A Gay former Air Force Sergeant named National Citizen Co-Chair for Obama's Inauguration

A former Air Force Sergeant, who was discharged under DADT has been named a “citizen co-chair” to President Obama at the inauguration.

David Hall will be one of eight co-chairs who will highlight the president's first-term accomplishments during the event.

OutServe-SLDN released David's statement about his role:

“This is certainly the honor of a lifetime, and I am grateful to President Obama for his leadership in repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' so that no qualified American who wants to serve this country in uniform will ever again be denied that right simply because they are gay or lesbian."

David also serves as the director of development at OutServe-SLDN.

The Marines tell Spouses Club they must admit Same-Sex spouses if they want to remain on Bases

Big news on the military front!

The Marines has told their legal team that spouses clubs have to accept gay couples if they want to remain on the bases!

Federal New Radio reports:

The Marine Corps has advised its legal staff that spouses clubs operating on its installations must admit same-sex spouses if they wish to remain on the bases.
It's a step that the other service branches have not yet announced as they grapple with how to accommodate same-sex couples following repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy that barred gays and lesbians from serving openly. 

Underscoring the challenges, the Marines' legal advisory _ obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press _ refers to an ongoing controversy at the Army's Fort Bragg in North Carolina where the officers' spouses club has denied admission to a same-sex spouse. 

The Marine Corps commandant's Staff Judge Advocate, in an e-mail to legal offices throughout the corps, said the Fort Bragg events had "caused quite a stir" and cautioned, "We do not want a story like this developing in our backyard." 

The memo noted that spouses clubs and various other private institutions are allowed to operate on bases only if they adhere to a non-discrimination policy encompassing race, religion, gender, age, disability and national origin. 

"We would interpret a spouses club's decision to exclude a same-sex spouse as sexual discrimination because the exclusion was based upon the spouse's sex," the memo said.
A Marine Corps spokesman, Capt. Eric Flanagan, said the Marines cannot directly control the actions of independent organizations such as spouses' clubs, but added, "We expect that all who are interested in supporting Marine Corps Family Readiness would be welcome to participate and will be treated with dignity and respect."

This is huge, y'all!

Paul Ryan thinks the DADT repeal is A Step in the Wrong Direction - WATCH

New Study proves DADT has no Negative Effect on Troops

Most of us knew this was the case, but now, everyone does.

A new study points out that the repeal of DADT causes no harm or morale issues. Here's more from the Palm Center:

The authors of the study, who included professors at U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy and U.S. Marine Corps War College, arrived at this conclusion after soliciting the views of 553 generals and admirals who predicted that repeal would undermine the military, as well as with expert opponents of DADT repeal, a number of watchdog organizations and more than 60 active-duty heterosexual, lesbian, gay and bisexual troops from every service branch. 

They also observed several military units and administered several surveys, analyzed relevant media articles published during the research period and conducted secondary source analysis of surveys independently administered by outside groups. 

"For almost twenty years, experts predicted that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would harm the military," said Aaron Belkin, the founding director of the Palm Center and lead author of the study. "Now the evidence is in, and the conclusion is clear: repealing 'don't ask, don't tell' did not harm the military, and if anything made it easier for the Pentagon to pursue its mission."

See, all  the repeal did, was set folks free from foolishness.

Gay Soldier Booed at GOP Debate Demands Marriage Equality - WATCH

Remember when Romney supported ENDA and wanted to end DADT?

At one time Mittens supported ENDA and wanted to end DADT.

Don't believe me?

Read the letter to the Log Cabin Republicans in 1994

Flip Flop!

Rick Santorum tells Hate King Tony Perkins he will restore Don't Ask Don't Tell - WATCH

Welcome Home, Solider

source

A LGBT Moment of 2011: A Soldier Comes Out to his Father on YouTube

This was a wonderful moment to watch

NBC Nightly News: No Problems since DADT was Lifted

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rick Perry continues his DADT Rant - VIDEO

For some reason, Rick thinks DADT is a huge mistake and it puts soldiers in danger; from what I don't know

Lesbian Couple goes to the Marine Corps Ball

This is a nice Thanksgiving treat. A lesbian couple graced the Marine Corps Ball the other day. They are the 1st LGBT couple to do this after DADT.

Washington Blade has the scoop:

For the first time — thanks to repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” — the lesbian couple was able to come together to celebrate at a Marine Corps ball commemorating the anniversary of the military service. The ball they attended at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on Nov. 10 was among several throughout the country in honor of the Marine Corps’ 236th birthday.

Lemmer, who has served in the Marine Corps for more than 17 years and currently serves as a logistics chief, said the experience of bringing her partner to the ball inspired tremendously good feelings.

“It was amazing to be open and honest and not have to hide,” Lemmer said. “I’ve never taken anybody to the ball because of that reason right there. This is my first opportunity and it was exciting.”

I'm glad they had a good time.

Interesting Quote: Stephen Hill

Stephen was the gay solider who was booed during the GOP debates. Here's what he had to say when he heard the crowd react to his question:

"When the actual booing occurred, my gut dropped out, because my first inclination was, did I just do something wrong?. The answer, obviously, wasn't very supportive of gay people, and there was a lot of fear of how the Army would take the question."

He was still brave to ask his question. Thank you, Stephen for being strong.

source

Ron Paul said Heterosexuals cause more issues than the Gays in the Military

Ron Paul kept it real about DADT and gays in the military in a recent interview in the Iowa State Daily

"Well, like I said, everybody has the same rights as everybody else, so homosexuals in the military isn't a problem. It's only if they're doing things they shouldn't be, if they're disruptive. But there's ... men and women getting into trouble with each other too. And there's a lot more heterosexuals in the military, so logically they're causing more trouble than gays. So yes, you just have the same rules for everybody and treat them all the same."

BTW, Ron did vote for the repeal of DADT.

VIDEO: Ann Coulter supports Santorum on DADT, and is 'Sick' of folks comparing Gays to Blacks

The She-Horse strikes again

Rick Santorum speaks on DADT and Segregation WATCH

Rick was on Fox News Sunday, talking nonsense as usual.

She-Mess Bachmann Promises to Reinstate DADT

To please the nuts, bigots and crazies, Bachmann told the freaks at the Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom coalition that she will reinstate DADT.

“I think of all of the candidates that are running in this race, I have been very vocal about this,” Bachmann said. “I would reinstate the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. It worked before and what it says is the issue of sexuality is one that doesn’t come up and people aren’t allowed to be open about it because the United States military is unique, its not a social experiment.”

She said repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is gong to hurt the military’s preparedness: “I take very seriously the job of Commander in Chief. I see that as my very first job and I would listen to the generals [on DADT].”

Bachman told the activists not to settle for a moderate candidate when choosing their candidate for 2012, and that she is the most socially conservative.

“I believe that this is a powerful election, and I firmly believe that this is the election of all elections and that’s why my message has been don’t settle,” she said. “Every four years the pro-life conservative Christians, we are told about this time time the race and just get patted on the head and told that we have got to elect the moderate in the race.”

This is why she will never be President.

source

Interesting Quote: Herman Cain

"I happen to think that maybe they were booing the whole 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal more so than booing that soldier. But we didn't know that. In retrospect, because of the controversy it has created and because of the different interpretations that it could have had ... that would have been appropriate."

 On ABC: This Week, Herman claimed he would have defended the booed gay solider.

VIDEO: Megyn Kelly - Crowd MAY have been Booing the Soldier's Question about Gay Rights

President Obama Condemns the Booing of the Gay Soldier during the GOP Debate

President Obama was not pleased by the booing of the gay soldier during the GOP debate. At his latest fundraiser, Obama said:

You've got audiences cheering at the prospect of somebody dying because they don't have health care and booing a service member in Iraq because they're gay. That's not reflective of who we are. This is a choice about the fundamental direction of our country. 2008 was an important direction. 2012 is a more important election."

source