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Obama to Address Don't Ask, Don't Tell in State of the Union?

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Carl Levin dropped a hint earlier today about something being up on the DADT front and how the issue might pop up in the state of the union. Are we in store for a surprise announcement tomorrow? The White House would probably want to get out in front of it a day early so that news coverage the day after the speech is dominated by jobs talk instead of a minor hot-button issue:

Levin told reporters today that he has delayed plans to hold Senate hearings to examine the current “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy at the request of administration officials. Why would they want him to hold off? The officials Levin talked to said they expect the President will address the issue of homosexuals serving in the military during the State of the Union Address.

“I don’t know if it was the White House, but somebody representing them from the Pentagon said that the President was expected, they thought, to state that policy in the State of the Union and they thought it made more sense for him to state the policy and for us to have a hearing right before the policy with the people who will be defending that policy. They don’t know what it is,” said Levin, who added that he hopes any new policy is well-thought-out and that senior military leaders are on board.

Full Story from Hot Air
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Posted in dadt, don't ask don't tell, president obama, speech, state of the union | No Responses »

MA: Will Brown Election Block DOMA, DADT Repeals?

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Pending gay rights bills in Congress are likely to have a difficult – if not impossible – time winning approval after Republican Scott Brown’s win over Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts Senate race Tuesday. Coakley was widely considered a shoo-in to replace the late Ted Kennedy when she entered the special election.

While Coakley’s pro-gay rights positions are well know, Brown attempted to cloak his, refusing to answer such questions from the mainstream media. Brown would only say he holds a similar position on gay marriage as President Obama, who publicly supports civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.

Brown, however, did respond to questions from the anti-gay group Massachusetts Family Institute. According to a scorecard released by the group, Brown opposes gay marriage, laws that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace and repeal of the military’s ban on open gay service, also known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Full Story from On Top Magazine

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in dadt, defense of marriage act, doma, don't ask don't tell, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, repeal, same sex marriage, scott brown, senate | No Responses »

Obama Unlikely to Help Gay Rights in 2010

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Obama will do nothing for gay rights in 2010, predicts Newsweek, because he would like to avoid the possibility of waging a culture war prior to midterm elections. Coming in at number 9 on its “Politics Predictions 2010” top ten list, the magazine foresees a president that will “do nada” for gay rights in the upcoming year.

Newsweek writes:

What the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community has learned this year is that the president is ultimately a pragmatist. Although his very presence in the White House is the stuff of culture wars, Obama himself is reluctant to wade into one. Moreover, if socially divisive policies have the potential to compromise his legislative agenda, Obama has proven that he simply won’t pursue them. Expect this tension to become more acute as the 2010 elections loom — and for gay rights to be shunted aside again.
“When I read this item in Newsweek, I was not surprised,” says Andrew Davis, managing editor of the Windy City Times and a 42 year-old resident of the Near North Side. “Granted, he’s had to deal with two wars, massive unemployment, a recession and health care reform. However, it seems that when it comes to LGBT rights, the demographic has received mostly lip service (although he did sign the federal hate-crimes bill). I can see him not wanting to “rock the boat.” After all, he expressed his support for same-sex marriage just a few years ago but now he is only behind civil unions—a move, I suspect, that was made to make him more middle-of-the-road (and more marketable).”

Full Story from Chicagoist: http://chicagoist.com/2009/12/22/newsweek_obama_will_do_nada_for_gay.php

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Posted in 2010, dadt, defense of marriage act, doma, don't ask don't tell, gay rights, midterm elections, president obama | No Responses »

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