Historic Day: Congress Passes DADT Repeal

There's a great diary over at DailyKos explaining the significance and historical context of today's final passage of a bill to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. This picture is of Leonard Matlovich, who came out as gay during the 1970s after being a decorated veteran in the Vietnam war.

Jeff Sheng's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" Exhibit

In response to the recent "Don't Ask Don't Tell" debate, Jeff Sheng, a local Los Angeles photographer, had spent the last two years photographing and documenting stories of gays and lesbians in the military service. Because of the DADT policy, all of the portraits are without faces. Yet, the simplicity and barely concealment of these portraits conveyed great sense of fear and oppression in their lives.

I'm an amateur photographer myself, and I have tremendous respect for those who use this special talent to present the world to his / her audience. Looking through these images and listening to Sheng's own personal comments on them, I can't help but feel a sudden chill inside me. To hide yourself from the government, fellow comrades and even on certain level, yourself, is such a disheartening way to live; to do honor to your country, where being yourself isn't enough is such a depressing thought.

Unfortunately, this exhibition ended in October but let this video be a reminder to you: the battle against DADT is a long one, and there are millions out there who fight for honor but still live in shadow. Let's be supportive of those hiding in the service and hopefully DADT will be overturn someday.

Pentagon Issues Results: Repeal of DADT Will Have No Negative Effects

This afternoon's report release is the capstone of over nine months of intense research by Defense Department General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson and Army Gen. Carter F. Ham and the their 66-person research team. Until this afternoon, neither knew the other's opinion on the matter.

The results? As the media has already regularly stated, a whopping 70% of service men and women believe that the repeal of DADT will have little/no effect on their unit's cohesion or capabilities. But the results are far more conclusive than that: the study received responses from over 115,000 service members, which is over 28% of the surveyed group and the largest military study to date. Given this number, the margin of error lies under one percentage point. Service members surveyed said the following:

• 70% stated there would be positive or no effect.
• 69% already believed they had worked with a homosexual person in their unit.
• 92% stated that their "ability to work together" with a homosexual coworker had been "very good", "good" or "neutral".

Additionally, the research team surveyed over 44,000 spouses of military members, only 12% of whom said that they would want their military spouse to leave the military earlier if DADT was repealed-- 74% said there would be absolutely no effect in their opinion.

Researchers also received responses from over 300 anonymous homosexual members in active military duty, via an internet forum set up for the purpose. Only 15% said that they would want to tell anyone in their unit that they were homosexual, laying to rest some concerns over the problems of "knowing someone is homosexual". One gay serviceman stated: "I think a lot of people think there is going to be a big 'outing' and people flaunting their gayness, but they forget that we're in the military. That stuff isn't supposed to be done during duty hours regardless if you're gay or straight."

For the full manuscript of the Pentagon's results, click here.

The Pentagon's results will likely incite major political debate-- on Thursday, undecided Congressmen will have the opportunity to hear from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, Johnson and Ham in order to reach their decision regarding DADT's repeal. This is becoming increasingly important, especially considering the number of lower district courts that are currently looking at the issue.

Gates, who initially requested the report state: "[The repeal] can be done, and should be done, without posing a serious risk to military readiness."

Army General Ham, who stated today, for the first time, that he is personally against homosexuality, stated that he believes in the results, "If I didn't believe what's in that report, I wouldn't have signed it."

DADT Update: DOD Report Out In 7 Days; Discharges Ceased; TV Ad Out

There have been multiple developments in the fight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" recently.

The Defense Department has (barely) bowed to political pressure by agreeing to release its now-famous study of the impacts of open military service by LGBT soldiers on "unit cohesion, military readiness and effectiveness, recruiting and retention and family readiness" one day early, next Tuesday, November 30.

The Pentagon also announced that ever since Secretary of Defense Robert Gates issued new procedures that require a DADT discharge to be approved by one of a handful of top military officers on October 21, no LGBT people have been "separated" from the military in the last month.

Recent polls have begun to show declines from the massive support for repealing the military's discriminatory DADT policy. In the last few days, a Gallup poll has been released indicating only 56% of Americans think passing DADT repeal in the Senate's lame-duck session is important or very important (compared to 60% who feel that way about passing the DREAM Act).

Today, the Palm Center had the above television ad touting the lack of consequences to open military service experienced by our NATO allies currently fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan rejected by Fox News.

I believe that the Obama Administration will deliver on its promise to have DADT repeal accomplished by the end of 2010.

Do you?

Cross-posted from The Mad Professah Lectures

I like a boy in uniform

This is just such an amazing image, i couldnt help but post it. i knew a boy who became a marine...he hated it. he's a psychology major now, i think.
We've been hearing so much about DADT in class and on the news, but maybe we could think of another part of military policy for a while. What do people feel about women serving in the military? Actually, what do people know about women serving in the military, because i'm woefully uninformed. I'm under the impression, though, that women are not allowed to serve in open combat. Am i right? Hmm. well if anyone knows better than me, certainly correct me. But if we are to assume that i am right, what do people think about that? fair, unfair? based on what?
Personally i find it reassuring, given the fact that i am in face female. I feel the same way about DADT, to be honest. I recognize, though, that for people who want to serve their country it shouldn't matter what race, sex, orientation, or religion they are. What is the military rational for these limits? we shall see we shall see.

Actually, this brings me to a much more interesting question. I'm bored of the old one. Why is it that military rights are more of a talked about issue in the news than marriage rights? Why is it easier to get the right to hurt people than it is to get the right to love?

'nuff said.


(also props to anyone who knows the title of this post)

WATCH: PSA from NOH8 Campaign To Stop Anti-Gay Bullying

Obama's BFF Valerie Jarrett Defends Administration Against Dan Choi

Relative Sizes of LGBT Advocacy Organizations

Chris Geidner at Metro Weekly has done the LGBT community a great service by writing the article "State of Play," continuing the great tradition of the Washington Blade in listing and summarizing the staff sizes and annual budgets of the largest or most visible LGBT organizations in the country.

Unfortunately, he only focused only on the organizations which are involved in the fight over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," not every LGBT organization of national significance like the Washington Blade used to.

The main things to note are the relative sizes of Human Rights Campaign ($37 million, 142 employees), Lambda Legal ($15.6 million, 85 employees) and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force ($8.6 million, 47 employees) which are probably the three largest LGBT advocacy organizations in the country, with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation either in 3rd or 4th place.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Twitter As LGBT Activism Tool: Lada Gaga and Sen. Reid

There's an interesting story about the impact of twitter on the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy.

Lady Gaga tweets: http://twitpic.com/2ocx9i - Gay Veterans were my VMA dates. Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell. CALL HARRY REID to Schedule Senate Vote

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tweets:

.@ladygaga There is a vote on #DADTnext week. Anyone qualified to serve this country should be allowed to do sohttp://bit.ly/9ucdIj #nvsen

Discuss.

UPDATE:


Lady Gaga tweeted again awhile ago:
God Bless and Thank you @HarryReid, from all of us, like u, who believe in equality and the dream of this country. We were #BORNTHISWAY.

DADT Ruled Unconstitutional!

Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the law that forbids the military from asking service members their sexual orientation, but forcing discharge if one is found to be gay or to have engaged in homosexual activity, has been ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips! Phillips stated that the policy has a "direct and deleterious effect" on the military services, and that she will issue a nationwide halt on the policy. She will write an injunction which the federal government will have a week to respond to.

Obama has repeatedly assured that he would work toward removal of the ban, and earlier this year, the House voted to repeal the policy. The Senate has yet to review it, but today marked another step closer to getting rid of the discriminatory policy! :)

(It's also nice that the judge is from California, after another California judge recently ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional. Making up for California's 2008 election mistake? hehe)