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USA: Defense Department to Release DADT Repeal Plan Next Week

Friday, January 29th, 2010

The Defense Department next week will propose for the first time a ”way forward” on lifting the military’s ban on gays from serving openly, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Thursday. President Barack Obama has vowed to work with Congress this year to repeal the 1993 law, but Democrats have been waiting to hear from the military on how it could be done.

In special hourlong testimony next Tuesday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen were expected to outline steps the military will take to lessen the impact on a force fighting two wars. ”The secretary and the chairman have and will continue to work on an implementation plan, and we’ll be able to share (details) with you early next week,” Morrell said.

Between 1997 and 2008, the Defense Department fired more than 10,500 service members for violating the policy. The number of dismissals dropped sharply after the 2001 terrorist attacks as forces were heavily deployed around the world, with half as many troops fired in 2008 as in 2001.

Full Story from the NY Times
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Posted in dadt, defense department, don't ask don't tell, pentagon, repeal. plan | No Responses »

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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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, 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

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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

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

Gay Rights Activists Disappointed that Obama Offered No Timetable for DADT, DOMA Repeal

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

The morning after President Obama’s “big gay speech” — as gay bloggers dubbed his Saturday night address to the Human Rights Campaign — gay rights advocates are preparing to march from the White House to the Capitol building this afternoon.

The demonstration, set to begin at noon, is intended to pressure Mr. Obama to make good on his campaign promises to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” There was plenty of speculation from gays and politicos alike that he might start one, or both, of these efforts from the podium Saturday night–neither happened.

“President Obama gets an “F” for his speech tonight on gay rights,” wrote Kevin Naff, the editor of The Washington Blade, a gay issues newspaper in Washington D.C., as he bemoaned the absence of a timetable for Mr. Obama’s pledges. “This wasn’t so much a policy speech as a recitation of old campaign promises reheated for a breathless audience on its feet.”

Full Story from the NY Times: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/sunday-word-big-gay-march/

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Posted in congress, defense of marriage act, don't ask don't tell, president obama, repeal, timetable | No Responses »

Obama Calls on Congress to Repeal Defense of Marriage Act, Don't Ask Don't Tell

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

President Barack Obama restated his campaign pledge to allow homosexual men and women to serve openly in the military, but many in his audience of gay activists were left wondering when he would make good on the promise.

“I will end ‘don’t ask-don’t tell,’” Obama said Saturday night to a standing ovation from the crowd of about 3,000 at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group. He offered no timetable or specifics and he acknowledged some may be growing impatient.

“I appreciate that many of you don’t believe progress has come fast enough,” Obama said. “Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach.”

Full Story from AP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hZUjpkw6hIX3KDjuV8xK0idc_H0wD9B8UFGG2