"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Is Officially Ended

The letter above is the official announcement from the United States Army letting everyone know that they have officially ended the odious "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that has been in effect since the Clinton administration. But it is not just the Army that has ended DADT. As of one minute past midnight today the policy was ended for all of America's military forces.

It was a given that this day would come ever since Congress passed a bill dictating DADT should end and the bill was signed into law by the president, but the military was given the authority to impose the new policy in their own way and after preparing their service members for the change. They have now done that, and it marks another step forward toward true equality in this country.

But while gays and lesbians can now proudly and openly serve in any branch of the military, the fight for equality is not over -- even in the military. That's because the anti-equality Defense of Marriage Act is still in effect. DOMA will keep the spouses/life partners of military members who are homosexual from receiving the same military benefits that heterosexuals receive. The next step for American equality will be to have DOMA either repealed or declared unconstitutional by a court.

Even so, this is a red-letter day for equality in the United States.

Gates Lays Down The Law To Marines

I can't say that I usually agree with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. In fact, I usually disagree with him, especially when he is talking about the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq, or the defense budget. But in his latest trip to Afghanistan I'll have to admit that I am proud of the unequivocal answer he gave a Marine sergeant about homosexuals in the military.

As you probably know, the failed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" program in the United States military has been discontinued, and the military is now in the process of implementing new rules which will allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. This is a very good thing, and I appreciate how the Pentagon and the Defense Department have jumped on board with the new rules.

When Gates was talking to a group of Marines in Afghanistan, a Marine sergeant asked him if Marines who did not like the change could opt out of the military instead of serving alongside openly homosexual troops. It was a stupid question and not worthy of the vast majority of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines serving this country. Here is Gates answer:

"No, You'll have to complete your ... enlistment just like everybody else."


"The reality is that you don't all agree with each other on your politics, you don't agree with each other on your religion, you don't agree with each other on a lot of things. But you still serve together. And you work together. And you look out for each other. And that's all that matters."


"If we do this right, nothing will change. You will still have to abide by the same rules of behavior, the same discipline, the same respect for each other that has been the case through all the history of the Marine Corps."


Thank you Mr. Secretary. It is good to see someone in our government standing up for equality.

This Should Explode Some Heads On The Right

Back during the Clinton administration (1993) there was a well-intentioned but misguided effort to help homosexuals who wished to serve in the United States Military. It was called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". This new policy said that the military would no longer try to investigate and expose gays/lesbians and kick them out -- as long as they didn't not make their sexual preference known to others. In other words, the military would put up with homosexuals as long as they stayed in the closet.

Although a small improvement over the old "witch-hunt" policy, the new policy still meant gays/lesbians had to live a lie -- something not required of their fellow soldiers and sailors. It also meant that many good people continued to be kicked out of military service for their sexual preference, even though their job performance was excellent. This was simply unacceptable in a country where the vast majority no longer expected their gay/lesbian citizens to stay in the closet.

In the 2008 presidential election Barack Obama promised that he would do away with the already archaic "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (and he was overwhelmingly elected). It took a little longer than many of us had wished, but on December 18th of 2010 the Congress passed a law abolishing the policy and the president signed it on December 22nd. For the first time in this nation's history homosexuals could openly and proudly serve in the military.

The right-wing fundamentalists in this country tried to stop the new law. They still want to marginalize gays/lesbians and keep them as second-class citizens. But our military leaders knew it was time to change and they have been hard at work trying to institute the new policy. And so far there have been no problems -- after all, in the heat of battle a man or woman's courage and competence is a lot more important than their sexual preference.

Now the United States Navy has taken the final step toward true equality for the sailors in that branch of the military. On April 13th Rear Admiral Mark Tidd, Chief of Chaplains for the Navy, sent out a memorandum saying Navy chaplains could officiate the marriage (or civil union) ceremonies of same-sex couples.

The memo said, "Consistent with the tenets of his or her religious organization, a chaplain may officiate a same-sex civil marriage: if it is conducted in accordance with a state that permits same-sex marriage or union; and if that chaplain is, according to the applicable state and local laws, otherwise fully certified to officiate that state's marriages." It went on to say, "If the base is located in a state where same-sex marriage is legal, then base facilities may normally be used to celebrate the marriage. This is true for purely religious services (a chaplain blessing a union) or a traditional wedding (a chaplain both blessing and conducting the ceremony)."

Of course this has the right-wing in a tizzie. They are trying to claim the new Navy policy violates the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) -- even though that law has been declared unconstitutional by a federal court and the Justice Department (on President Obama's instructions) is refusing to appeal the decision. And even though the House Republicans have hired a lawyer to appeal the decision, it is unlikely to be overturned.

Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez answered this charge by saying, "DOMA does not limit the types of religious ceremonies a chaplain may perform in a chapel on a military installation. Chaplains are authorized to perform religious ceremonies consistent with the practices of the chaplain's faith group in chapels on military installations."

I am not a religious person, but I applaud this decision by the U.S. Navy. Anyone who wants a religious service should be able to have one -- that is a basic tenet of religious freedom. No chaplain will be forced to perform any ceremony if he/she does not want to do it. It simply allows those chaplains willing to perform the ceremony to do so, and allows them to use base facilities.

This new rule hurts no one and violates no one's rights. In fact, it does just the opposite by guaranteeing the religious rights of all American citizens serving in the military (or those wishing to marry someone serving in the military). It is one more step toward true freedom and equality for America.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Is Dead !

After pussyfooting around for the last two years, the United States Senate has finally voted to end legalized bigotry in the United States Military.   Yesterday the Senate agreed to the bill passed by the House of Representatives last week.   The vote was 65 to 31.

Don't get me wrong.   There is, and probably will continue to be, too much bigotry in our armed forces.   As with the country as a whole, racism, misogyny, and other forms of bigotry will probably still happen in the military (and hopefully it will be dealt with when it occurs).   But the bigotry over sexual preference was different because it was legal for the military to discriminate against gays and lesbians.   Now that is finally over, and all forms of bigotry are outlawed in the military.

I have to give credit to eight Republican senators who ignored their party leadership and voted for equality.   They are Snowe (Maine), Brown (Massachusetts), Burr (North Carolina), Ensign (Nevada), Collins (Maine), Murkowski (Alaska), Kirk (Illinois), and Voinovich (Ohio).   Both independents also voted with the majority to repeal DADT -- Sanders (Vermont) and Lieberman (Connecticut).   The rest of the 65 senators voting to repeal were Democrats.

Sadly, there were 31 senators (and 174 House members) who supported the continuation of legalized bigotry in the military.   These senators (and House members) obviously don't believe in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution which guarantees equal treatment for all United States citizens.   The 31 senators who believe that some Americans should be more equal than other Americans are:

McCain (Arizona)
Alexander (Tennessee)
Barrasso (Wyoming)
Bennett (Utah)
Bond (Missouri)
Brownback (Kansas)
Chambliss (Georgia)
Coburn (Oklahoma)
Cochran (Mississippi)
Corker (Tennessee)
Cornyn (Texas)
Crapo (Idaho)
DeMint (South Carolina)
Enzi (Wyoming)
Graham (South Carolina)
Grassley (Iowa)
Hutchison (Texas)
Inhofe (Oklahoma)
Isakson (Georgia)
Johanns (Nebraska)
Kyl (Arizona)
LeMieux (Florida)
Lugar (Indiana)
McConnell (Kentucky)
Risch (Idaho)
Roberts (Kansas)
Sessions (Alabama)
Shelby (Alabama)
Thune (South Dakota)
Vitter (Louisiana)
Wicker (Mississippi)

May there names live forever in infamy for their bigoted votes.

America Wants DADT Repealed - Why Doesn't Congress ?

Once again we have a situation where Congress is far behind the American public in granting equal rights to all Americans.   A large majority of the American people are ready to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (DADT), which says that gays and lesbians can serve in the military only if they stay in the closet (keep their sexual orientation secret).   Most Americans think it's ridiculous that thousands of brave and extremely competent men and women have been kicked out of the military simply because someone found out that they were homosexual.

A newly released Washington Post/ABC Poll shows that 77% of the American people (nearly 8 out of 10) have no problem with homosexuals openly serving in the military -- far above the poll's 3.5% margin of error.   And this is not a new belief of the majority of Americans -- the poll shows that a majority have wanted the repeal of DADT as far back as 2001 (which means Congress is about 10 years behind public opinion).   Here are the poll numbers showing date and percentage believing in repeal of DADT:

12/12/10...............77%
02/08/10...............75%
07/13/08...............75%
01/15/01...............62%

Yesterday the House of Representatives took a step toward putting military policy in line with the beliefs of the American public.   They voted to grant gays/lesbians the equal right to serve in the military just like any other American.   In a 250 to 175 vote, the House approved the repeal of DADT for the second time.   This time it was in a stand-alone bill.   The first time was as an amendment to a military appropriations bill.

But the House of Representatives has not been the problem -- it is the Senate where the repeal of DADT has been running into problems.   The military appropriations bill still has not been approved in the Senate, and the only reason is the repeal of DADT contained within it.   The Senate Republicans have been filibustering the bill, and so far, supporters of the repeal have been unable to get the 60 votes needed to stop the filibuster.

And that may also be a problem with the new bill sent to the Senate by the House.   It needs to be approved without amendment because time is running out.   The Republicans will take over the House of Representatives in a couple of weeks and it is doubtful the bill could pass the House after that (since most Republicans seen to think their own religious bigotry trumps the United States Constitution, which guarantees equal rights to all citizens).   And the christmas holiday will take up some of the precious time remaining.

Several Republicans who claim to be in favor of repealing DADT voted with their bigoted brethren to maintain the filibuster on the military appropriations bill because they claimed they were not given the right to offer amendments to the bill.   They could use the same argument to cover themselves with the new stand-alone bill, which needs to be approved without amendments because of the time element.

Majority leader Reid has promised to keep trying to pass the bill before this session of Congress ends on January 4th.   Right now, it's anyone's guess as to whether he can get it done.   If Congress doesn't repeal DADT by the end of the session, they probably won't repeal it at all.

That would mean it would be up to the courts to do the job for them.   A California judge has already declared DADT to be unconstitutional, but the Obama administration is appealing the decision.   That move by Obama is puzzling, since he has proclaimed his belief that DADT should be repealed.   If the president had a little political courage he would instruct the Attorney General to stop the appeal (or end the practice with an executive order).   But he doesn't.

Frankly, with such a large majority of Americans wanting DADT to be repealed, it is ridiculous that it hasn't already been done.   Equal rights for all citizens is a basic premise of American democracy.   It's time for Congress and the president to stop making excuses and make it happen.

(NOTE - The above picture is from the 06/14/07 issue of Time Magazine.)

Republicans Still Opposed To Equality

Here are some facts.   Homosexuals have always fought for this country and done so bravely -- from the Revolutionary War to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.   Around two out of every three Americans believes that the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (DADT) should be scrapped.   Forcing gays/lesbians in the military to hide their sexual preference or be kicked out violates the American promise of equal rights for all its citizens.   Majorities in both the House and Senate believe DADT should be repealed.   About 70% of those in the military, including most military leaders, think DADT should be done away with.

Considering the above facts, it would seem to be a foregone conclusion that the DADT policy would be repealed.   But that doesn't take into account the small-minded beliefs of congressional Republicans.   Republicans talk about equal rights but they don't really believe it. They only want equal rights for people like themselves -- not everyone.   They don't think they were elected to insure all Americans are treated equally, but to instead push their own narrow-minded religious beliefs on everyone else.

They proved that once again yesterday.   The Democratic leadership in the Senate tried to bring the military appropriations bill (which included repeal of DADT) to the Senate floor for a final vote, but to do that they needed 60 votes to stop the Republican filibuster.   They only got 57 votes.   There is no doubt that DADT would be repealed if allowed to be voted on, but the Republicans continue to prevent that with their filibuster.   This means it is unlikely that DADT can be repealed this year (and even more unlikely it could happen next year after the Republicans assume control of the House).

President Obama is not blameless in this whole mess.   On the campaign trial he promised to repeal DADT -- and two years later he has failed to accomplish that.   He could have just issued an administrative order (like Truman did to end segregation in the military), but he didn't.   He could also have instructed the Justice Department to not appeal the decision of a California judge that ruled DADT unconstitutional -- but he let the appeal happen anyway.

The president says the repeal of DADT should be done by Congress.   The truth is that he doesn't have the political courage to do it himself and wants congressional cover.   That is just sad.   It's time for the president to grow a spine and do the right thing (especially since the Republicans seem determined to block it in Congress).   And he should do it now.   America has waited long enough for him to keep his promise.

McCain Refuses To Keep His Word - Again

There used to be a time when many people thought Senator John McCain was a politician worthy of respect.   He was not only considered a war hero, but had a reputation as a "maverick" -- somebody who thought for himself regardless of what the party's talking points were.   But that is all in the past.   He has recently shown himself to be a political coward, a liar and unworthy of any respect.

McCain was badly beaten for the presidency in 2008, but I doubt any Republican could have done any better.   America was just sick of the Republicans after 8 years of George Bush.   But McCain has gone downhill since that election.   He has abandoned any pretense of thinking for himself and lurched far to the right to keep his senate seat in this last election (saying he never claimed to be a "maverick").

He also seems to have a real problem in keeping his word these days.   Take for instance his stance on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) -- which is the military policy that says gays/lesbians can serve only if they keep their sexual orientation a secret.   A year or so ago, McCain said he wouldn't support DADT until military officials thought it should be overturned.

Well, last February Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mike Mullen, told McCain they were in favor of discontinuing use of DADT and letting gays/lesbians serve openly.   Instead of keeping his word, McCain just said he would not approve discontinuing DADT until a study was completed by the military on whether and how to discontinue DADT.

That study has now been completed.   It shows that over 70% of all servicemen/women either want DADT to be repealed or don't care whether it's repealed.   In addition, most military leaders still support doing away with DADT.   Once again the requirements McCain had laid down had been met, but once again he also refused to keep his word.   Instead he just set a new requirement.

He now says he wanted a different kind of study than the kind that was done.   He said this study was on how to implement the repeal of DADT, while he had wanted a study of whether it should be repealed.   That's more than a bit disingenuous.   He knew months ago what the military study was about and didn't complain.

The fact is that McCain new position as a teabagger requires him to oppose DADT, and he will never support it regardless of what he has said in the past.   If another study was done, he would not like it either (since most of the military, both officers and enlisted, don't think DADT should be enforced anymore).   McCain is not going to change his mind (or keep his word) about DADT no matter what happens.

It has been uncomfortable watching McCain's downhill journey of the past two years.   He has succeeded in transforming himself from a fairly well-respected independent-thinking senator to a lying and word-breaking right-wing teabagger demagogue.   Maybe he's just getting senile, but he's definitely not the man he once was.

Judge Bans Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy

It looks like the bigoted and failed military policy called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) may finally have been tossed on the trash heap of history where it belongs -- if the president has the political courage to keep his campaign promise.   President Obama has been promising since before his election to end DADT, but has yet to live up to that promise.

He could have issued an executive order to end it anytime in the past couple of years (like President Truman did to end racial segregation in the military), but that would have required some political courage to unilaterally make that move.   President Obama has not shown a lot of political courage so far.   He wants Congress to share the blame for this decision.   He could have put some public pressure on Congress to act on the issue also, but he hasn't done that either.

With both the president and the Congress failing to end DADT and strike a blow for equality, it looks like it's up to the third branch of government to do the job -- the federal court system.   And unlike Congress and the president, it looks like they may actually be up to the task.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton of Washington State issued an order directing the military to give Air Force Major Margaret Witt her job back.   She had been kicked out because the military found out she was living in a committed relationship with a civilian woman.   That struck a real blow against DADT, since future soldiers could use this as a precedent to fight their own termination as a result of DADT.

Now a California federal judge has gone even further.   U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips had already ruled that DADT was not constitutional, and yesterday she used that ruling to ban any further use of the DADT policy.   And her ruling is not just a local ban -- it is a nationwide ban affecting everyone in the military.

The federal government, who had been defending DADT in the court, now has 60 days to appeal the decision.   But I don't know why the government would want to appeal the judge's decision.   This decision gives both the president and Congress an easy way out of their dilemma.   They can keep their promise to voters by doing nothing.   The judge will take the heat and the politicians can have their political cover.

I hope the president is smart enough (and brave enough) to tell the Attorney General not to appeal this decision.   But after watching him waffle and retreat on the health care bill until it was only a shadow of the reform that was really needed, I wouldn't bet any money on it.   The president and many other Democrats seem to have decided that it's easier to give in to the Republicans than fight them.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Must Be Changed

About 16 years ago, one of our country's more stupid laws was passed. It was called "Don't Ask - Don't Tell" (DADT), and it laid down the rules for military service by homosexuals in the United States. Basically, it said the military would not ask if a person was gay/lesbian, and that person could serve in the military -- as long as they kept their sexual preference a secret.

The reason given at the time for this silly law was that "unit cohesion" would be damaged if homosexuals were to serve openly in the military. This wasn't just based on bad information -- it was based on no information at all, but just bigotry. As Dr. Nathaniel Frank said, “The ban on openly gay service was not based on sound research because no research has ever shown that openly gay service hurts the military.”

Maybe the venerable conservative politician Senator Barry Goldwater put it best when he said, "You don’t have to be straight in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight."

But for the last 16 years, this ridiculous law has damaged both personal lives and our military. Over that period, at least 13,000 qualified men and women have been discharged from the military simply because their sexual preference became public knowledge in some way. Another 4,000 soldiers voluntarily leave each year because of this policy.

For the good of our country, the military and the soldiers who bravely serve our country, it is time to end this nonsense. On the campaign trail, Barack Obama promised to end DADT. But so far, he has done nothing to keep this promise. In fact, since he became president, 265 service members have been discharged because of DADT -- some of them with badly needed specialities.

President Obama says the law needs to be changed by Congress. It does, but in the meantime, he could issue an executive order banning military discharges based on DADT. This could and should be done immediately, and then followed up with congressional action.

But instead, President Obama, Secretary of Defense Gates and military leaders are discussing ways to make DADT "more flexible". Gates said, "One of the things we're looking at is, is there flexibility in how we apply this law....What I discovered when I got into it was it's a very restrictive law. It doesn't leave much to the imagination, or a lot of flexibility." He went on to say, "That's the kind of thing we're looking at -- seeing if there's a more humane way to apply the law until it gets changed."

They want to exchange a lot of discrimination for a little bit of discrimination. That's unacceptable. Discrimination is evil and unconstitutional -- it doesn't matter whether it's a little or a lot. DADT is not improved by making the discharge decisions on a case-by-case basis.

There simply is no way to improve DADT. It needs to be eliminated completely.