Gays see repeal as a civil rights milestone

Gays See Repeal As A Civil Rights Milestone
Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as Gay Marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year-old ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "It's one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen," said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in The Army for seven years, including three comba...

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal victory not yet complete
The 66-31 Senate passage on Saturday of a stand-alone "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)" Repeal is definitely cause for celebration among LGBT and all fair-minded Americans, but that celebration should be tempered by a number of sobering shortcomings. First and foremost, although DADT Repeal has now passed both the House and the Senate, the discriminatory policy itself has not yet ended.  In order for it to be safe for gay and Lesbian Military personnel to serve openly, the Repeal must first be...

Military will write the rules on repeal of gay ban
WASHINGTON – No public displays of affection. No separate bathrooms. No harassment and no special treatment. As the U.S. Military begins to map out how it will implement the new edict allowing gays to serve openly, the first order of business is drafting the regulations. The rule changes under discussion won't dictate how Troops feel about the change, but will strictly enforce how they act on it. From small wording tweaks and training programs to more complex questions about benefits and...

Repeal of Dont ask, dont tell: A civil rights milestone?
“Even though this is really huge, I look at it as a chink in a very, very long chain,” he added. The ruling drew quick rebuke from foes of lifting the ban who argued that the Military shouldn’t be used to expand the rights of gays and that allowing them to serve openly would hurt troop morale and a unit’s ability fight. Supporters declared the vote a Civil Rights milestone. Aaron Belkin, director of the California-based Palm Center — a Think Tank on the issue —...

Gays See Repeal As A Civil Rights Milestone
NEW YORK (AP) — Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as Gay Marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” “It’s one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen,” said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., w...

More Gay Rights Policy Hurdles Ahead
WASHINGTON — The Republican senator from North Carolina was blunt. “Because she’s a damn Lesbian,” Jesse Helms snapped, explaining to The Washington Times why he would vote against Roberta Achtenberg, President Bill Clinton’s nominee for assistant housing secretary. Later, he clarified, calling her “a Militant, Activist, mean lesbian.” Senator Jesse Helms, top, in 1989, spoke against a Clinton nominee who was a lesbian. The latest on President Obama, t...

Military will write the rules on repeal of gay ban
Source: AP By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press – 2 hrs 46 mins ago WASHINGTON – No public displays of affection. No separate bathrooms. No harassment and no special treatment. As the U.S. Military begins to map out how it will implement the new edict allowing gays to serve openly, the first order of business is drafting the regulations. The rule changes under discussion won't dictate how Troops feel about the change, but will strictly enforce how they act on it. From small wording tweaks and ..

Tool of the day: Col. Bill Spencer - 'What moral madness awaits us next' after repeal?
Good grief. This former Military officer has written a ridiculous screed at Daddy D's CitizenLink lamenting the passage of DADT Repeal, "With 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' It's Too Late to Care Now" Since the advent of "don't ask, don't tell" in 1993, no idea or position forwarded by Homosexuals has been tied to improved mission readiness and effectiveness - none. The media's sound bite that there would be a loss of skilled personnel if the policy remained was nothing more than a smoke screen. The...

What's Next for the Gay Rights Movement?
(Credit: AP / CBS) Just days after Saturday's historic passage of a stand-alone Senate Bill repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," David Brock, founder and CEO of the liberal Watchdog group Media Matters for America, has announced the launch of Equality Matters - a New Media initiative that aims to promote Lesbian, gay, Bisexual, and Transgender equality. The initiative, which Brock describes in a Press Release as a "communications war room for gay equality," comes as Activists start to shift the...

Political Scene
WHITE HOUSE Obama plans to sign DADT Repeal The White House says President Obama plans to sign the repeal of the Military's ban on Openly Gay service members on Wednesday, four days after the Senate voted to abolish the policy. Mr. Obama's signature would end the Pentagon's 17-year, "don't-ask, don't tell" policy and fulfill a 2008 Presidential Campaign promise. The policy has allowed gays and Lesbians to serve, but only if they were silent about their Sexual Orientation. Press Secretary Robert ...

US gay activists celebrate fall of their 'Berlin wall'
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Rights Activists are comparing the lifting of a ban on gays openly serving in the US Military to the fall of the Berlin Wall, hoping the move could pave the way for the legalization of Gay Marriage. "For the first time in our country's history our government sent a very strong message that you don't have to hide if you are gay or Lesbian," said Fred Sainz, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the country's main Lesbian, gay, Bisexual and trans...

Debate continues as 'don't ask, don't tell' policy nears end
An end to the policy preventing gay men and Lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. Military isn't coming soon enough to save Sgt. Anthony Bustos' Army career, but he couldn't be happier with the action by Congress. "I was completely overwhelmed and beside myself," says the 25-year-old, who served two tours in Iraq before being discharged this month under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on Openly Gay servicemembers. "I have an overwhelming sense of pride that we are one step closer to equality,...

Why Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal is Not the Brown v. Board of Ed for Gay Rights - Newsweek
With the timely reversal of a handful of Senate Republicans, a bill to Repeal the ban on gays and Lesbians serving openly in the Armed Forces passed the super-majority threshold to defeat a Filibuster. The measure then passed the Senate by a 65-31 vote. Having already passed the House of Representatives by a 250-175, and President Obama is certain to sign it. Gay-rights supporters are, naturally, elated. The National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce issued a statement saying, "We celebrate this i...

Leadership key to ending military gay ban (AP)
WASHINGTON – No public displays of affection. No separate bathrooms. No harassment and no special treatment. As the U.S. Military begins to map out how it will implement the new edict allowing gays to serve openly, the first order of business is drafting the regulations. The rule changes under discussion won't dictate how Troops feel about the change, but will strictly enforce how they act on it. From small wording tweaks and training programs to more complex questions about benefits and...

Lawmaker seeks to block gays from Va. National Guard
Del. Robert G. Marshall says he will seek to bar gays from serving in the Virginia National Guard. The Republican lawmaker from Prince William County argues that the U.S. Senate vote to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to allow gays to serve openly in the U.S. Military will weaken recruitment and increase pressure for a draft. "After 232 years of prohibiting active, open Homosexuals from enlisting in our military, President [Barack] Obama and a majority in Congress are conducting a social experime...

Gays celebrate repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'
NEW YORK (AP) - Word that the world's largest Military power will allow gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the Military brought strong and swift reaction Saturday, with supporters declaring a Civil Rights milestone and detractors insisting it would weaken and divide the Armed Forces. In New York, home to one of the nation's largest gay communities and a Gay Pride parade whose grand marshal this year was an Openly Gay, discharged serviceman, 28-year-old Cassandra Melnikow glanced at a news tic...

Gays celebrate repeal of dont ask, dont tell
NEW YORK (AP) — Word that the world’s largest Military power will allow gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the Military brought strong and swift reaction Saturday, with supporters declaring a Civil Rights milestone and detractors insisting it would weaken and divide the Armed Forces. In New York, home to one of the nation’s largest gay communities and a Gay Pride parade whose grand marshal this year was an Openly Gay, discharged serviceman, 28-year-old Cassandra Melnikow glan...

A hearty welcome to Equality Matters
Clinton White House aide Richard Socarides, a frequent critic of the Obama Administration on LGBT issues including its actions in support of DADT Repeal, heads Media Matters' "New Media and communications initiative" in support of LGBT equality. "Equality Matters, [David] Brock said, should 'expose right-wing Bigotry and Homophobia wherever we find it' and 'stiffen the spines of Progressives.' That, he said, did not change with the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' . . . 'We know that "Don't ...

DADT Repeal Is An Opportunity For Trans People
(An interesting take. Restrictions on open service by Transgender people aren't based in law but in policy, as will be the case again for gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals after the DADT "Repeal" Legislation is by the President. - promoted by Lurleen) I've seen a shocking amount of resentment coming from different quarters of the trans community over the repeal of DADT that to me is completely unjustified and destructively short sighted. I’ve seen accusations of the trans community being ...

Making good history
There was premature talk of a post-racial nirvana after the election of President Barack Obama. But the election was nonetheless a singularly significant event in a continuum of significant events that began with "All men are created equal" on to the Emancipation Proclamation, through the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s to present day. When Obama signs a bill repealing the Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule, it will be an event as significant for Gay Rights as Pres...

So long, `don't ask, don't tell'
The U.S. Senate struck a blow for Equal Rights on Saturday by repealing the 17-year ban on gays and Lesbians serving openly in the Military. The 65-31 vote will make it much easier for untold numbers of men and women who want to serve their country to do just that without having to lie about their Sexual Orientation. On the same day, however, the Senate crushed the hopes of hundreds of thousands of Young People here illegally through no fault of their own. The DREAM Act, which would create a pat...

Pentagon says no timeline yet on ending gay ban
Stumble This! WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday said it was unclear how soon the Repeal of a ban on Openly Gay Troops could be carried out after Congress scrapped the law in a ground-breaking vote. Defense officials had to first review and revise policies and make other preparations to reflect the change adopted Saturday by the Senate, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters. "I don't think anybody has any idea yet how long this will take," Morrell said. When President Bar...

Gays see repeal as a civil rights milestone
NEW YORK — Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as gay marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as "don’t ask, don’t tell." "It’s one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen," said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in The Army for sev...

Gays see repeal as a civil rights milestone
NEW YORK (AP) - Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as gay marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "It's one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen," said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in The Army for seven years, includi...

Times Embraces 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Repeal As 'Historic'
The Times marked Repeal of the Clinton-era “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Legislation preventing gays from serving openly in the Military as “historic,” comparing it to the end of Racial Segregation, in Sunday’s front-page story by congressional reporter Carl Hulse, “Senate Repeals Ban Against Openly Gay Military Personnel.” Hulse often shows favoritism toward Democratic Legislation in Congress and disdain for GOP priorities. His first five sources...