WH: No Supreme Court pick this week
(Washington) The White House says President Barack Obama won’t announce a Supreme Court nominee this week.
That pushes the timeline for Obama to announce his choice to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens into May.
Obama said last week that he would make a nomination in the next couple of weeks.
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at his regular briefing Monday that it won’t be this week.
Troops question impact if gay ban is lifted
(Washington) Troops attending the first meeting of its kind on ending the ban on gays in the military said Tuesday they want to know what changes were in store for them if gays were allowed to serve openly.
Picked at random and assembled in the Pentagon auditorium, about 350 rank-and-file troops asked the leaders of a new working group whether bunking arrangements would change and if the spouses of gay personnel would be given military family benefits, among other issues.
The answers to those questions aren’t expected until the end of the year, when the working group releases its findings on the impact openly gay service might have on the force.
Officials say they will spend the next several months reaching out to troops and their families in focus groups and meetings like the Tuesday forum to determine what concerns they’ll have to address.
Attendees of the Tuesday session said that one female Marine stated that bunking with a lesbian would be the same as being told to share a room with a man. A soldier said he didn’t want to wade into the political debate and that he would follow orders.
Another service member asked if a gay service member who gets married – now forbidden under law – would receive military family benefits.
At one point, a moderator asked how many troops believed they have served with a gay person. About half the people in the audience raised their hands.
Attendees described the meeting on condition of anonymity because they said they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
President Barack Obama has called on Congress to lift the ban. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said a repeal of the 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is inevitable. But he says he wants to do it in a way that would mitigate any risk to unit effectiveness.
Accordingly, Gates has assigned his chief legal counsel, Jeh Johnson, and Army Gen. Carter Ham to lead a working group on the subject. The results of their review are due Dec. 1.
One issue officials have been wrestling with is how to gauge the opinion of gay service members without forcing them to break the law by disclosing their sexual orientation.
Officials say it is likely that a third party will be hired to help survey the force and reach out to gay troops.
Troops question impact if gay ban is lifted
(Washington) Troops attending the first meeting of its kind on ending the ban on gays in the military said Tuesday they want to know what changes were in store for them if gays were allowed to serve openly.
Picked at random and assembled in the Pentagon auditorium, about 350 rank-and-file troops asked the leaders of a new working group whether bunking arrangements would change and if the spouses of gay personnel would be given military family benefits, among other issues.
The answers to those questions aren’t expected until the end of the year, when the working group releases its findings on the impact openly gay service might have on the force.
Officials say they will spend the next several months reaching out to troops and their families in focus groups and meetings like the Tuesday forum to determine what concerns they’ll have to address.
Attendees of the Tuesday session said that one female Marine stated that bunking with a lesbian would be the same as being told to share a room with a man. A soldier said he didn’t want to wade into the political debate and that he would follow orders.
Another service member asked if a gay service member who gets married – now forbidden under law – would receive military family benefits.
At one point, a moderator asked how many troops believed they have served with a gay person. About half the people in the audience raised their hands.
Attendees described the meeting on condition of anonymity because they said they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
President Barack Obama has called on Congress to lift the ban. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said a repeal of the 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is inevitable. But he says he wants to do it in a way that would mitigate any risk to unit effectiveness.
Accordingly, Gates has assigned his chief legal counsel, Jeh Johnson, and Army Gen. Carter Ham to lead a working group on the subject. The results of their review are due Dec. 1.
One issue officials have been wrestling with is how to gauge the opinion of gay service members without forcing them to break the law by disclosing their sexual orientation.
Officials say it is likely that a third party will be hired to help survey the force and reach out to gay troops.
Troops question impact if gay ban is lifted
(Washington) Troops attending the first meeting of its kind on ending the ban on gays in the military said Tuesday they want to know what changes were in store for them if gays were allowed to serve openly.
Picked at random and assembled in the Pentagon auditorium, about 350 rank-and-file troops asked the leaders of a new working group whether bunking arrangements would change and if the spouses of gay personnel would be given military family benefits, among other issues.
The answers to those questions aren’t expected until the end of the year, when the working group releases its findings on the impact openly gay service might have on the force.
Officials say they will spend the next several months reaching out to troops and their families in focus groups and meetings like the Tuesday forum to determine what concerns they’ll have to address.
Attendees of the Tuesday session said that one female Marine stated that bunking with a lesbian would be the same as being told to share a room with a man. A soldier said he didn’t want to wade into the political debate and that he would follow orders.
Another service member asked if a gay service member who gets married – now forbidden under law – would receive military family benefits.
At one point, a moderator asked how many troops believed they have served with a gay person. About half the people in the audience raised their hands.
Attendees described the meeting on condition of anonymity because they said they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
President Barack Obama has called on Congress to lift the ban. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said a repeal of the 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is inevitable. But he says he wants to do it in a way that would mitigate any risk to unit effectiveness.
Accordingly, Gates has assigned his chief legal counsel, Jeh Johnson, and Army Gen. Carter Ham to lead a working group on the subject. The results of their review are due Dec. 1.
One issue officials have been wrestling with is how to gauge the opinion of gay service members without forcing them to break the law by disclosing their sexual orientation.
Officials say it is likely that a third party will be hired to help survey the force and reach out to gay troops.
Time to review policy on gays in US military: Powell
American attitudes have changed and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward gays serving in the U.S. military should be reviewed, former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Colin Powell said on Sunday.
President Barack Obama favors overturning the policy, which bars gay troops from serving openly in the military. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked military lawyers to look at ways to make the law more flexible, hailed by gay rights groups as a “seismic political shift”.
“The policy and the law that came about in 1993, I think, was correct for the time,” Powell said on CNN’s State of the Union.
“Sixteen years have now gone by, and I think a lot has changed with respect to attitudes within our country, and therefore I think this is a policy and a law that should be reviewed.” he added.
See Time to review policy on gays in US military: Powell Reuters
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Will gay lt. colonel be saved by policy review? AirForceTimes.com
A gay Air Force officer is hoping his 18-year career will be saved by a review of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, an F-15E Strike Eagle weapons systems officer, is facing separation after a civilian acquaintance outed him to the Air Force more than a year ago.
After a months-long investigation, Fehrenbach is facing an honorable discharge for violating the ban on homosexual behavior and damaging the good order and discipline of the Air Force.
The review, conducted by the department’s General Counsel’s office, will determine whether there is “flexibility” in how the law is applied, Gates told reporters June 30.
Specifically, Gates cited service members outed by someone else.
“Do we need to be driven when the information to take action on somebody, if we get that information from somebody who may have vengeance in mind or blackmail or somebody who has been jilted,” Gates said.
Today’s regulations require commanders to investigate allegations brought by anyone. Once a commander determines that a service member is gay, there is little legal leeway in stopping the discharge process.
See Will gay lt. colonel be saved by policy review?
AirForceTimes.com
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Gates Plan May Be Beginning of the End of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — In the wake of yesterday’s unexpected Pentagon announcement about gays in the military, experts say the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy may be on the brink of irreversible change that would speed up its demise. After speaking with President Obama last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked military lawyers to explore how to modify enforcement of the policy in ways that are “more flexible until the law is changed.” The President Monday reiterated his intention to end discrimination against gay troops, saying he is working with Congress and the military to do so.
Christopher Neff, political director of the Palm Center, said the remarks by Secretary Gates marked the first time the Defense Secretary has made clear that the Pentagon is onboard with the President’s determination to lift the ban. “‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is a package — both a law and a policy — that hasn’t been penetrated for fifteen years,” Neff said. “This is a crack in humpty dumpty, and it gets the ball rolling for a political solution since it gives cover to lawmakers who have been waiting for a nod from the Pentagon.”
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White House Defends Anti-Gay Marriage Brief Amid Furor
A week after the Justice Department filed a motion in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, White House Press Secretary reiterated the president’s commitment to changing that law.
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon — just hours before the President was set to sign a presidential memorandum to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees — Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fielded a question from ABC News’ Jake Tapper about the administration’s position on the Defense of Marriage Act.
See White House Defends Anti-Gay Marriage Brief Amid Furor
Huffington Post -
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Time To Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
During his campaign for the White House, President Obama pledged that he would push to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) — the military’s policy that bars gay men and women from serving openly. Since taking office, however, Obama and other officials serving in his administration have pushed the issue to the back burner. When asked about addressing DADT in March, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, “I feel like we’ve got a lot on our plates right now and let’s push that one down the road a little bit.” Ret. Gen. Jim Jones, Obama’s national security adviser, told the President recently “not to add another controversy to his already-full plate.” On ABC’s This Week, host George Stephanopolous asked Jones if the policy would be overturned. “I don’t know,” he replied. In fact, the White House website recently watered down language on repealing the policy, replacing the administration’s commitment to “repealing” DADT with a commitment to simply “changing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in a sensible way.” (The more definitive “repeal” language has since been reinserted.) At the same time, Obama has indicated that he remains committed to repealing the policy. Sandy Tsao, an Army officer who told her superiors last January that she is gay, wrote to Obama urging him to act on repealing DADT. Last week, Obama personally responded to Tsao, writing, “I committed to changing our current policy. Although it will take some time to complete. … I intend to fulfill my commitment!”
DADT STILL CLAIMING CASUALTIES: DADT continues to weaken our nation’s military. Last week, the Army sent National Guard Lt. Daniel Choi — a West Point graduate who served in Iraq and is fluent in Arabic — a letter informing him that he is no longer welcome in the U.S. military because he is gay. The Army said it was dismissing Choi for “moral or professional dereliction,” specifically for admitting “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.” Choi is one of more than 13,000 U.S. military personnel to be discharged because of DADT. This number includes those with special skills deemed “mission critical,” such as pilots, combat engineers, and linguists like Choi. The Government Accountability Office found in 2005 that the cost of discharging and replacing servicemembers fired because of their sexual orientation during the policy’s first 10 years totaled at least $190.5 million — roughly $20,000 per discharged service member. While DADT cannot be repealed without congressional action, University of California associate professor Aaron Belkin notes that as president, Obama has the authority to suspend enforcement of the policy. Though it is unclear whether Obama will take this route (especially based on Jones’s advice), Choi said on MSNBC last week that he plans to “fully fight” his dismissal “tooth and nail.” “I believe that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is wrong, and what we really need to be encouraging soldiers to do is to don’t lie, don’t hide, don’t discriminate, and don’t weaken the military. That’s what we need to be promoting,” he said.
REPEAL DADT: Supporters of the discriminatory DADT often argue that repealing it would weaken the military (despite the fact that Arabic-linguists who are in short supply have been discharged because of it) and fragment unit cohesion. However, a bipartisan study commissioned by the Palm Center at the University of California last year found that “the presence of gays in the military is unlikely to undermine the ability to fight and win.” Choi said that “the biggest thing” he is “angry about” is that the Army claims that his unit suffered “good order and discipline” because he is gay. “That’s a big insult to my unit,” he said. After he came out as gay and before he was discharged, Choi said that “so many people came up to me, my peers, my subordinates, people that outranked me, folks that have been in the Army — and this is an infantry unit, infantry men that — coming up to me and saying, ‘Hey, sir, hey, Lieutenant Choi, we know, and we don’t care. What we care about is that you can contribute to the team.’” Indeed, a December 2006 survey of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found that 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.” Moreover, the American public doesn’t care either. According to a recent Quinnipiac poll, nearly two-thirds disagreed with the argument that “allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military would be divisive for the troops and hurt their ability to fight effectively.” Ret. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Hugh Aitken, who participated in the Palm Center’s study, has criticized Obama’s plans to allow the Pentagon to review the policy before deciding to act on any repeal. “There’s been enough studying throughout the years,” he said. “Creating a new study will not change the facts.”
RIGHT WING STILL OPPOSES A REPEAL: The ultra-conservative Center for Military Readiness (CMR), a group that opposes women and gays serving in combat, is leading an effort against repealing DADT and even trying to block gays from serving in the military altogether. The group’s president, Elaine Donnelly, told Congress last year that having gays serve in the military “sexualizes the atmosphere” because they “engage in passive aggressive behavior.” CMR also tries to muddy the waters with “gay horror stories” from the military, despite having acknowledged that such stories are “very difficult to find.” Prominent members of Congress continue to obstruct as well. When asked about DADT last Sunday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) offered his support for it. “Right now the military is functioning extremely well in very difficult conditions,” he said, adding that “the policy has been working and I think it’s been working well.” Other members of Congress, such as Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) and Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), disagree. Sestak, himself a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, said of DADT recently on MSNBC, “We have to correct this. It’s just not right.” “I can remember being out there in command, and someone would come up to you and start to tell you — and you just want to say, no, I don’t want to lose you, you’re too good,” Sestak said.
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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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