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The Repeal of DADT is Mission Incomplete

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Melanie Nathan at Mission Incomplete GetEQUAL Rally in the Castro

Calling on the Repeal of DADT Supporting Senators to Co-Sponsor the Repeal of DOMA -

On September 20, 2011, while the LGBT community celebrated the activation of the repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy, which had prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, activists, including myself, attended GET EQUAL rallies across the country to protest “ Mission Incomplete.”

I was emphatically reminded of this incomplete mission, when I noticed on television, that out of the six senators attending a news conference hailing the historic DADT repeal, only three have signed on to “The Respect for Marriage Act” (RFMA) the legislation that supports the repeal of the “Defense of Marriage Act,” (DOMA.)

The repeal of DADT is a milestone, in that gays and lesbians can now serve openly. Yet, other than drawing attention to the iniquities suffered by openly gay members of the military, it does nothing to further equality for LGBT servicemembers. Certainly not until all enjoy marriage equality and the protections provided by ENDA.

Transgender people still serve in silence and LGBT Servicemembers are denied marital benefits in parity with straight members of the military.

Accordingly, activists and advocates ought to use the DADT repeal activation as an opportunity to enter what is clearly now an historically wide open door. Until this time, we have been tip toeing around legislation always knocking at the back door. The opening is a view to the offensive inequality suffered by all LGBT members of our American society, whether in uniform or not.

The DADT repeal serves to highlight the discrimination because even though gay and lesbian servicemembers can serve openly, they are still unequal in the eyes of the law. Serving openly is not equality. That is why the fight has truly just begun.

The three senators who are co-sponsors of the marriage equality legislation attending the news conference for DADT, on Capitol Hill included Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.); and the three, standing next to them, who have yet to sign on to the repeal of DOMA and who were supporters of the DADT repeal include Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

By standing at the conference and celebrating the conclusion of DADT, the latter three senators are definitely MIA – they are missing in action and ought to show up for equality – not merely the right to exist in the military or the right to exist in society for that matter. De facto existence is a given – yet de jure equality remains elusive!

It would be hypocritical for Senators Lieberman, Levin and Collins, at this point, to remain silent on DOMA and I hope their constituents will call them on this serious omission. When they show up on the Respect for Marriage Act, they will provide the votes needed to have the Senate repeal of DOMA. Of course the House has a long way to go; but the Senate will provide an advance trend favoring full equality for same-sex partners.

Nothing short of full equality will suffice. There is no excuse for anything less; that means the repeal of DOMA, the passage of ENDA and an Equality Bill – an omnibus of sorts – that spells out to the individual States in the US that even though they are free to create their own laws, they are not free to discriminate. It is un-American to discriminate. The most basic of American values is equality and freedom. Now is the time for all to share in the magnificent intent of the Constitution.

So like the folks at GetEQUAL have asserted through the rallies, the “mission is incomplete” – and it is up to us as a movement to define and lead and compel the mission. Let’s do it…. DOMA must be repealed immediately.

By Melanie Nathan.
melanie@gayusathemovie.com
www.visualcv.com/melnathan

Senators Co-Sponsoring DOMA’s repeal:

1. U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI)

2. U.S. Senator Michael Bennett (D-CO)

3. U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)

4. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)

5. U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

6. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

7. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

8. U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-OH)

9. U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)

10. US. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL)

11. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

12. U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN)

13. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

14. U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)

15. U.S. Senator Dan Inouye (D-HI)

16. U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA)

17. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

18. U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI)

19. U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

20. U.S. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

21. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

22. U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)

23. U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)

24. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

25. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

26. U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

27. U.S. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO)

28. U.S. Tom Udall (D-NM)

29. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

30. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)

1. U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI)

2. U.S. Senator Michael Bennett (D-CO)

3. U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)

4. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)

5. U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

6. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

7. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

8. U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-OH)

9. U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE)

10. US. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL)

11. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

12. U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN)

13. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

14. U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)

15. U.S. Senator Dan Inouye (D-HI)

16. U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA)

17. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

18. U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI)

19. U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

20. U.S. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)

21. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)

22. U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)

23. U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)

24. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

25. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

26. U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

27. U.S. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO)

28. U.S. Tom Udall (D-NM)

29. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

30. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Posted in activist, don't ask don't tell, Gay Marriage, gay rights, marriage equality, same sex marriage, senate, straight couple, transgender | No Responses »
Tags: carl levin, Carl Levin (D-Mich.), don't ask don't tell, gay marriage watch, getequal, joe Liberman, Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), Melanie Nathan, military, repeal of DADT, Respect for Marriage Act, senators, servicemembers, susan collins, The Defense of Marriage Act

US: Pentagon to Certify DADT Repeal Friday

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Pentagon officials will announce Friday that the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military can be lifted without harming military readiness, a step that will likely bring the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy to an end in September, two Defense officials said,

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are recommending to President Obama that he proceed with final repeal of the nearly two-decade-old policy, the officials said.

Congress voted to repeal the 1993 “don’t ask, don’t tell” law last year, but delayed abolishing it until top Pentagon officials and the president could certify that the change would not adversely affect the military. The ban will cease to be enforced 60 days after the certification, Congress ordered.

Full Story from the LA Times

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: certification, dadt, don't ask don't tell, repeal

US: Ninth Circuit Court Orders Immediate Halt on DADT Discharges

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

A federal appeals court ordered the U.S. government on Wednesday to immediately cease enforcing the longstanding ban on openly gay members of the military.

In a brief two-page order, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy must be lifted now that the Obama administration has concluded it’s unconstitutional to treat gay Americans differently under the law.

The ruling was the latest legal development in the effort by gay rights supporters to end the policy. It came in response to a motion brought by Log Cabin Republicans, a group for gay GOP members, which last year persuaded a lower court judge to declare the ban unconstitutional.

Full Story from Edge Boston

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: dadt, don't ask don't tell, ninth circuit

Obama Administration Asks Court to Reject Appeal for Immediate End to DADT

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

The Obama administration wants a federal appeals court to maintain the ban on openly gay service members until the Pentagon is ready for them, probably by the end of the year, and to reject a demand for an immediate halt to “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

In a filing late Thursday, the Justice Department asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to suspend legal proceedings while the government implements a federal law repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the 1993 statute barring military service by gays and lesbians who disclose their sexual orientation.

President Obama signed the repeal in December. It takes effect 60 days after he and the Pentagon certify that it will not interfere with military effectiveness or recruiting.

Full Story from SFGate

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: dadt, don't ask don't tell, obama administration

DOMA Will Prevent Military Recognition of Gay Spouses, Even After DADT Repeal

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

A gay service member marrying will no longer be grounds for discharge after “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed, but federal law will keep the military from recognizing the marriage, officials said on Friday.

Congress repealed the law that bans gay and bisexual troops from serving openly during last month’s lame-duck session of Congress, but the policy won’t be officially lifted until President Obama and top Pentagon officials certify that the military is ready for the change.

Training that stresses professionalism and respect will begin as early as next month, Clifford Stanley, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at a news conference.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

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Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Response »
Tags: defense of marriage act, don't ask don't tell, repeal

DADT Repeal Will Not Include Spousal Benefits for Gay Soldiers

Sunday, December 26th, 2010

“The partners of gay service members will not at this point be given any special rights or any rights that parallel those of a spouse.”

Bernard Rostker, described by NPR as the former Undersecretary of the Department of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and someone who’s been studying Don’t Ask Don’t Tell for 17 years.

Here, Rostker responds to a question about whether the spouses of lesbian and gay servicemembers will receive benefits. Now that DADT is officially on the way out, his opinion of pending Pentagon policy is that the military will not recognize gay partners for marriage benefits. Unmarried heterosexuals do not receive military benefits either, it is reported.

Full Story from Metro Weekly

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: dadt, don't ask don't tell, spousal benefits

Renew America Demeans Service of All Soldiers, Gay & Straight

Friday, December 24th, 2010

Hey all,

Just ran across this lovely column on the Renew America site (yes, I know – I had to shower afterward). Did you know wthat the religious right hates gays so much they’ve now stooped to demeaning even straight soldiers in their lust to go after the DADT repeal? Here are a few choice segments from this odious column:

According to Nartional Review Online , there may be a whole lot of homosexuals who just got an unpleasant surprise. With the repeal of the law prohibiting homosexual service in the United States military, they just lost their “get out of jail free” card.

…

According to the Pentagon, “approximately 85% of discharges for homosexual conduct have been made on the basis of statements by the Service member.”

And even more distressing for our would-be limp-wristed enlistees, the Pentagon adds helpfully that “approximately one quarter of these discharges have occurred in the first four months of a Service member’s service.”

Notice that there’s no link to this supposed Pentagon study, and no mention of whether these soldiers who all outed themselves did so out of disgust with having to lie, or if outing themselves means having an email found on their hard drive that indicated they are gay, or…? Nope, all black and white, trust us, move along, nothing else to see here.

But it gets worse:

In other words, homosexuals – or people who suddenly discovered latent homosexual tendencies when they could use it to parachute out of the military – signed up for the all-volunteer army, got a few weeks into basic and said, forget this noise. I’m outtahere. All they had to do was admit they were gay – whether they were or not – and they got their walking papers along with an honorable discharge.

…

Well, all that’s gone now, both for gays and straights willing to tell odious lies about themselves. If a homosexual signs up now, he’s stuck with the whole magilla. Go to your superior officer now and say, hey, I’m a flaming homosexual, I hate the army, let me out of here, the superior officer will say, tough darts, those days are gone. You’re stuck with us now, Nancy-boy.

So not only are our limp-wristed nancy boy gay soldiers getting out of jail free (oh, and extra points for working in so many lovely offensive phrases), but our straight soldiers are all a bunch of liars and cheats too.

It’s instructive to see just how fast the Right will throw you under the bus if they think it will advance their own agenda.

Those days are now shortly to be a distant memory for our homosexual friends. They enlist, they’re stuck with the whole program just like everybody else.

In other words, they had preferential treatment and special privileges, a status and privileges and an exit strategy denied to their honest and straight counterparts. And homosexuals just bargained it away. Now, they will discover to their dismay, they’re back to having equal rights instead of special rights.

So you see, you gay and lesbian soldiers had it all backwards. You were actually receiving special rights and protections that no one else got when Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was in effect, which was just fine with the Religious Right, because you know how they love special rights for gays. Now you’ve gone and blown it all away.

I know it’s Christmastime, and we’re all supposed to love our neighbors. OK, I’ll take a page from the Christian Right – I love you guys enough to tell you that I think anyone who has so much misdirected hatred in their hearts is pathetic, and would probably sell his own mother for political advantage – certainly our troops aren’t immune to your venom.

Unlike you, our brave men and women actually want to serve this country, not split it down the middle. We’re proud of all of our soldiers, straight and gay.

Oh, and Happy Holidays!

–Scott, Gay Marriage Watch

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Response »
Tags: don't ask don't tell, gay troops, renew america

FRC Will try to Sabotage DADT Repeal

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

Just because President Barack Obama has signed the repeal process law does not mean that the battle is over. It should not be surprising that the Family Research Council, the hate group lead by Tony Perkins, is planning every dirty trick that they can find in order to push their radical, unAmerican social agenda and sabotage the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

As Right Wing Watch points out, the FRC seemed to be resigned to the repeal saying:

It’s been a long, hard fight. And as sobering as the outcome may be, we can all be proud that we stood our ground and did what was right for our soldiers and our country. Now it’s time to leave the outcome, however ominous it may be, in the hands of the Lord.

Full Story from Lez Get Real

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Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Response »
Tags: don't ask don't tell, family research council, repeal

President Obama Signs DADT Repeal

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

The law that bans gay and bisexual troops from serving openly in the military ended Wednesday with President Obama’s signature. “Thank you Mr. President,” someone in the crowd at the morning signing ceremony shouted as Obama approached the podium. “You’re welcome,” he replied.

Flanked by repeal backers, including Admiral Mike Mullen, outgoing Pennsylvania Representative Patrick Murphy, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senators Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Susan Collins of Maine, Obama praised lawmakers and top military leaders who united to get to get the bill approved during a hectic lame-duck session of Congress.

In remarks before he signed the landmark bill, Obama said military service is no longer defined by sexual orientation and revealed that he had promised a young soldier he would lift the ban.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: dadt, don't ask don't tell, president obama, repeal

President Obama to DADT Repeal Wednesday

Monday, December 20th, 2010

The White House says President Barack Obama will sign the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay service members on Wednesday morning at a Department of Interior auditorium.

With a stroke of his pen, the president will end the Pentagon’s 17-year, “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. In repealing the ban, Obama will fulfill a 2008 presidential campaign promise.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs would not say how long it would take for the administration to implement the repeal. But he said he didn’t expect it to be “overly burdensome.” In letters to the troops over the weekend, the four military service chiefs warned that the ban is still in place, and will be for some time to come.

Full Story from NPR

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: don't ask don't tell, president obama, repeal, signature