|
|
  Lt Dan Choi In an ironic bit of news today MTV reports that A Pentagon memo leaked today, appropriately Veterans Day supports the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
Washington Post, quoting two people familiar with a draft of the report, said that it will say that the military’s lifting of the ban would result in “minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts.”
According to the Post, more than 70 percent of respondents to a survey sent to active-duty and reserve troops this summer said the effects of a repeal would be “positive, mixed or nonexistent.” Those results reportedly led the survey’s authors to conclude that objections to gay troops would drop once they were able to live and serve openly with their peers.
In some other gay and vet’s day news, a service was held for gay vets:
Continue reading »
 Law Professor John Culhane Professor of Law, Widener University 365gay.com contributor John Culhane updates us on where, exactly, things stand in the DADT mess. It is, of course, subject to change at any moment…
How long must I continue writing about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”?
Don’t ask.
It’s hard to see this drama ending any time soon, and much of what one can write about it, from the legal perspective, is speculative and ever-changing. But this isn’t a subject I can ignore for this week’s column – there have been too many important policy and legal developments.
So let’s try to walk through what’s going on, and what might be expected. Much of what follows is necessarily speculative.
Continue reading »
  To make matters even more confusing than they already were after a Federal Judge halted enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and then the government appealed this decision, military recruiters were given the go ahead today to accept openly gay recruits.
The Pentagon has advised recruiting commands that they can accept openly gay and lesbian recruit candidates, given the recent federal court decision that bars the military from expelling openly gay service members, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The guidance from the Personnel and Readiness office was sent to recruiting commands on Friday, according to spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.
Continue reading »
 No one was sure if the Obama-led government would appeal Tuesday’s ruling by California Judge Virginia Phillips to halt enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” especially since the prez and his supporters are on the record as opposing the policy. Turns out, they’re not letting it slide. Today the The Department of Justice requested a stay on the ruling and the government filed an appeal in federal court.
From The Advocate:
Continue reading »
 In the ongoing seesaw drama that has become the military’s policy on serving openly, federal Judge Virginia Phillips has issued the injunction to stop enforcement of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell today. She has ordered the Defense Department to “immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation, or other proceeding” and you can read the full text of her announcement in this PDF.
The Justice Department had urged […]
 This political cartoon has been circulating Facebook and so many have commented on its power I thought I should post it here.
  In a bit of bleak Tuesday news, it looks like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the policy forbidding military service members from performing their duties out and proud, isn’t going anywhere right now. Senators fell 4 short of the 60 needed to even start the debate on the new defense bill.
From the Washington Post:
Tuesday’s vote does not end efforts to lift the military’s 17-year ban on gays serving openly in uniform, but makes it almost impossible to ensure a repeal is included in the final House-Senate compromise version of the defense bill that lawmakers may vote on during a lame-duck session after November’s midterm elections.
Continue reading »
  It seems unlikely that this courtroom pronouncement will do anything concrete in the short term but it’s another positive step in the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell the ridiculously named policy that bars gays in the US military. And it comes on the heels of another California federal judge tossing out California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. That is also still in the works. Nevertheless, thank you Cali.
I suppose I should also thank the Log Cabin Republicans, who set the lawsuit in motion, but I am less excited to do so.
Continue reading »
 Just a short while ago
We’ve been a little thin on the ground re: coverage on DADT, mostly because so many political blogs out there do a better job than we ever could. But this is just in and worth sharing: GetEQUAL’s Dan Choi and five others have handcuffed themselves to the White House gates (Dan Choi’s second time!).
According to twitter feeds (#dadt) they are currently […]
 'Caprica' As gayness becomes increasingly familiar in our lives, so it is reflected on the small screen. And despite that the American TV-watching population was most likely watching one of the straightest (well, if you don’t account for subtext) television events yesterday, there were most definitely some queer weekend highlights.
Firstly, let me indulge my obsession with science fiction. Though not nearly as epic as the recent SyFy hit Battlestar Galactica, new series Caprica is pretty interesting. This week they very nonchalantly introduced a gay couple as part of the tough-as-nails and mob-like Adama family. Ain’t no Tauron sissies in this touching family scene.
Continue reading »
|
|
