Yes, rumors are flying that President Obama will repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. What happens when lesbian and gay personnel may serve openly, though, but will still not receive the support for their spouses and children to which other servicemembers are entitled? I explore that question in my column this week […]
Gen. Colin Powell told CNN “We definitely should reevaluate [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell],” in his strongest statement yet against the policy. In related news, a federal appeals court refused to reconsider a ruling that raised doubts about the constitutionality of DADT. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied the Air Force’s
Why is the military prepared to shell out $150,000 in retention bonuses to service members who are proficient in Arabic, when it has used the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy to dismiss more than five dozen qualified and willing Arabic speakers? Steve Ralls, PFLAG’s director of communications, who also held that role for the Servicemembers
Four retired officers, each from a different branch of the U.S. military, recommended that the military repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and let gay men and lesbians serve openly. In the “Report of the General/Flag Officers’ Study Group” released by the Michael D. Palm Center of the University of California at Santa Barbara,
Barack Obama appointed David Noble, director of public policy and government affairs at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and former executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, as director of the LGBT vote for his campaign. The presidential candidate also sent an open letter to LGBT voters and said “I will place the
Posting this a tad early this week; I’ll catch late Friday news next week. Happy weekend! Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) announced the formation of the bipartisan House of Representatives LGBT Equality Caucus, with the goal of promoting LGBT equality. One of the architect’s of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Senator Sam Nunn,
(Reposting this in honor of Memorial Day. Originally published in Bay Windows, January 10, 2008) Five-year-old William and three-year-old Ryan are the children of decorated U.S. Army officer Cheryl Parker. Like other children of service members, they have dealt with cross-country moves and months without their mother while she was deployed in Iraq. Unlike the
Just in time for Memorial Day, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district court decision in the case of an Air Force major discharged for being a lesbian. It ruled “the government may only ‘intrude upon the personal and private lives of homosexuals’ to ‘advance an important governmental interest,’ such as maintaining troop
Congressman Joe Sestak, the highest-ranking veteran in Congress, called for a repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told graduating West Point cadets that Congress, and not the military, is responsible for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Some say transgender rights could be the
HRC announced its first round of U.S. Senate endorsements. Some criticized their omission of openly gay North Carolina candidate Jim Neal. HRC responded. Most gay, lesbian, and bisexual people do not know their basic rights, according to a poll by New York’s Hunter College. The poll asked “whether same-sex marriages were legal in the respondent’s
