Fresh Loaf

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, has secured a commitment from the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold hearings this fall on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which bans openly gay soldiers from serving. Gillibrand had tried over the last several weeks to rally support behind a measure that would put an 18-month moratorium on the policy, but couldn’t come up with the votes.

In the House, Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-PA, is leading the charge against the policy by sponsoring a bill that would overturn DADT.  Murphy, an Iraq War veteran, is getting major backing from the Human Rights Campaign and Stonewall Democrats. Georgia Congressmen John Lewis and Hank Johnson are co-sponsors of Murphy’s bill. Here’s Rep. Murphy discussing his support for repeal of DADT with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.

Meanwhile, British newspaper The Independent is reporting that senior U.S. military officers are “quietly holding talks with their British counterparts” about how the U.S. should go about changing the policy.  The U.K. lifted their ban on gays in the military in 2000.

Chief Operations Officer of Stonewall Democrats, and Atlanta resident, Kyle Bailey spoke to Creative Loafing about the policy’s effect on Georgia service members, as well as on those nationwide:

(more…)

Bookmark It

Number of years since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was adopted as federal policy: 16

Number of servicemembers discharged from the U.S. armed services since 1993 because because they were gay: 12,342

Number of times, including a June 8 U.S. Supreme Court decision, that federal courts have upheld the policy: 6

Percentage of Americans in favor of allowing gays to serve openly in the armed forces, according to a July 2008 poll: 75

Percentage of Republicans in favor of the policy’s repeal, according to the same poll: 64

Number of years ago a U.S. Navy committee determined gays in the military don’t pose a security risk: 52

Total number of countries that allow openly gay servicemembers: 26

Number of NATO countries, including the United States, that still ban gay servicemembers: 2

Number of Georgia congressmen who are co-sponsors of the policy’s repeal: 2

Sources: AJC, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network

This post has been altered to correct a typo in the number of NATO countries that still ban openly gay servicemembers.

Bookmark It

Libertarian Presidential nominee and former CL columnist Bob Barr was interviewed by Liz Gorman of Wonkette during Friday’s debate between the Barack Obama and John McCain. Skip the “festive” guy talking about conspiracies and start watching at 1:50. Barr shows his human side when he’s asked whether facial hair has any place in our armed forces.

Bookmark It

For the first time since the law was enacted in 1993, a Congressional committee will hear testimony tomorrow on the status of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

According to Jeff Cleghorn — an Atlanta lawyer who serves on the national board of directors of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network — the House Armed Services Committee is tackling the issue. There is pending legislation in the House co-sponsored by 143 representatives to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

The hearing will be at 2 p.m. in the Rayburn Building. The committee will hear from four retired military officers and Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a conservative group that opposes revoking “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

As our July 2 cover story, Pride & Patriotism, mentioned, a recent Gallop poll revealed that 79 percent of Americans think gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve. Even former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, who pushed through the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, has said it is time to review it.

Bookmark It

This week’s cover story delves into the issue of gays serving in the military, and the hope by gay activists that the days of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are numbered.

Their position got a boost yesterday when a report by three retired military leaders concluded that Congress should repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion,” the report says. It points to other countries — such as Great Britain and Israel — that have allowed gays and lesbians to serve openly without incident.

The report was written for the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara, an advocacy group that supports the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

It was authored by three retired officers: a lieutenant general from the Army, a general from the Marines and a lieutenant general from the Air Force. Two are Democrats, one is a Republican.

While John McCain supports keeping the law in place, Barack Obama wants to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” If Obama is elected, and if the Democrats retain control of Congress, gay activists will make a major push in the next two years to have the law repealed.

“We have great optimism,” says Jeff Cleghorn, an Atlanta lawyer who is on the board of directors of the national organization Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “A significant number of people both inside and out of the military now think gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve.”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” seems to be the position of some of the candidates in this year’s U.S. Senate race when it comes to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Of the seven qualified candidates, only four have stated a clear position on the proposed repeal of the law. With Pride scheduled for the 4th of July weekend, CL surveyed the field for this week’s cover story: “Pride & Patriotism.”

For Georgia Democrats, the issue carries some risk: By taking a position, they’ll either offend rural conservatives or alienate gay voters, who have become an important part of the party’s base.

Here’s what the candidates say (or don’t say) about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”:

Saxby Chambliss (Republican) – Against the repeal.

Allen Buckley (Libertarian) – Advocates a “Don’t Ask, Can Tell” policy, and leaving any disciplinary action up to the military’s discretion.

Dale Cardwell (Democrat) – It is time to review “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Vernon Jones (D) – Against “persecution” based upon sexual orientation. No specific position on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Rand Knight (D) – A spokesman said he supports the repeal.

Josh Lanier (D) – Supports repeal and points to the shortage of Arabic linguists as a reason.

Jim Martin (D) – Wouldn’t respond to CL inquiries.

Bookmark It