Gay Soldier Booed at GOP Debate Demands Marriage Equality - WATCH

Remember when Romney supported ENDA and wanted to end DADT?

At one time Mittens supported ENDA and wanted to end DADT.

Don't believe me?

Read the letter to the Log Cabin Republicans in 1994

Flip Flop!

Rick Santorum tells Hate King Tony Perkins he will restore Don't Ask Don't Tell - WATCH

Welcome Home, Solider

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A LGBT Moment of 2011: A Soldier Comes Out to his Father on YouTube

This was a wonderful moment to watch

NBC Nightly News: No Problems since DADT was Lifted

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Rick Perry continues his DADT Rant - VIDEO

For some reason, Rick thinks DADT is a huge mistake and it puts soldiers in danger; from what I don't know

Lesbian Couple goes to the Marine Corps Ball

This is a nice Thanksgiving treat. A lesbian couple graced the Marine Corps Ball the other day. They are the 1st LGBT couple to do this after DADT.

Washington Blade has the scoop:

For the first time — thanks to repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” — the lesbian couple was able to come together to celebrate at a Marine Corps ball commemorating the anniversary of the military service. The ball they attended at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on Nov. 10 was among several throughout the country in honor of the Marine Corps’ 236th birthday.

Lemmer, who has served in the Marine Corps for more than 17 years and currently serves as a logistics chief, said the experience of bringing her partner to the ball inspired tremendously good feelings.

“It was amazing to be open and honest and not have to hide,” Lemmer said. “I’ve never taken anybody to the ball because of that reason right there. This is my first opportunity and it was exciting.”

I'm glad they had a good time.

Interesting Quote: Stephen Hill

Stephen was the gay solider who was booed during the GOP debates. Here's what he had to say when he heard the crowd react to his question:

"When the actual booing occurred, my gut dropped out, because my first inclination was, did I just do something wrong?. The answer, obviously, wasn't very supportive of gay people, and there was a lot of fear of how the Army would take the question."

He was still brave to ask his question. Thank you, Stephen for being strong.

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President Obama Certify the DADT Repeal

President Obama did the damn thing today, by signing off the DADT repeal. Here's his statement:

“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,” Obama said in the 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.”

“As Commander in Chief, I have always been confident that our dedicated men and women in uniform would transition to a new policy in an orderly manner that preserves unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness. Today’s action follows extensive training of our military personnel and certification by Secretary Panetta and Admiral Mullen that our military is ready for repeal. As of September 20th, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country. Our military will no longer be deprived of the talents and skills of patriotic Americans just because they happen to be gay or lesbian.”

“I want to commend our civilian and military leadership for moving forward in the careful and deliberate manner that this change requires, especially with our nation at war. I want to thank all our men and women in uniform, including those who are gay or lesbian, for their professionalism and patriotism during this transition. Every American can be proud that our extraordinary troops and their families, like earlier generations that have adapted to other changes, will only grow stronger and remain the best fighting force in the world and a reflection of the values of justice and equality that the define us as Americans.”

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VIDEO: Active and Gay Servicemembers March in San Diego's Pride Parade

To see this happening is truly an event



via Wockner

The Ninth Circuit Stops the Enforcement of DADT

Big DADT News!

Metro Weekly reports:

In an order issued by a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips's judgment halting the worldwide enforcement of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as a result of her decision in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States has been put back in effect.

DADT cannot be enforced, per the order, unless the government gets a stay of the order from either the Ninth Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court pending an appeal of today's decision.

Cynthia Smith, a Department of Defense spokeswoman, tells Metro Weekly that Pentagon officials "are studying the ruling with the Department of Justice" but added, "We will of course comply with orders of the court, and are taking immediate steps to inform the field of this order." 

The three-judge panel -- Judges Alex Kozinski, Kim Wardlaw and Richard Paez -- decided to lift the appellate court's earlier stay of Phillips's order pending the appeal of the LCR case because, the judges write, "The circumstances and balance of hardships have changed, and appellants/cross-appellees can no longer satisfy the demanding standard for issuance of a stay."

Check Out the DADT Website

Please take a look at the new DADT website for the US Army

Rep. Steven Palazzo wants to protect Homophobia in the Military?

More mess from GOP in dealing with the DADT repeal. Rep. Steven Palazzo thinks it cute to protect ignorance and homophobia in servicemembers.

The Wonk Room has the key piece of the amendment:

The sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of a member of the Armed Forces that homosexual or bisexual conduct is immoral and/or an inappropriate expression of human sexuality according to the tenets of the member’s faith community shall be accommodated….
[...]
The Secretary of Defense shall issue regulations setting forth guidance to insure that the sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of members of the Armed Forces regarding homosexual or bisexual conduct are protected, accommodated…

 Rep. Steven Palazzo believes that Christians will be under attack once gays and lesbians are open in the military. However, that's not the case:

In reality, the amendment is wholly unnecessary, since the Pentagon has already stipulated that “[t]here will be no changes regarding Service member exercise of religious beliefs, nor are there any changes to policies concerning the Chaplain Corps of the Military Departments and their duties. The Chaplain Corps’ First Amendment freedoms and their duty to care for all will not change.” The existing rules already protect men and women of all races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds who live and work together but have different values, views, or ways of life with which not everyone agrees.

It's amazing what these quacks will do to stop equality.

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter wants to derail the DADT Repeal

This son of jackal plans to introduce amendments to jack up the DADT repeal. But how can this be done? Well, these amendments will require the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to prove that the repeal of DADT won't damage military readiness.  WTF?

Please read his press release:

During consideration of the national defense authorization act this week by the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Duncan Hunter will offer an amendment to require that all four military service chiefs certify that implementation of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT)” repeal won’t impact combat readiness and effectiveness. The amendment mirrors legislation previously introduced by Hunter—H.R. 337, the Restore Military Readiness Act. 


“The four military service chiefs are far more closely connected to the day-to-day realities facing each respective service branch than those who are currently required to sign off on the repeal—including the President,” said Hunter, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  “The President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs should all take part in the certification process, but excluding the service chiefs is a mistake.  They may agree to move forward with the repeal or they may have other recommendations for implementation and timing.  Either way, their unvarnished perspective is critical to this process—especially as it relates to preserving the military’s high rate of effectiveness. 

“I’ve said before that our priority should be winning in Afghanistan and focusing on the roadside bomb threat, the primary source of U.S. casualties.  The repeal of DADT won’t make our troops any safer or help achieve victory any faster.  Even so, any movement toward implementation must be efficient and show respect for the culture and tradition unique to each service branch and the military as a whole.”

More info about these amendments is here at Washington Blade.

WATCH: Rachel Maddow discuss the Sad & Rejected DADT Training Video

Rachel Maddow had fun with this video

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WATCH: Rick Santorum claim that he would bring DADT back as President

This is really quick, but like his colleagues, Ricky says he would reinstate DADT. I guess he thinks he will change the world with this statement.

VIDEO: Defense Secretary Robert Gates talks to Troops about the DADT Repeal

The DADT Protesters may go to JAIL

Remember the DADT protesters? Dan Choi and the Get Equal folks chained themselves to the White House fence to get the president's attention. Well, it got the court attention and 13 of those folks could be heading to jail.

Thirteen activists arrested last fall for chaining themselves to the White House fence in opposition to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy are scheduled to appear in federal court Friday.
The group — including gay rights leaders, a Catholic priest and eight veterans discharged for breaking the ban on openly gay and lesbian troops — were arrested Nov. 15 and previously declined to plead guilty to violating the orders of a federal law enforcement officer. The charge carries a maximum six-month jail sentence.

It’s the first time since at least 2006 that protesters have faced the charge, according to Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Mark Goldstone, the group’s attorney, said his research suggests it’s the first time prosecutors have ever used the charge against protesters at federal sites anywhere in the District.

“Of all the locations to get arrested at in D.C., one would think that the White House location would be where you’re most likely to get prosecuted,” but prosecutors are more likely to press charges against protesters outside the Capitol or Supreme Court, Goldstone said Thursday.

While not unusual, arresting protesters for chaining themselves to the White House fence is not as common as other First Amendment exercises on federal property in the District, according to the U.S. Park Police. Protesters are more commonly charged with violating regulations pertaining to the area, number of participants, and size of signs used in demonstrations, according to Sgt. David Schlosser, a Park Police spokesman.

To be honest, this shouldn't be a surprise. I remember them citing MLK as they were bound to the fence.  Well, MLK got arrested lots of times during his protesting days. So if they are found guilty, they can say they are in jail for justice.

The Army begins DADT Repeal Training

Yesterday, DADT repeal training began in full swing.

The Army's top general kicked off the service's training program Thursday on the new law allowing gays to serve openly in the military, and officials said they hope to have the whole force trained by mid-August.


The largest of the service branches, the Army plans to finish training the active duty force of 565,000 by mid-July and the 567,000 members of the Guard and Reserve by mid-August, officials said.

Gen. George Casey launched the effort with a slide presentation in the Pentagon for most of service's dozen four-star generals.

Mainly due to its size, the Army is scheduled to take longer to complete the training than the smaller services. The Defense Department has given the services a lot of leeway in determining how they conduct the training and on what schedule.

The Marines said their instruction officially began Feb. 7. Some commanders, chaplains, recruiters and military police have received training and officials expect to complete the entire force by the end of May.

Good luck with the training.


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