselves;
“Talk to a chaplain, mentor, or leader about how to handle the situation;
“Talk to a leader to see if I had other options;
“Something else;
“Don't know.”
The advocacy group Servicemembers United has obtained a copy of the Pentagon survey, which can be read HERE. And its members don’t like it. Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United and a former Army interrogator discharged under DADT, says in a statement that it will be “safe for gay and lesbian troops to participate in this survey” but “it is simply impossible to imagine a survey with such derogatory and insulting wording, assumptions, and insinuations going out about any other minority group in the military.” Nicholson says the survey “stokes the fires of homophobia by its very design and will only make the Pentagon's responsibility to subdue homophobia as part of this inevitable policy change even harder."
CNN, Posted: 7/7/2010, 10:04 PM WATCH: The Pentagon on Wednesday began sending out to troops a survey of more than 100 questions seeking their views on the impact of repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" restrictions prohibiting gays and lesbians from openly serving in the U.S. military. An administration official confirmed to CNN that the survey is being sent to 200,000 active duty troops and 200,000 reserve troops. The official declined to be identified because the survey has not officially been made public. The survey, which service members can expect to receive via e-mail, asks about such issues as how unit morale or readiness might be affected if a commander is believed to be gay or lesbian; the need to maintain personal standards of conduct; and how repeal might affect willingness to serve in the military. The survey also asks a number of questions aimed at identifying problems that could occur when troops live and work in close quarters in overseas war zones. For example, the questionnaire asks military members how they would react if they had to share a room, bathrooms, and open-bay showers in a war zone with other service members believed to be gay or lesbian. There also are several questions about reactions to dealing with same-sex partners in social situations.
Sacramento Bee, Posted: 6/22/2010, 10:19 AM Defense Secretary Robert Gates says President Barack Obama could end up vetoing legislation that would lift the ban on gays serving openly in the military. Obama supports repealing the law, and the White House has pushed for quicker congressional action than the Pentagon has favored. Gates also supports repeal. But Gates tells "Fox News Sunday" that Obama probably still would veto an upcoming spending bill that includes the repeal - if the bill also contains money for defense projects he says are wasteful. Gates wants to get rid of an aircraft engine and additional transport aircraft that some lawmakers want to keep. They generally represent areas with defense contractors that would stand to lose business from the cuts.
Politico, Posted: 6/9/2010, 6:56 PM Congress's steps toward repeal of the ban on gays in the military should bring a halt to a federal lawsuit challenging the current policy, the Justice Department said in a legal brief filed Wednesday afternoon. Though Congress has not yet passed a bill providing for conditional repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, government lawyers contend the prospect of such a measure's passage should be sufficient for the courts to stay out of the issue. "Defendants urge this Court ... to stay all further proceedings in this case because the political branches have taken concrete steps to facilitate repeal of the DADT statute," the Justice Department wrote in a brief filed in a suit brought in California by the Log Cabin Republicans. Amendments to repeal the policy contingent on a report from the Pentagon that such a repeal could be implemented without significant adverse impact on the force passed the floor of the House and the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 27. (While the underlying defense bill also passed the House, the full Senate has not voted on either the amendment or its version of the underlying bill.) "In light of these developments, principles of constitutional avoidance and respect for the co-equal branches of government militate in favor of a stay of proceedings pending completion of the process already undertaken by the political branches. Indeed, this is particularly true where, as here, a plaintiff brings a facial constitutional challenge. Accordingly, the Court should await the outcome of the process in which the political branches are now engaged before deciding the constitutional question presented," the Justice Department lawyers wrote.
CBS News, Posted: 6/9/2010, 5:13 PM Conservative Missouri Democrat Rep. Ike Shelton, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said today that the military should keep the "don't ask, don't tell" policy intact in part to avoid parents having to talk to their children about homosexuality. Congress has moved toward authorizing repeal of the Clinton-era policy, which bans gays from serving openly in the military. The House voted to overturn the law last month. If a repeal provision gets through the Senate - a fierce fight is expected in the coming months - repeal could go into effect after the conclusion of a Pentagon study ending December 1st and subsequent approval from President Obama and military brass. According to the Associated Press, Skelton told reporters that repeal of the policy could put families in a difficult position because it could prompt children to ask about homosexuality. "What do mommies and daddies say to their 7-year-old child?" he asked. Skelton, one of the 26 Democrats who opposed repeal in the House, added that his "biggest concern are the families."
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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