Fresh Loaf

Danny Ingram

Danny Ingram was one of the first gay service members to be discharged under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 1994, and now the Georgia Tech employee and Desert Storm veteran will lead the charge against DADT as the newly elected president of American Veterans for Equal Rights.

Previously president of the Georgia chapter of AVER, Ingram was elected national president during the organization’s Oct. 15-18 convention.  He doesn’t hold back on his expectations of President Barack Obama and Congress in regards to DADT:

“For President Obama, it’s a matter of moral courage” he said. “He made a promise and we expect him to keep his word. One of my first priorities as AVER national president will be to encourage him to provide the leadership to move Congress to pass the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR 1283) which will outlaw discrimination against LGBT service members.”

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, tweeted last week that she expects Congressional hearings on DADT to begin in November.

(Photo courtesy Southern Voice)

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U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Jim Martin released a new ad today that says incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss voted against bills that would help military veterans.

Since taking office in 2003, the ad says, Chambliss has voted 23 times against increasing funding for veteran’s health care programs. The ad also says the senator voted against the latest GI bill for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan that would provide full educational benefits to soliders upon their return.

I’ll update the post when I hear back from Chambliss’ campaign. Expect a blitz of these ads leading up to Tuesday’s runoff.

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In a back-to-back blitz of press releases touting who loves veterans more, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss boasts a glitzy endorsement from Vets for Freedom, the  self-proclaimed “largest Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans organization in America.” His Democratic opponent Jim Martin, however, has a laundry list of the incumbent’s votes that he says shows a poor voting record when it comes to veterans’ rights.

“As a Vietnam veteran,” said Martin, “I feel a special responsibility to stand up for those men and women who have sacrificed so much for their country. Saxby Chambliss hasn’t done that. Time and time again, he has ignored their needs and the needs of their families and betrayed not just the trust of veterans, but also the trust of all Georgians who count on their Senator to do the right thing. It’s just shameful.”

According to Martin’s campaign, the former state lawmaker was recently endorsed by veterans’ advocacy publication Veterans’ Vision. After the jump, Martin lists the Chambliss votes that he says were an insult to soldiers.

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