Living Under Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Obama to Republican candidates: The Commander in Chief must support gay troops

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 11:44:13 -0400

Obama to Republican candidates: The Commander in Chief must support gay troops

Transgender ban remains in place in US Military.

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:05:42 -0400

As lesbian and gay servicemembers and military veterans are celebrating the repeal of the military’s anti-gay “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy — despite delays in implementing the repeal — transgender servicemembers and veterans once again find themselves left behind in the battle for equality.

Because repealing DADT did not end the ban on service by trans people.

“The military still puts trans people in the same medical category as pedophilia. They consider it [transgenderism] to be a medical disorder,” said Monica Helms, president and co-founder of Transgender American Veterans Association.

“Trans people still have to be deep in the closet. They can’t talk to anyone about their lives, or they risk being discharged and getting something other than an honorable discharge,” Helms added. “Because the kind of discharge you get can make a huge difference in what kind of benefits you can get.”

Read the Article Here

thedailywhat: Presented With One Comment of the Day:...

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:16:12 -0400

thedailywhat:

Presented With One Comment of the Day: Finally.

[wapo.]

ff4equality: Michelle Obama Welcomes Gay Families to National Military Initiative First Lady...

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:36:27 -0400

ff4equality:

Michelle Obama Welcomes Gay Families to National Military Initiative

First Lady Michelle Obama “looks forward to including” openly gay service members in her national military families initiative with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy set to expire in less than 24 hours.

The campaign, Joining Forces, is a multi-prong national program launched in April by the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden to support military families through public service outreach and partnerships with some of the nation’s largest corporations, among other efforts.

“The First Lady and Dr. Biden will continue to recognize and honor the families of all service members, as they have been doing since the beginning of Joining Forces,” Kristina Schake, Mrs. Obama’s communications director, said in a statement to The Advocate.

“After the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell takes effect, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden look forward to including openly gay and lesbian service members in events to recognize their service to the nation, as well as the service of their families,” Schake said.

The statement is similar to one made just prior to the White House launch event for Joining Forces in April. At that time, the White House had cited that DADT remained in effect and precluded participation by gay service members or their representative advocacy groups at the East Room unveiling of the initiative.

That decision drew criticism from some gay service member advocacy groups who said that inclusion would have been a symbolic opportunity to recognize families of gay troops — families who likely would not have been able to participate in on-base Joining Forces events prior to DADT repeal. “At the moment, I can’t even buy a stamp on base,” one partner of a gay service member said in April. “That’s pretty sad. Our primary interest is just being treated the same as other military families. We’re not looking for anything novel beyond that.”

As well as a general awareness campaign focused on the challenges that military families face, Joining Forces works with private employers such as Wal-Mart to secure military spouse job transfers resulting from new duty assignments. It also promotes greater inclusion of military families in entertainment programming via partnerships with Hollywood guilds including the Writers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America.

“[T]he truth is that as a country, we don’t always see their families, our heroes on the home front,” Mrs. Obama said at the April launch event. “These families have appealed to us, like a military mom who wrote to me and said, ‘Please don’t let Americans forget or ignore what we live with.’”

In January, the administration called on government agencies to better address issues in employment, housing, and education affecting the nation’s 2.2 million service members and their families.

Not a story, but I figured you would appreciate it. Power point distributed by the Air Force for repeal of DADT training:

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 09:26:52 -0400

http://i.imgur.com/WRhPB.jpg
You don’t have to post it like this, ask wouldn’t let me send links, you know.

____________

Thank you! - Kris

Delay DADT Repeal? Pentagon Says No

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:24:41 -0400

By Andrew Harmon

House Armed Services Committee chairman Rep. Bud McKeon and Rep. Joe Wilson have asked for a delay in “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal, set for September 20, because the committee has not received a summary of policy changes on benefits and other matters, they write.

“The Department is not ready to implement the repeal because all the policies and regulations necessary for the transition are not yet final,” the two Republican congressmen wrote in a letter dated September 12. “We would ask that the senior military leaders’ memoranda immediately be made public and transmitted to the Committee on Armed Services.” (Fox News has a report and link to the letter here.)

A Pentagon spokesman confirmed that the repeal date will stand, however.

“The repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ will occur, in accordance with the law and after a rigorous certification process, on September 20,” the Pentagon spokesman said. “Senior Department of Defense officials have advised Congress of changes to regulations and policies associated with repeal. We take that obligation seriously.”

Update: Servicemembers Legal Defense Network executive director Aubrey Sarvis issued the following statement on the letter from McKeon and Wilson:

“This is another example of the hardcore opposition attempting to delay or undo ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal. I expect they will continue to look for openings to deny gay and lesbian service members the same rights and dignity as their straight counterparts. On the substance, Mr. McKeon and Mr. Wilson are simply wrong. The statute only requires that the new regulations be prepared — not issued — before certification.”

gq: Don’t Ask, Don’t TELL With the formal end of DADT less than...

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:32:35 -0400

gq:

~~Don’t Ask, Don’t~~ TELL

With the formal end of DADT less than a month away, GQ’s Chris Heath spent six months assembling an oral-history-of-sorts about what it was like to be a gay man serving in the U.S. military. The resulting piece, which appears in our Sept 2011 issue and runs a bit longer at GQ.com, is funny, sad, horrifying and, above all, surprising. Life under DADT is both everything—and nothing—like one might expect. A brief sample below, from a heartbreaking section of the piece titled “Invisible Partners”:

Air Force #4 (senior airman, four years): “Right now our relationships don’t exist.”

Air Force #3: “I’ve had three deployments [while] with the same person. Every time it’s been ‘All right, see you later.’ All the spouses get together, do stuff. He’s just there by himself, fending for himself.”

Marines #2: “The relationship lasted for about four years, but I always felt like I was disrespecting him, to have to pretend he didn’t exist when I went to work. When I got deployed, he was there with my family when I left. It kind of sucked—to shake his hand and a little pat on the back and ‘I’ll see you when I see you’ kind of thing. And when you’re getting ready to come back, the spouses were getting classes—here’s how you welcome your Marine back into the family—and my boyfriend didn’t get any of that. I had a really hard time adjusting to being home. We tried to make it work for a year but he was getting more and more paranoid about people finding out about us. It killed me that he felt that way because of me. I don’t think we ever really had a chance, ultimately.”

Air Force #3: “When I was deployed, every Sunday we would sit down on opposite sides of the world and we would each order a pizza and we would watch a movie together over Skype. We weren’t doing anything bad except trying to spend some time together. But there was no ‘I love you.’ Certainly nothing sexual, or anything like what some straight guys do over Skype.”

Navy #2 (captain, twenty years): “Personally, I haven’t had a lot of struggles. The hardest thing that I faced was about eight years ago. I was dating somebody for about two years who had gotten out of the army. He was HIV positive, and I didn’t know that, and he ended up dying—it just happened very quickly. I am not positive, luckily. So I had a lot of difficulties grasping with that personally, dealing with his death, and I had to take time off work, but still not tell them. I couldn’t go to the doctor or the psychologist. There wasn’t really anybody to talk to.”

Someone Should Tell Bachmann: Our Military Leaders Ended DADT

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 23:17:21 -0400

fuckyeahlgbtmilitary:

Last week, as I watched the presidential debate in Iowa, I listened closely for a question or an answer that referenced the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” (DADT) signed into law by President Obama last December and now scheduled to be final on September 20, 2011. After all, it was just a few weeks ago in New Hampshire that every candidate participating in the previous debate — with the notable exception of Congressman Ron Paul, who voted for repeal — voiced support for the discredited and discriminatory law and left the door wide open for reinstating it should they be elected president.

So, I was heartened as the debate came to a close and the issue had not been raised. I thought, “Finally. These candidates realize that this debate is over. Our nation’s military leaders, Congress, and the president have spoken. They, like most Americans, believe that all qualified Americans should be able to serve the country they love. We’ve moved on.”

Then on Saturday, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, in an interview with CNN, reiterated her opposition to repeal and went farther than she previously had, stating she “probably would”reinstate DADT if elected. Immediately, I began receiving emails asking the question, “Could she do such a thing?” Indeed, the answer is yes, and today, the New York Times explained exactly how she — or any would-be president who opposes LGB service in our military — could.

But the better and more important question is, why would she? Is it because she wants to appeal to a small base of supporters who do not represent the vast majority of the American people? Is it because she does not respect the recommendations of our nation’s senior military leaders, including two Secretaries of Defense, one of whom is the recently retired Republican-appointed Robert Gates who served under a number of presidents? Is it because she doesn’t understand that this is not the way we conduct military policymaking in the United States?

Here are the facts.

In virtually any poll, the American people overwhelmingly support the open and honest service of qualified gay and lesbian patriots in our military. They know, as conservative Republican Barry Goldwater so eloquently said, that you don’t have to be straight to shoot straight.

Indeed, in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee earlier this year, our nation’s service chiefs reflected this view as they testified to Congress that there were no significant challenges during the ongoing training and preparation for implementation. The president, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, further reinforced this finding when they issued their certification to Congress last month, sending a clear and final message that our military is ready for repeal. And in this country, we don’t revisit major personnel policy decisions for our military based on which party wins an election every four years.

In a few weeks, DADT will be history. Now is not the time for Congresswoman Bachmann or other candidates to be second-guessing our military leaders, attempting to create uncertainty or unrest in the ranks, and shamelessly using our troops in order to score a few political points.

This is the time to rally around our troops, support the sacrifice and service of all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation, and move on. Certainly, we have more real and relevant battles to fight than to revisit one that has already been settled.

Lesbian Soldier Snagged in DOMA Red Tape | News | The Advocate

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:27:15 -0400

Lesbian Soldier Snagged in DOMA Red Tape | News | The Advocate:

matthew—-james:

Jessica Lohmeier, who served in the Army Reserves for two years, had a boy in 2009. She told WILX News that after raising James with her partner Lauren Russell for two years, she is ready to reenlist. However, the military requires that all parents with full custody of their children, like Lohmeier, show a marriage license as proof that a spouse will be able to take care of the child if the enlisted parent is assigned overseas. The policy states that the military may not “enlist an unmarried individual with a child under 18,” according to the report. But because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, there is no form of recognition for their relationship, even if they were to wed or enter a domestic partnership or civil union in another state.

Hi. Just stumbled upon your blog and I'd like to say I admire your page. As a gay Marine I know what's it like, and I'm looking forward to Sept. 20. Until then, stay frosty and stay strong.

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:35:52 -0400

The Definitive Guide to LGBT Military Service

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:17:58 -0400

The Definitive Guide to LGBT Military Service :

The SLDN has given us a little (53 page) PDF file to help LGB members serve openly.

It covers EXACTLY what the DADT repeal does and doesn’t cover, attending Pride events, support groups, addressing harassment, what you can and can’t do politically (effects the whole military, not just LGB members), information on HIV/AIDS, being a part of an LGB military family, there ARE some benefits for same-sex partners, just not the same as if DOMA we’re repealed. It also outlines which benefits we can not access due to DOMA.

It also includes some information on people who were discharged under DADT and what they can do, as well as a huge list of resources for everything imaginable.

One step closer to equality...

- Fuck Yeah LGBT Military

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 08:48:29 -0400

alllovenoh8: thedailywhat: End Of A Regrettable Era of the...

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:42:44 -0400

alllovenoh8:

thedailywhat:

End Of A Regrettable Era of the Day: President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen officially brought the era of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to a close today with the formal certification of its repeal.

“Today, we have taken the final major step toward ending the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law that undermines our military readiness and violates American principles of fairness and equality,” said the President in a prepared statement. “In accordance with the legislation that I signed into law last December, I have certified and notified Congress that the requirements for repeal have been met. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will end, once and for all, in 60 days—on September 20, 2011.”

[ap / miamiherald.]

AWESOME.

September 20th is the day we’ll all be waiting for, it isn’t fully safe to come out until then. Overall, its pretty safe but its better to be safe than sorry!

Relax! Breathe! The wait is (pretty much) over!

- Kris

WSJ: Pentagon Will Certify It Is Ready To End Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:46:34 -0400

21/07/2011 22:21

By Julian E. Barnes

Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)—Top defense officials plan to certify on Friday that the Pentagon is ready to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military, officials said, and a landmark moment after almost two decades of controversy.

The move closes one chapter, but opens another. The military has now to resolve critical questions such as benefits same-sex couples will receive.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal website, WSJ.com.)

While the military will be free to provide some services to same-sex spouses, like family support for spouses of deployed service members, it will be blocked from providing the full range of health, housing and education benefits under federal law.

Under the law passed late last year by Congress, the repeal of the 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law will go into effect 60 days after the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that military readiness will not be harmed by the repeal of the ban.

The 9th Circuit Court of appeals has put in place an injunction preventing the military from enforcing the ban, which has halted any discharges under the policy and prevented recruiters from turning away openly gay recruits. However, until the ban is formally repealed, gay rights advocates have advised service members not to reveal their sexual identity.

With Friday’s actions the ban will formally disappear in late September.

Officials are likely to use the remainder of the summer to try and hammer out some of the unanswered questions about what military benefits same sex couples are eligible for. The military is also wrestling with other, more minor questions, like whether same sex unions can be performed in military chapels.

With the repeal in place, many senior military officials have said privately they are personally in favor of extending equal rights to same sex couples. Advocates are counting on those officers to make the case to Congress that current law should be changed.

“Commanders, once they realize this inequity exists are going to be uncomfortable with troops under their command not receiving the same basic benefits,” said Aubrey Sarvis, an Army veteran and executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which advocates for gay members of the military. “There must be equal treatment for equal risk, equal treatment for equal sacrifice.”

Current federal law governing the military defines a spouse as a “husband” or “wife,” which Mr. Sarvis said could prevent military benefits from being extended to same sex couples. The Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages, may also block many of those benefits.

The Justice Department has decided not to appeal legal challenges to DOMA, and President Barack Obama has said he supports its repeal by Congress. But with Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives repeal of that law appears unlikely.

Because the certification decision has not yet been announced, spokesmen for Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to comment.

To the frustration of advocates the military has moved slowly toward repeal. The services have spent months conducting training with chaplains, combat troops, senior non-commissioned officers and officers to try and ensure that repeal is not accompanied by an outbreak of harassment of gay service members.

Senior military officers say the training has gone smoothly and they expect few cases of harassment. Although they also note that because of military culture they are unsure about how many service members will come out publically.

Gay servicemen said even if they do not formally come out to colleagues in the military, the lifting of the ban will ease the threat they feel that their careers could be cut short at any moment if they put a family picture on their desks—or inside a humvee.

President Obama Endorses the Respect for Marriage Act

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:36:42 -0400

fuckyeahlgbtmilitary:

Today, the day before the first-ever hearings on repealing the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) are scheduled to occur, President Obama has announced his support for the Respect for Marriage Act. The Respect for Marriage Act, a bill sponsored by Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and Representative Nadar (D-NY), is the bill that would repeal the discriminatory DOMA that for fifteen years has denied same-sex couples the freedom to marry.

Evan Wolfson, Founder and President of Freedom to Marry, had this to say in reaction to today’s announcement:

“Freedom to Marry applauds President Obama’s strong endorsement of the Respect for Marriage Act and the repeal of so-called ‘DOMA.’ The federal government should not be picking and choosing which marriages it will honor and which it will disregard when it comes to the important federal protections that come with marriage, such as Social Security, health coverage, fair tax treatment, and immigration rights. Congress should follow the President’s lead and return the federal government to its traditional practice of honoring all lawful marriages equally—without the ‘gay exception’ of DOMA.”

To ask your member of Congress to follow the President’s lead and support the Respect for Marriage Act, click here.

"The military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is back in place for the time being, with one major..."

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 22:20:50 -0400

“The military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is back in place for the time being, with one major caveat: the government is not allowed to investigate, penalize or discharge anyone who is openly gay.”

- Court Keeps ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ In Place : NPR (via jossarden)

Court reinstates part of 'don't ask, don't tell'

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:28:34 -0400

fuckyeahlgbtmilitary:

A federal appeals court revived part of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy late Friday, ruling that the military can continue to reject openly gay enlistees but must suspend all investigations and discharges under the beleaguered 1993 law aimed at gay members of the armed forces.

In an order issued Friday night, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said a government filing Thursday gave the court information it had not previously known about the progress of a repeal process that Congress put into place for “don’t ask, don’t tell” in a statute passed last December. Just last week, the same three-judge panel said changes in the administration’s stance warranted reinstating a lower court’s ban on all enforcement of “don’t ask,” at least while the government’s appeal went forward.

The appeals court said its latest order is only temporary and it asked the Justice Department to explain why the court wasn’t told earlier that only one person has been discharged from the military under “don’t ask” since the repeal legislation was passed last year or that the military services were just weeks away from giving the green-light for a certification that can lead to repeal of “don’t ask” under last year’s law.

You can read the court’s order here.

Transgender veteran Autumn Sandeen is still disappointed, even after President Barack Obama signed the repeal of don't ask don't tell. That is because the law does not apply to transgender recruits.

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:56:07 -0400

transcriber:

Click Here To View Video

Services Deliver ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal Input

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:43:48 -0400

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2011 – All of the services and combatant commands have provided their input to the Defense Department in advance of the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that bans gays from serving openly in the military, a Pentagon spokesman said here today.

The input includes progress on training of the force, the regulatory aspects of the change in the law and other aspects, Marine Corps Col. Dave Lapan said.

“Ultimately, it’s for the services to provide their input to the secretary about whether their services are prepared for repeal to take place,” Lapan said.

No requirement exists for 100 percent of the force to receive training prior to repeal, the colonel said. “It is more in the nature of giving the input where all the services are in the training and whether they’ve reached a point where they believe they are ready to move forward,” he explained.

The department actually is trying to follow two laws, Lapan said. The first is the original law passed in 1993. Its provisions were to remain in effect until repeal. The second law calls for repeal to take effect after certification that the services are ready.

However, a court in California ruled that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law is unconstitutional. The U.S. government asked for a stay, and a three-panel court of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the stay. On July 6, the court vacated the stay and gave the department 10 days to stop enforcing the provisions of the old law.

“We have two laws: the law known as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ that a court injunction has stopped us from enforcing, but we also have a law that requires us to certify that the force is ready for repeal,” Lapan said. “And we are trying to comply with both.”

Since then, Defense Department officials have been speaking with Justice Department lawyers about the next steps. In the meantime, the department continues to abide by the repeal law, and that is what the input from the services represents, Lapan said.

The services have provided the input, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretary of defense will make their decision when to certify to the president that DOD is ready to move forward with repeal.

Lapan would not hazard a guess when the decision will land on the president’s desk.

CIA Signs on to Gay Military Convention | News | The Advocate

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:58:58 -0400

CIA Signs on to Gay Military Convention | News | The Advocate:

matthew—-james:

The Central Intelligence Agency has signed on to be a cosponsor of a convention for gay military personnel this fall. The CIA and Amazon will lead a discussion on post-military careers at the 2011 OutServe Armed Forces Leadership Summit. The CIA and other agencies, such as the FBI, recruit openly gay agents. J.D. Smith, the codirector of Outserve and an active member of the military, said this will be an integral step for the nation after “don’t ask, don’t tell.” “Our first priority is to support the military in moving forward in a post-repeal environment; but eventually all our members will transition to civilian life,” he said in a statement. “OutServe is determined to help veterans transition successfully. We’re very happy that the CIA is a possible future career path for our veterans, who have already shown their desire to serve this country.” The summit will take place October 13-16 at New York New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Living Under Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Obama to Republican candidates: The Commander in Chief must support gay troops

Transgender ban remains in place in US Military.

thedailywhat: Presented With One Comment of the Day:...

ff4equality: Michelle Obama Welcomes Gay Families to National Military Initiative First Lady...

Not a story, but I figured you would appreciate it. Power point distributed by the Air Force for repeal of DADT training:

Delay DADT Repeal? Pentagon Says No

gq: Don’t Ask, Don’t TELL With the formal end of DADT less than...

Don’t Ask, Don’t TELL

Someone Should Tell Bachmann: Our Military Leaders Ended DADT

Lesbian Soldier Snagged in DOMA Red Tape | News | The Advocate

Hi. Just stumbled upon your blog and I'd like to say I admire your page. As a gay Marine I know what's it like, and I'm looking forward to Sept. 20. Until then, stay frosty and stay strong.

The Definitive Guide to LGBT Military Service

One step closer to equality... - Fuck Yeah LGBT Military

alllovenoh8: thedailywhat: End Of A Regrettable Era of the...

WSJ: Pentagon Will Certify It Is Ready To End Don't Ask, Don't Tell

President Obama Endorses the Respect for Marriage Act

"The military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is back in place for the time being, with one major..."

Court reinstates part of 'don't ask, don't tell'

Transgender veteran Autumn Sandeen is still disappointed, even after President Barack Obama signed the repeal of don't ask don't tell. That is because the law does not apply to transgender recruits.

Services Deliver ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal Input

CIA Signs on to Gay Military Convention | News | The Advocate

One step closer to equality...

- Fuck Yeah LGBT Military