CE Week #6: “Obama vows end to ‘don’t ask’” Oct. 11th
President tells gay rights group he supports them
by Michael D. Shear, Anne E. Kornblut And Ed O’Keefe / Washington Post
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, struggling to keep promises he made during last year’s campaign, pledged to continue fighting on behalf of gays and lesbians – including ending the military’s ban on openly gay service members – as he appeared at a fundraising dinner for the nation’s largest gay advocacy group Saturday night.
“I will end ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ” Obama said at the Human Rights Campaign dinner. Recounting the ongoing effort to bring full civil rights to gays and lesbians, the president said: “I’m here with a simple message: I’m here with you in that fight.”
Obama did not offer specifics on how he would advance the cause of allowing gays to serve openly in the military, or of gay marriage, two areas where his inaction as president have disappointed many of his gay supporters.
But on the eve of a major gay rights rally in Washington, an event aimed in part at pressuring Obama and Congress, the president was met with a standing ovation and resounding cheers. Obama acknowledged the frustration of some activists, portraying himself as a forceful ally in a lengthy fight. And while he said that gay rights are only one part of his agenda, which is loaded down with domestic and international challenges, he said that would not deter him.
“My commitment to you is unwavering, even as we wrestle with these enormous problems,” Obama said. “Do not doubt the direction we are headed and the destination we will reach.”
Just days after winning the presidency, Obama vowed that he would be “a fierce advocate for gay and lesbian Americans.”
But nine months later, many in the community say he has done little to make good on that statement. They accuse the president of putting their agenda on the back burner – behind Wall Street regulation, health care, climate change and a series of foreign-policy issues. And although his sweeping rhetoric is appreciated, many are concerned that he has so far offered little beyond the symbolic and the incremental. Many gay rights activists are disappointed that Obama has not moved forward on two major issues: ending the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, under which gay soldiers can be discharged for their sexual orientation; and his failure to work toward ending the Defense of Marriage Act.
“As someone who supported Barack Obama early on during the primaries, and raised nearly $50,000 for him during the campaign, it gives me no pleasure to burst the pink champagne bubbles of hope,” John Aravosis, a gay rights activist and popular blogger, wrote in the Huffington Post. “But President Obama’s track record on keeping his gay promises has been fairly abominable.”
One victory that appears near is the passage of legislation that would broaden the definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The House passed the legislation last week. Final action in the Senate is expected this week, and Obama has said he will sign the bill.
Thousands of gay men and women are expected to gather on the National Mall in Washington for today’s National Equality March.
Not everyone is on board. Rep. Barney Frank, an openly gay member of Congress, said he’d rather see gay rights supporters lobbying their elected officials than marching in Washington, calling the demonstration “a waste of time at best.”
Frank said in an interview with the Associated Press that he considers such demonstrations to be “an emotional release” that does little to pressure Congress.
“The only thing they’re going to be putting pressure on is the grass,” the Massachusetts Democrat said Friday.
This article is about Obama’s early promises to give gay’s more equality and rights. Gay’s and gay activates have seen little done with these empty promises. One of the biggest ones being the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The defense of Marriage Act is another piece the President has failed to address. There’s one piece of legislation that it being passed soon, and we’ll see where that goes.
It’s not that I’m a huge gay right’s activist, but I strongly believe every citizen, especially in America, should all have equal rights. In this modern era, after everything our country has been through, I can not believe America has allowed the “dont ask, don’t tell” policy, “under which gay soldiers can be discharged for their sexual orientation.” Why has this not been challanged, and why has no former President, Supreme Court, or Senate done anything about it? I do probably agree that the National Equality March would do little for motivating Congress to press gay right’s issues. Sad, very sad, but true.
I’d need to know more about the Defense of Marriage Act to support that or have any type of opinion, so I’d like more information please.
In the oh so famous Wikipedia, I found a sad example of a great Navy doctor who was forced to resign because he was a homosexual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don‘t_ask,_don’t_tell
“For example, in the 1950s and 1960s, the Navy medical doctor Tom Dooley received national fame for his anti-Communist and humanitarian efforts in Vietnam. His homosexuality was something of an open secret in the Navy, but eventually he was forced to resign; the Navy subsequently conducted the first official study on sexual orientation and the Navy regulations and rules.”
A. I did not know that abolishing this law was of such great importance to the gay community. I would think most gays in the military would try to keep it to themselves anyways because discrimination can’t be stopped, but at the same time I see how discharging them just because of their orientation is very wrong.
B. As I stated earlier, I think that the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy should be removed because of how absurd it is for a sexual orientation to be a requirement for joining the military. Considering the gay community practices such vocal ways of supporting their cause with gay pride parades and not being ashamed I would think it be imperative that the military retract the current policy.
C. Whose power is it to control the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy? Considering Obama is the Commander in Chief does he set the standards and rules of the military?
D. Extension: In a Harvard Law (http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2009/10/20_dont-ask.html) article they delve a bit deeper into the issue, addressing that this is a piece of legislation put in place 16 years ago and how even talking to your parents or your doctor about your orientation could lead to a discharge in the military. The article also talked about how this has been brought to the courts as a violation of the 1st amendment, but the courts ruled that it is a violation of the rules of conduct, not speech. Another question I have regarding that is how the courts can rule prohibiting flag burning a violation of free speech yet not conduct but go on to rule that you aren’t allowed to disclose your orientation without being discharged not a violation of free speech.
A. I have read a few articles about the military’s policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” I think it is pretty ridiculous a policy like this one is still enforced. It goes against everything America stands for as far as equality goes. The men and women that fight for our country and our freedom sacrifice enough; their identity should not be one of those sacrifices. I just do not see how someone’s sexual orientation can influence their ability to be an important part in our military.
B. I thought it was interesting that this article mostly focused on how Obama’s promises to advance civil rights for gay people have been put on the back burner, which after nine months of inaction is pretty much true. It is understandable how an issue like this could be set aside for many other issues that the Obama administration has to deal with, but I’m happy that Obama is addressing it now.
I thought it was weird that Rep. Barney Frank called the National Equality March demonstration “a waste of time at best.” Although I agree that marching will not necessarily force congress to act on anything, I believe that marching is an important freedom in America and a way to bring people together and simply raise awareness. I don’t think that something like that could be a complete waste of time, as he said.
C. This article mentioned the definition of federal hate crimes, and the bill that would expand it to include attacks based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. I am interested to know exactly how a hate crime is defined. What types of attacks/crimes does it include?
Also, how many people have been discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation?
D. I found some more information on the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, like how it is the only law in this country that authorizes the firing of an American simply for coming out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Also, I learned how the policy actually works. A person can only be discharged if they make a statement saying they are a homosexual or bisexual, or “made some other statement that indicates a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts.” This policy also includes “Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass.”
Source: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/solomon/background.html
In response to Lauran Lynch:
Congress has formally defined a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation.” Any attack or offense can be labeled as a hate crime if it is fueled by a certain bias, so pretty much any traditional offense like arson, vandalism, or murder can be a hate crime.
As for the number of people in the military discharged because of their sexual orientation, over 13,000 troops have been discharged since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was introduced in 1993. There is a chart on Wikipedia that gives a breakdown of the number of people discharged in each branch of the military per year. The most people discharged in a year has been 1,273 and the lowest number has been 617. Discharges have been decreasing since Sept. 11.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don‘t_ask,_don’t_tell http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/civilrights/overview.htm
In Respomse to Lauren Lynch:
“Hate crimes (also known as bias-motivated crimes) occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, or political affiliation.[1] “Hate crime” generally refers to criminal acts which are seen to have been motivated by hatred of one or more of the listed conditions. Incidents may involve physical assault, damage to property, bullying, harassment, verbal abuse or insults, or offensive graffiti or letters.”[2] wikipedia.com
I found an estimate on answers.yahoo.com and I’ll just include the whole paragraph because it makes some intersting points.
“Since 1993 when the policy was enacted, the military has dismissed over 13,000 service men and women due to sexual orientation – including medics, fighter pilots, and Arabic linguists.
At the current rate, we are losing about 2 soldiers EACH DAY due to sexual orientation. This makes absolutely no sense at a time when our military is stretched thin fighting two wars, and struggling to recruit new personnel.
Twenty-six other countries, including our allies Great Britain and Israel, allow gay individuals to serve openly, and they have not experienced any detriment to troop morale, readiness, or unit cohesion.
Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) is a decorated Iraq War veteran, and he is introducing legislation to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Please go to the website below and sign the petition to support this bill.”