Brits showing the way for American repeal of military ban?
The cover photo of an out soldier on the British army’s official magazine is a symbol of the success of the military’s nearly decade-long policy to allow openly gay personnel, according to this article. The British military reportedly has been advising its U.S. counterparts on a strategy to repeal its own gay ban. The Independent (London)
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/brits-showing…
Military Gay Discharge Moratorium Bill A Non-Starter
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has decided not to pursue a senate amendment that would pause military discharges based on sexual orientation, gay weekly the Washington Blade reported. Gillibrand, the freshman senator appointed by Governor David Paterson after President Obama tapped Hillary Clinton to head the State Department, signaled last week she would introduce the reform as an amendment to a Defense Department reauthorization bill. The amendment would place an 18-month moratorium on the military gay ban, also known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the law that prescribes discharge for gay and lesbian service members who do not remain celibate or closeted.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/military-gay-…
Out lawmaker is named to Air Force Academy board Out U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., has been appointed to the Air Force Academy’s Board of Visitors.
Out U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., has been appointed to the Air Force Academy’s Board of Visitors. Although Polis is against the military’s gay ban, he doesn’t intend to lobby for the policy’s repeal through his membership on the board, according to this article.KMGH-TV (Denver)/The Associated Press
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/out-lawmaker-…
Dismay Over Obama’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Turnabout
When Barack Obama sought the presidency, he pledged to reverse the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy preventing gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. military. Yet on Monday, the Supreme Court rejected a gay Ohio soldier’s challenge to the law — with the legal backing of none other than the Obama Administration.
James Pietrangelo II, the former Army infantryman and lawyer whose case the high court declined to review, reserved most of his ire for President Obama instead of the court. “He’s a coward, a bigot and a pathological liar,” Pietrangelo said in an interview with TIME shortly after the high court declined to hear his appeal. “This is a guy who spent more time picking out his dog, Bo, and playing with him on the White House lawn than he has working for equality for gay people,” he added. “If there were millions of black people as second-class citizens, or millions of Jews or Irish, he would have acted immediately” upon taking office to begin working to lift “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” Pietrangelo fought in Iraq in 1991 as an infantryman, and returned as a JAG officer for the second Iraq War, before being booted out in 2004 for declaring he was gay as he was readying for a third combat tour. He was representing himself before the high court. (See pictures of the gay rights movement.)
The Obama Administration, in its brief in the case last month, said a lower court acted properly in upholding the gay ban. “Applying the strong deference traditionally afforded to the Legislative and Executive Branches in the area of military affairs, the court of appeals properly upheld the statute,” argued Elena Kagan, who as Solicitor General represents the Administration before the Supreme Court. The bar on gays serving openly is “rationally related to the government’s legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion,” her 12-page filing added.
The endorsement of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” by the Administration marks the latest rightward tack by Obama. The President denounced many of George W. Bush’s national-security policies during the campaign, but in office has adopted more conservative positions, including endorsing military commissions to try purported terrorists, and declining to release a second batch of photographs depicting alleged U.S. maltreatment of Iraqi detainees. His stance on “Don’t ask, don’t tell” may be more surprising, because Obama aides have made clear the President wants the ban lifted eventually. (Watch a gay marriage wedding video.)
Pietrangelo doesn’t buy the line from Obama aides — and the Pentagon — that they’re too busy grappling with a faltering economy and two wars to handle the gay ban right away. “It’s a complete lie that he has too much stuff on his plate — this is the guy who criticized Bush for not being able to multitask,” Pietrangelo says. “We have an old saying in the military — the maximum effective range of an excuse is zero meters.” See Dismay Over Obama’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Turnabout TIME
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/dismay-over-o…
Military still studying effects of lifting gay ban
The military is reviewing the potential effects of lifting the gay ban and will continue to enforce the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, said Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “I think it’s important to also know that this is the law, this isn’t a policy. And for the rules to change, a law has to be changed,” Mullen said. Google/The Associated Press * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/military-stil…
Sarvis: Time is now to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Saying that lifting the military gay ban is a matter of urgent national security, Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, is calling on President Barack Obama to form a panel to study the effect of ending the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and present its findings within 90 to 120 days. Any further delay in overturning current law “is a slap in the face to the estimated 65,000 gays and lesbians currently serving their country,” Sarvis writes. CBS News * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/sarvis-time-i…
Pentagon: No Plans To End Military Gay Ban
The Pentagon said today that it has no plans to repeal the military gay ban that prohibits open service by gay and lesbian soldiers. Pentagon Spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters Tuesday that repeal was not being actively pursued. The ban, known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” prescribes discharge from the military for gay and lesbian service members who do not remain closeted or celibate. President Obama pledged to scrap the 1993 policy during the campaign, but has since soft-pedaled on the issue, saying he is looking for “fundamental reform.” When CBS National Security Correspondent David Martin asked Morrell for an update on what the Pentagon is doing to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” Morrell answered: “As far as I know, at this point, David, there has been no request made by the president to the Congress to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.”
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/pentagon-no-p…
New Study Says Obama Can Halt Gay Discharges With Executive Order
Military Law Experts Chart Course to End 16-Year Ban
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A study released today by a team of military law experts shows that the president has the legal authority to end gay discharges with a single order. The idea of ending the ban by executive order has gained momentum in the wake of news that mission-critical personnel, including Arabic language speaker Dan Choi, continue to be fired under the Obama administration because they’re gay. Congressman Rush Holt endorsed an executive order to end the ban on Saturday and National Security Adviser James Jones was asked about it by George Stephanopoulos on Sunday morning. The report, “How to End Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: A Roadmap of Political, Legal, Regulatory, and Organizational Steps to Equal Treatment,” is sponsored by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Many have argued that only Congress can lift the ban on service by openly gay troops. But according to the study, Congressional approval is not needed. Dr. Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center and a study co-author, said “The administration does not want to move forward on this issue because of conservative opposition from both parties in Congress, and Congress does not want to move forward without a signal from the White House. This study provides a recipe for breaking through the political deadlock, as well as a roadmap for military leaders once the civilians give the green light.”
There are three legal bases to the president’s authority, the report says. First, Congress has already granted to the Commander in Chief the statutory authority to halt military separations under 10 U.S.C. 12305, a law which Congress titled, “Authority of President to suspend certain laws relating to promotion, retirement, and separation.” Under the law, the President may suspend any provision of law relating to promotion, retirement, or separation applicable to any member of the armed forces who the President determines is essential to the national security of the United States during a “period of national emergency.” The statute specifically defines a “national emergency” as a time when “members of a reserve component are serving involuntarily on active duty.”
The second and third bases of presidential authority are contained within the “don’t ask, don’t tell” legislation itself. The law grants to the Defense Department authority to determine the process by which discharges will be carried out, saying they will proceed “under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulation.” Finally, the law calls for the discharge of service members if a finding of homosexuality is made, but it does not require that such a finding ever be made. According to the study, these provisions mean that the Pentagon, not Congress, has the “authority to devise and implement the procedures under which those findings may be made.”
Diane H. Mazur, Professor of Law at the University of Florida College of Law and another study co-author, said the presidential authority to stop firing gay troops, known as “stop-loss,” is different from the highly unpopular stop-loss policy that the Army recently announced it would phase out. “That use of stop-loss forcibly extends service by those who wish to leave the military,” she said, “whereas suspending discharges for homosexuality would do the opposite: allow ongoing service by those who wish to remain in uniform.” The study says the provisions of the stop-loss law, which are granted by Congress, are “sensible because they give the President authority to suspend laws relating to separation when a national emergency has strained personnel requirements.”
The other four authors of the study in addition to Mazur and Belkin are Dr. Nathaniel Frank, a Palm researcher and author of “Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America”; Dr. Gregory M. Herek, Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis; Dr. Elizabeth L. Hillman, Professor of Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law; and Bridget J. Wilson, who practices law at Rosenstein Wilson & Dean in San Diego. The report will also be published in a forthcoming book, “Department of Defense Social Policy Perspectives 2010,” edited by James Parco, David Levy and Fred Blass.
The Palm Center is a research institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Center uses rigorous social science to inform public discussions of controversial social issues, enabling policy outcomes to be informed more by evidence than by emotion. Its data-driven approach is premised on the notion that the public makes wise choices on social issues when high-quality information is available. For more information, visit www.palmcenter.ucsb.edu * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-study-say…
White House Sets Record Straight on Gay Ban
SANTA BARBARA, Calif — The following was released today by the Michael D. Palm Center:
Asked today if the White House would consider halting gay discharges by presidential authority, press secretary Robert Gibbs said it would not stop the firing of gay troops. That said, Gibbs insisted that the President believes that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy “isn’t working for our national interests” and that he “will work with the Joints Chiefs of Staff, the administration and with Congress” to change the policy.
In recent weeks, the President’s national security team has sent mixed messages. Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke of what action would occur “if” the policy were repealed, suggesting it may not be; and national security advisor James Jones said this weekend he was not sure if the ban would be lifted.
Scholars said that Gibbs’ comments today indicate new leadership from the White House in reassuring the public that “don’t ask, don’t tell” will be repealed. Nathaniel Frank, senior research fellow at the Palm Center, said that “today’s remarks appear to send a signal to any member of the administration who questions the President’s resolve.”
At the same time, Gibbs’ statement raised questions by gay rights experts about why President Obama, who continues to say he wants the ban terminated, would preside over ongoing discharges when he has authority to end them by executive order. The Palm Center yesterday released a report by a team of scholars and legal experts showing that the president has statutory authority to halt discharges immediately.
Richard Socarides, who worked in the Clinton administration as special assistant to the president on LGBT issues, said that the current president should exercise the short-term options he has to end the ban. “I have long supported and advocated a moratorium on further discharges,” he said today, “and I think it’s well within the president’s discretionary authority to do that immediately.” Socarides said an executive order halting discharges would be consistent with Obama’s stated belief that the policy should end.
The Palm Center is a research institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Center uses rigorous social science to inform public discussions of controversial social issues, enabling policy outcomes to be informed more by evidence than by emotion. Its data-driven approach is premised on the notion that the public makes wise choices on social issues when high-quality information is available. For more information, visit www.palmcenter.ucsb.edu.
Website: http://www.palmcenter.ucsb.edu
Website: http://www.palmcenter.org
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/white-house-s…
Openly gay soldier Dan Choi dismissed from National Guard under DADT
Lieutenant Dan Choi, the National Guard soldier who publicly came out live on national television, has been dismissed from duty.
He was dismissed for “homosexual conduct”.
Choi is a campaigner for the repeal of the military gay ban and a founding member of the Knights Out group.
He came out live on US television on the Rachel Maddow Show, where he will reappear tonight to discuss his dismissal.
In a preview of the show, Maddow reads a letter received by Choi from the Army National Guard.
It states: “This is to inform you that sufficient basis exists to initiate action for withdrawal of Federal Recognition in the Army National Guard for moral or professional dereliction.
“Specifically you admitted publicly that you are a homosexual, which constitutes homosexual conduct. Your actions negatively affected the good order and discipline of the New York Army National Guard.” See Openly gay soldier Dan Choi dismissed from National Guard under …
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/openly-gay-so…
