Sexuality Doesn't Matter On The Battlefield

Sexuality Doesn't Matter On The Battlefield
By Nathan Cox
Thursday, December 16, 2010; 8:00 PM
Washingtonpost.com

I am an active-duty U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer. I have deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan and have commanded infantry Marines in combat.

On Tuesday, Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, said he believes repealing "don't ask, don't tell" and allowing gay and lesbian Marines to serve openly could "cost Marines' lives" because of the "mistakes and inattention or distractions" that might ensue. I am not homosexual. And in this instance, I must respectfully disagree with my commandant.

The commandant cites the importance of cohesion within small combat units and warns against its disruption by allowing homosexuals to stop concealing their identities. In my experience, the things that separate Marines in civilian life fade into obscurity on the battlefield. There, only one thing matters: Can you do your job? People care much more about whom you voted for or what city you're from while on the huge airbase with five Burger Kings, or back in the States, than they do when they're walking down a dusty road full of improvised explosive devices in Haditha or Sangin.

In the end, Marines in combat will treat sexual orientation the same way they treat race, religion and one's stance on the likelihood of the Patriots winning another Super Bowl. I do not believe the intense desire we all feel as Marines to accomplish the mission and protect each other will be affected in the slightest by knowing the sexual orientation of the man or woman next to us.

In the recent Defense Department survey, 58 percent of combat arms Marines said they felt allowing homosexuals to serve openly would negatively affect their unit, but 84 percent of combat arms Marines who had served with a homosexual said that there would be no effect or that the effect would be positive. It seems obvious that if allowing homosexuals to serve openly degraded performance, rather than improved it, a majority of Marines who had served with homosexuals would oppose repeal. Yet this is not the case, and homosexuals serve openly in the militaries of Britain, Canada, Australia, Israel and others with no ill effect. This suggests that much of the opposition toward repeal within the Marine Corps is based on the politics of individual Marines and not any measurable military effect.

Repeal would undoubtedly produce some disruption, but if other nations' experiences are any guide, it will be so minimal as to be essentially nonexistent. Consider what is likely to happen if and when "don't ask" is repealed: Lance Cpl. Smith will be having a typical Marine conversation with Lance Cpl. Jones, and the topic will turn to women. Smith will remark on how much he enjoys their company. Jones will reply: "Actually, man, I like dudes."

Smith: "Really?"

Jones: "Yeah, man, really."

Smith: "Wow. I didn't know that."

Both will then go back to cleaning their rifles.

Is it really likely that lance corporals who know each other better than brothers, and may have saved each other's lives in split-second reactions during deployments, are suddenly going to refuse to serve in the same unit or quit the Corps because they have to share a shower?

Repeal will of course have many effects. Gay and lesbian Marines who are now barred from discussing their identities honestly with their superiors, peers and subordinates would be able to do their jobs free from the nagging knowledge that they are being less than honest with their brothers and sisters in arms. It is difficult to see how this could do anything but improve their job performance. Gay and lesbian Marines have long fought and died for a country that refuses to acknowledge their existence. Some are certainly among the Marines who have passed through Bethesda Naval Hospital and rest in Arlington.

I believe the reluctance many Marines feel about repeal is based on the false stereotype, borne out of ignorance, that homosexuals don't do things like pull other Marines from burning vehicles. The truth is, they do it all the time. We simply don't know it because they can't tell us.

It is time for "don't ask, don't tell" to join our other mistakes in the dog-eared chapters of history textbooks. We all bleed red, we all love our country, we are all Marines. In the end, that's all that matters.

The writer is an infantry captain in the Marine Corps.

Newsweek On GetEQUAL And The Quest For LGBT Civil Rights

Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Newsweek on GetEQUAL and the quest for LGBT civil rights
Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 12/14/2010 05:43:00 PM

Great article from Newsweek's Eve Conant looking at GetEQUAL and the fight for LGBT equality. GetEQUAL's first meeting was held at the same place where Rosa Parks "studied" non-violent civil disobedience. Not everyone agrees with the use of the civil rights terminology. But, if people in this country aren't equal, civil rights are at stake:

As the fight over same-sex marriage and “don’t ask, don’t tell” rages in the courts, Congress, and the media, gay activists and their allies are invoking the language and imagery of the civil-rights battles of a half century ago. And their efforts are changing the tenor of the debate. Sen. Joe Lieberman, calling for repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” told a Connecticut reporter earlier this month that the fight for gay rights is the new “front lines” of the civil-rights movement. When President Obama included protections for gays and lesbians in federal hate-crime legislation earlier this year, the Associated Press called it “the biggest expansion of the civil-rights-era law in decades.” And at last week’s federal appellate-court hearing in San Francisco on same-sex marriage, one of the judges pointedly asked whether California voters, whose 2008 passage of Proposition 8 stripped gays of the right to marry, were entitled to reinstate school segregation. “How is this different?” Judge Michael Daly Hawkins asked the attorney defending the measure. Legal heavyweights Ted Olson and David Boies, representing the pro-gay-marriage side, wrote in their plaintiffs’ brief that the case tests the proposition whether gays and lesbians “should be counted as ‘persons’ under the 14th Amendment or whether they constitute a permanent underclass ineligible for protection under that cornerstone of our Constitution.” The 14th Amendment removed the clause once embedded in the Constitution that slaves equaled three fifths of a person.

The rhetoric has inspired gays and lesbians. But it has also galvanized their opponents, who say homosexuals are fighting for “special rights,” not civil rights.

Conant talked to a number of homophobes. I'm not going to include their quotes. You've heard it all before.

The organization is combining smart politics with its activism:

Working with recognized figures in the gay-rights fight like Dan Choi, a former Army lieutenant who was discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the members of GetEQUAL can often be found at the Washington, D.C., home of political strategist Paul Yandura, strategizing sit-ins and other nonviolent protests. Before their first “action” in March, when Choi and a fellow ousted soldier handcuffed themselves to the White House gates, the protesters were busy writing phone numbers on their arms and stomachs so they would have them at the ready for their designated phone call once arrested. In jail, Choi and the fellow discharged soldier recited passages from King’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” to keep each other inspired.

Even as they invoke the civil-rights struggle, GetEQUAL’s members are trying to be politic. Philanthropist Jonathan Lewis and his family, who have funneled a half-million dollars to create and support GetEQUAL’s efforts, says gays and lesbians are absorbing lessons and inspiration from the civil-rights movement, not taking away its importance. “Our movement is not the same,” he says. “Yes, it’s not life or death every day like the civil-rights movement was,” says Michelle Wright, who is African-American and became involved in GetEQUAL after coming out last year. “But it’s still discrimination, and therefore it’s wrong.” Now she and her fellow activists just need to get the rest of America to see it that way. So they will continue searching, however long it takes, for their movement’s own lunch-counter image.

I do think GetEQUAL has already changed the debate about LGBT equality. The photos of protesters on the White House fence have become iconic. And, those who purport to be our allies know we're words and party invitations aren't enough.

For the record, the "fellow ousted soldier" arrested with Dan Choi in March is our friend, Capt. Jim Pietrangelo.

Running With Santas In Speedos

Posted on Advocate.com December 14, 2010
Running With Santas in Speedos
By Advocate.com Editors

BOSTON Santa Speedo Run 2010

Speedo-wearing Santas ran the streets of Boston, Toronto, Chicago, and Atlanta over the weekend to raise money for various charities.

The event kicked off in Boston 11 years ago and has since spread to multiple cities throughout the United States and Canada. Included in the list of charities the runs raise money for are a number of LGBT and HIV/AIDS research organizations.

Watch video from the runs below.

Three Discharged Vets Sue For Re-Instatement Challenging DADT

Monday, December 13, 2010
Three Discharged Vets Challenge DADT, Sue For Reinstatement
Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 12/13/2010 12:41:00 PM



Secretary Gates keeps saying he wants DADT ended by Congress, but we're still waiting -- and time is running out. Discharged servicemembers aren't waiting. Today, three of them, Mike Almy, Anthony Loverde and Jason Knight, filed a lawsuit against DADT, seeking reinstatement. The suit was filed in California, meaning the Witt Standard is applicable.

SLDN's press release:

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and Morrison & Foerster LLP filed a complaint today against the United States government asking for the reinstatement of three service members discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), the discriminatory law barring gay, lesbian and bisexual service members from serving honestly and with integrity. The filing in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, also argues the current law and the regulations, policies, and guidance that implement it, are unconstitutional. To read the filing visit: http://bit.ly/eZg5EL

Statement by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Executive Director and Army Veteran Aubrey Sarvis:

“This filing is a shot across the bow as we prepare to pursue and sustain an aggressive far reaching litigation strategy if the Senate fails to act this month to repeal the law. This dispute can be resolved by Congress or by the courts. With this filing we put Congress on notice that a cadre of service members and our national legal team stand ready to litigate strategically around the country. The plaintiffs’ are three service members who want to serve their country again. They represent some of our best and brightest who were fired because of who they are, despite their decorated records. More than 14,000 have already lost their jobs and the investigations and discharges still continue. We are also preparing litigation on behalf of young people who would enter the armed forces to serve our country but for this terrible law. Another suit we’re working on involves clients discharged under ‘Don’t Ask’ who want to enter the reserves or a guard unit, and we plan to file such cases early next year if Congress fails to act. Clearly there is an urgent need for the Senate to act on legislation this week."

Statement by Morrison & Foerster’s M. Andrew Woodmansee:

“Today we are asking the Court to allow these three brave Americans to fulfill the commitment they made years ago when they joined the military. They simply want to serve their country, and it is fundamentally un-American to refuse their service merely because they are gay -- especially when our all-volunteer military is stretched thin as we fight wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout our nation's history, citizens have turned to the courts to remedy injustices when Congress would not act. If the Senate will not meet its obligations by ending this unconstitutional law, we will ask the Court to step in to protect the rights of my clients as well as all men and women who wish to serve this country in the military."

ABOUT THE PLANTIFFS:

Plaintiff Michael D. Almy served for thirteen years in the United States Air Force, including four deployments to the Middle East. He is a highly trained communications officer. During his thirteen-year Air Force career, former Major Almy received numerous military awards and decorations. In 2006, he was discharged from the Air Force under DADT.

Plaintiff Anthony J. Loverde served for seven years in the Air Force. He is a trained C-130 Loadmaster and Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory Technician. During his seven-year Air Force career, former Staff Sergeant Loverde received numerous military awards and decorations. In 2008, he was discharged from the Air Force under DADT. He is currently a contractor serving in Iraq, doing effectively the same job with many of his old coworkers, as an openly gay man.

Plaintiff Jason D. Knight served for a total of five years in the United States Navy. He is a trained Cryptological Technician Interpretive, Linguist. During his five-year Navy career, former Petty Officer Second Class Knight received numerous military awards and decorations. Mr. Knight has the unique distinction of being discharged twice under DADT. In 2005, he was discharged from the Navy under DADT. Mr. Knight was recalled to active duty in 2006 but was discharged again in 2007 under DADT.

Frank Rich On "Gay Bashing In DC"

Sunday, December 12, 2010
Frank Rich on 'gay bashing' in DC
Posted by Joe Sudbay (DC) at 12/12/2010 09:24:00 AM

Frank Rich looks at the gay bashing underway in DC. He addresses the controversy at the National Portrait Gallery over the removal of David Wojnarowicz's work "A Fire in My Belly." It was back to the 80s for the Smithsonian. But, Rich brilliantly explains how this is part of a bigger pattern of homophobia that's alive and well in the nation's Capitol:

It still seems an unwritten rule in establishment Washington that homophobia is at most a misdemeanor. By this code, the Smithsonian’s surrender is no big deal; let the art world do its little protests. This attitude explains why the ever more absurd excuses concocted by John McCain for almost single-handedly thwarting the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are rarely called out for what they are — “bigotry disguised as prudence,” in the apt phrase of Slate’s military affairs columnist, Fred Kaplan. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has been granted serious and sometimes unchallenged credence as a moral arbiter not just by Rupert Murdoch’s outlets but by CNN, MSNBC and The Post’s “On Faith” Web site even as he cites junk science to declare that “homosexuality poses a risk to children” and that being gay leads to being a child molester.

It’s partly to counteract the hate speech of persistent bullies like Donohue and Perkins that the Seattle-based author and activist Dan Savage created his “It Gets Better” campaign in which gay adults (and some non-gay leaders, including President Obama) make videos urging at-risk teens to realize that they are not alone. But even this humanitarian effort is controversial and suspect in some Beltway quarters: G.O.P. politicians and conservative pundits have yet to participate even though most of the recent and well-publicized suicides by gay teens have occurred in Republican Congressional districts, including those of party leaders like Michele Bachmann, Mike Pence and Kevin McCarthy.

Has it gotten better since AIDS decimated a generation of gay men? In San Francisco, certainly. But when America’s signature cultural institution can be so easily bullied by bigots, it’s another indicator that the angels Keith Haring saw on his death bed have not landed in Washington just yet.

Not yet. For GOPers, it's blatant homophobia (or for the Lindsey Graham types, it's internalized homophobia.) I also think for many Democrats (including top White House staffers like Emanuel and Messina), it's political homophobia.

New DADT Repeal Bill Introduced

Posted on Advocate.com December 11, 2010
New DADT Repeal Bill Introduced
By Michelle Garcia


SENATORS JOSEPH LIEBERMAN AND SUSAN COLLINS

Two prominent senators introduced a bipartisan bill Friday to end the ban on gay and lesbian troops serving openly in the military.

Introduced by senators Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, and Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, the bill comes after the Senate failed to win enough procedural votes Thursday to move forward on the National Defense Authorization Act, which included an amendment to repeal "don't ask, don't tell."

According toThe Washington Post, Lieberman and Collins collaborated on the idea for a stand-alone bill to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" during Thursday's failed vote. Senate majority leader harry Reid reportedly told Lieberman that he would fast-track the bill to a full vote, rather than force it to go through the committee process. Democratic aides told the Post that a vote could come late Tuesday or Wednesday after senators consider the impending tax cut legislation.

White House officials said Friday that President Barack Obama wishes to explore all legislative options to repeal the 17-year-old law during the lame-duck session, which is drawing to a close.

Gay Rights Ally Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral To Be Picketed By Anti-Gay Church

Gay Rights Ally Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral To Be Picketed By Anti-Gay Church
by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk
9 December 2010, 5:57pm


Elizabeth Edwards was a supporter of gay marriage



The funeral of Elizabeth Edwards, former wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, will be picketed by the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church.

Mrs Edwards, a lawyer and author, died yesterday at the age of 61 after a six-year battle with cancer.

She was a supporter of gay rights and in 2008, while her husband was running for the presidency, declared that she believed in legalising gay marriage.

While Mr Edwards reserved his support for civil unions, she told reporters: “I don’t know why somebody else’s marriage has anything to do with me. I’m completely comfortable with gay marriage.”

The Westboro Baptist Church, which usually targets the funerals of killed soldiers with the slogan ‘God Hates Fags’, said it would be outside the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday.

The church, which claims that soldier deaths abroad are God’s vengeance for gay rights, released a statement condemning her for having fertility treatment and for questioning her faith after her 16-year-old son Wade was killed in an accident.

In a final message posted on her Facebook page, Mrs Edwards avoided any mention of God and instead cited her “faith in the power of resilience and hope”.