Gillibrand wins Senate hearing on military policy on gays

New York‘s Sen. href=”/topics/Kirsten_Gillibrand”>Kirsten Gillibrand said Monday she had won the commitment of the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold its first hearing this fall on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military.

The announcement is unusual because Gillibrand does not sit on the panel and did not push the issue in the last Congress, when she served on the House Armed Services Committee.

But the agreement by Senate Armed Services chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) capped a campaign Gillibrand has been waging in the last few weeks to scrap or suspend the controversial policy that has led the Pentagon to discharge thousands of gays and lesbians since 1994.

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Nunn: Probably time to review gays in military policy

Sam Nunn, a former Democratic senator from Georgia, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that it’s “probably time” to review the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy concerning gay people in the military.

Nunn, a conservative Democract who was one of his party’s experts in military matters, was a key advisor to President Barack Obama during the transition.

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Nunn: Probably time to review gays in military policy

Seattle Post Intelligencer

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Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed with the Obama administration and upheld Pentagon policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

The court said it will not hear an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The federal appeals court in Boston earlier threw out a lawsuit filed by Pietrangelo and 11 other veterans. He was the only member of that group who asked the high court to rule that the Clinton-era policy is unconstitutional.

During last year’s campaign, President Barack Obama indicated he supported the eventual repeal of the policy, but he has made no specific move to do so since taking office in January. Meanwhile, the White House has said it won’t stop gays and lesbians from being dismissed from the military.

In court papers, the administration said the appeals court ruled correctly in this case when it found that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is “rationally related to the government’s legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion.”

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman referred requests for comment to the Justice Department, but said the military policy “implements the law.”

“The law requires the (Defense) Department to separate from the armed services members who engage in or attempt to engage in homosexual acts; state they are homosexual or bisexual; or marry or attempt to marry a person of the same biological sex,” Whitman said in a statement.

A legal advocacy group vowed to press ahead with efforts to reverse the policy despite the legal setback.

“We don’t see that at all as bad news for repeal,” said Kevin Nix, spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “What happened today puts the ball back into the court of Congress and the White House to repeal the law, and that’s where we think it should be right now.”

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Governor defends gay officer in New York Army National Guard

Governor David Paterson lambasted the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on Thursday and defended a gay New York National Guardsman who’s facing dismissal for violating it.

First Lt. Daniel Choi, 28, of New York City, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 2003 and served as an Arabic interpreter in Iraq in 2006 and 2007. In March, he joined a West Point alumni group called Knights Out and identified himself as a gay officer.

Military policy forbids homosexual service members from disclosing their sexual orientation. Choi received a discharge notice from the Army last week.

Psychoanalysts Approve Position Statement on Homosexuals and Bisexuals Serving in the Military

NEW YORK, NY — Though it’s not widely known, psychoanalysts as a professional group are proactive on a number of social issues including homosexuality. During the organization’s Winter 2009 Meeting held January 14 – 18 in New York, the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) approved a position statement regarding homosexuals and bisexuals serving in the military.

“President Obama has said that he will repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. For the mental health and safety of those in the military and for those who are contemplating joining the military, this repeal needs to happen now. Evidence shows the presence of gays does not undermine unit cohesion. Tens of thousands of gays, lesbians and bisexuals already do serve openly. Discharging gays, lesbians and bisexuals wastes thousands of highly trained, badly needed troops,” commented Ethan Grumbach, Ph.D., chair of APsaA’s Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues.

The position statement begins as follows:

“The American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) opposes the military policy mandated by Title 10 of the United States Code (Section 654) which prohibits an individual’s service in the military on the basis of sexual orientation. Section 654 bans openly gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals from serving in the military. APsaA strongly advocates that the United States Government overturn the current policy.

“It is the position of APsaA that sexual orientation is not germane to any aspect of military effectiveness, including unit cohesion, morale, recruitment or retention. Empirical evidence, as well as comparative data from foreign militaries and domestic police and fire departments shows that when lesbians, gay men and bisexuals are allowed to serve openly there is no evidence of disruption. APsaA recognizes and abhors the many detrimental effects the policy has had on individual service members, the military and the United States society since the enactment of Title 10, section 654 in 1994. Years of psychological research and experience have shown the extensive mental toll of keeping one’s sexual orientation hidden. Mandating a ban on self disclosure of sexual orientation for personnel in uniform is thus unnecessarily harmful to their mental health and well being.” (The full position statement and references continue online.)

The American Psychoanalytic Association is a professional organization of psychoanalysts throughout the United States and is comprised of approximately 3,300 members.