Don't Ask, Don't Tell heads for the history books
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the military's ban on open gays, is headed for the dustbin of history.
The Senate voted 65-31 on Dec. 18 to authorize the policy's repeal and sent the measure to President Barack Obama for his signature.
Eight Republicans joined all but one Democrat in voting to repeal the ban. They were Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Richard Burr of North Carolina, John Ensign of Nevada, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and George Voinovich of Ohio. Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia did not vote.
Obama plans to sign the bill quickly, but that will not end the ban. Gay servicemembers will need to stay in the closet for a few more months.
After Obama signs the measure, he and the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff must certify that the military is ready for the change and that it will not harm military readiness or effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting or member retention.
Then, after that, DADT repeal will take effect 60 days later. The process is expected to proceed relatively smoothly.
"No longer will patriots be forced to lie in order to serve the country they love and are willing to die for," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "This vote by the United States Senate will have extremely positive ripple effects well beyond Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Our government has sent a powerful message that discrimination, on any level, should not be tolerated."
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis called on the Pentagon to cease DADT discharges during the months between now and when repeal is finalized.
"I respectfully ask Defense Secretary Robert Gates to use his authority to suspend all Don't Ask, Don't Tell investigations during this interim period," Sarvis said. "Until the president signs the bill, until there is certification and until the 60-day congressional period is over, no one should be investigated or discharged under this discriminatory law. ... Certification and the 60-day congressional requirement must be wrapped up no later than the first quarter of 2011."
Sarvis called the repeal of the ban "the defining civil rights initiative of this decade."
Lambda Legal Executive Director Kevin Cathcart called the 17-year fight to overturn the ban "a heroic political battle by LGBT advocates who refused to give up."
In a statement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said: "Once this legislation is signed into law by the president, the Department of Defense will immediately proceed with the planning necessary to carry out this change carefully and methodically, but purposefully. This effort will be led by Dr. Clifford Stanley, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. ... The legislation provides that repeal will take effect once the president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that implementation of the new policies and regulations written by the department is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the armed forces. ... I will approach this process deliberately and will make such certification only after careful consultation with the military service chiefs and our combatant commanders and when I am satisfied that those conditions have been met for all the Services, commands and units. It is therefore important that our men and women in uniform understand that while today's historic vote means that this policy will change, the implementation and certification process will take an additional period of time. In the meantime, the current law and policy will remain in effect."
Obama issued a statement that said: "Today, the Senate has taken an historic step toward ending a policy that undermines our national security while violating the very ideals that our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives to defend. By ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell, no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love. As commander-in-chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known. And I join the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the overwhelming majority of service members asked by the Pentagon, in knowing that we can responsibly transition to a new policy while ensuring our military strength and readiness. ... It is time to close this chapter in our history. It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed. It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly."
Dan Choi hospitalized
Leading Don't Ask, Don't Tell activist Dan Choi said Dec. 14 that he was committed to a veterans hospital psychiatric ward on Dec. 10, the day after the U.S. Senate again refused to authorize repeal of the DADT ban on open gays in the military.
On Dec. 18, the Senate reversed course and voted 65-31 to authorize the repeal. (See separate story.)
In an on-the-record e-mail sent from his iPhone, Choi said he had experienced "a breakdown and anxiety attack."
"(T)he failures of government and national lobbying carry consequences far beyond the careers and reputations of corporate leaders, elected officials, high powered lobbyists or political elites," Choi wrote. "They ruin lives. My breakdown was a result of a cumulative array of stressors but there is no doubt that the composite betrayals felt on Thursday, by elected leaders and gay organizations as well as many who have exploited my name for their marketing purposes, have added to the result."
Choi was released from the hospital several days later and sounded like himself in a telephone interview with CNN on Dec. 18.
Lesbian becomes Colorado Supreme Court justice
Monica Marquez became the first openly gay or lesbian member of the Colorado Supreme Court when she was sworn in Dec. 10.
Her partner, Sheila Barthel, helped her put on her black robe at the ceremony.
Marquez, 41, previously served as deputy attorney general.
Spacey won't discuss sexual orientation
Actor Kevin Spacey told The Daily Beast on Dec. 15 that he's not interested in discussing his sexual orientation.
"I have not given up my right to privacy," Spacey said. "People have different reasons for the way they live their lives. You cannot put everyone's reasons in the same box. It's just a line I've never crossed and never will."
"You have to understand that people who choose not to discuss their personal lives are not living a lie," he continued. "That is a presumption that people jump to. ... I just don't buy into that the personal can be political. I just think that's horseshit."
Activists hope to force teaching of gay history
A bill introduced in the California Legislature by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require that LGBT people be fairly and accurately included in school teaching material.
The measure is sponsored by Equality California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.
The bill also prohibits the State Board of Education from using instructional material that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
EQCA said that if enacted, the law "would add LGBT to the existing list of underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups (that) are covered by current law related to inclusion in textbooks and other instructional materials in schools."
"LGBT people should not be pushed into the closet when it comes to what students learn about history," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "Educating youth about the contributions of LGBT Californians and our state's rich diversity will help foster true acceptance of LGBT students and will ultimately create a safe school environment for all students."
GSA Network Executive Director Carolyn Laub added, "LGBT youth are denied a fair education when they are exposed to harmful stereotypes in classroom materials and are excluded from learning about their history."
Leno said that "most textbooks don't include any historical information about the LGBT movement."
"Our collective silence on this issue perpetuates negative stereotypes of LGBT people and leads to increased bullying of young people," he said. "We can't simultaneously tell youth that it's OK to be yourself and live an honest, open life when we aren't even teaching students about historical LGBT figures or the LGBT equal rights movement."
UN secretary-general, US ambassador attend LGBT event
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United States' U.N. ambassador, Susan Rice, joined a high-level U.N. panel Dec. 10 that condemned anti-gay violence and the criminalization of same-sex relations.
The Human Rights Day event was hosted by several nations and organized by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Watch and other organizations.
"Violence will end only when we confront prejudice," Ban said. "Stigma and discrimination will end only when we agree to speak out. That requires all of us to do our part -- to speak out at home, at work, in our schools and communities."
"Where there is tension between cultural attitudes and universal human rights, universal human rights must carry the day," he said. "Personal disapproval, even society's disapproval, is no excuse to arrest, detain, imprison, harass or torture anyone -- ever. ... Human Rights Day commemorates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is not called the Partial Declaration of Human Rights. It is not the Sometimes Declaration of Human Rights. It is the Universal Declaration, guaranteeing all human beings their basic human rights, without exception."
Rice told the gathering: "The story of my country is, in part, a story of the expanding boundaries of rights and dignity -- of the way that discrimination and prejudice have been countered by acceptance and equality. I feel this deeply and I feel it very personally. Even at a time of profound challenges at home and abroad, we dare not give up on the great causes of equality and fundamental rights. And that includes the pursuit of full and equal rights for the millions of people in this country and around the world who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender."
"Change," Rice said, "comes from people ... who refuse to move to the back of the bus. It comes from the leaders, the activists, and the ordinary men and women who believe that all human beings have equal worth, equal dignity, equal consequence -- and equal rights. This conviction underpins the significant steps that the United States has taken over the past two decades to advance the human rights of all of those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender."
The event was sponsored by U.N. missions from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, France, Gabon, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States and by the Delegation of the
European Commission.
Assistance: Bill Kelley
