Gay ban repealed, but restrictions remain

With one signature of a pen we've just lowered the morality of our military
This will not hit home to right now but the demand's of the Homosexuals in the Military to have more privileges than just acknowledging their choices of lifestyle, because there is no scientific genetic Makeup that this is by birth. When President Harry S. Truman's 1948 Executive Order that brought racial equality to the military, it was everybody that join the Military or was drafted put their pant legs on one leg at a time and there were no differences and that brought racial inequality to the...

Military will write the rules on repeal of gay ban
WASHINGTON – No public displays of affection. No separate bathrooms. No harassment and no special treatment. As the U.S. Military begins to map out how it will implement the new edict allowing gays to serve openly, the first order of business is drafting the regulations. The rule changes under discussion won't dictate how Troops feel about the change, but will strictly enforce how they act on it. From small wording tweaks and training programs to more complex questions about benefits and...

Pentagon: No timeline yet on ending gay ban...
A Gay Rights Activist sporting a shirt supporting Gays in the Military. The... The Pentagon on Monday said it was unclear how soon the Repeal of a ban on Openly Gay Troops could be carried out after Congress scrapped the law in a ground-breaking vote. Defense officials had to first review and revise policies and make other preparations to reflect the change adopted Saturday by the Senate, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters. "I don't think anybody has any idea yet how long th...

Military will write the rules on repeal of gay ban
WASHINGTON (AP) - Gays and Lesbians will be treated just like any other Soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines, the new rules say. But commanders will have some flexibility when they believe it's needed to maintain order and discipline in their units. As the U.S. Military begins to map out how it will implement the new edict allowing gays to serve openly, the first order of business is drafting the regulations. The rule changes under discussion won't dictate how Troops feel about the change, but ...

Military will write the rules on repeal of gay ban
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gays and Lesbians will be treated just like any other Soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines, the new rules say. But commanders will have some flexibility when they believe it’s needed to maintain order and discipline in their units. As the U.S. Military begins to map out how it will implement the new edict allowing gays to serve openly, the first order of business is drafting the regulations. The rule changes under discussion won’t dictate how Troops feel about...

Military will write the rules on repeal of gay ban
Gays and Lesbians will be treated just like any other Soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines, the new rules say. But commanders will have some flexibility when they believe it's needed to maintain order and discipline in their units. As the U.S. Military begins to map out how it will implement the new edict allowing gays to serve openly, the first order of business is drafting the regulations. The rule changes under discussion won't dictate how Troops feel about the change, but will strictly enfor...

Uganda MP urges death for gay sex
A Ugandan MP has proposed creating an offence of "aggravated Homosexuality" to be punishable by death. Ruling party MP David Bahati wants the death penalty for those having gay sex with disabled people, under-18s or when the accused is HIV-positive. Homosexual acts are already illegal, but the Anti-Homosexuality Bill proposes new offences and urges the toughening of existing penalties. Earlier versions of the bill were widely criticised by rights groups. The BBC's Joshua Mmali, in t...

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal victory not yet complete
The 66-31 Senate passage on Saturday of a stand-alone "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)" Repeal is definitely cause for celebration among LGBT and all fair-minded Americans, but that celebration should be tempered by a number of sobering shortcomings. First and foremost, although DADT Repeal has now passed both the House and the Senate, the discriminatory policy itself has not yet ended.  In order for it to be safe for gay and Lesbian Military personnel to serve openly, the Repeal must first be...

Hold your homosexuals!Military ban not over yet
America's Military isn't going 'gay' quite yet. While President Obama plans this week to sign the Repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy banning open Homosexuality in the military, the policy must remain in force until the president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff can certify that the change will not impair combat readiness. Before that happens the Military must rewrite laws and regulations that could affect same-sex relationships, such as the Unif...

Next steps for 'don't ask, don't tell'
A vote in the Senate on Saturday cleared the way to abolish the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. But questions remain about how the change will be implemented, and it will be months before gays and Lesbians can serve openly in the Military. What happens next? President Obama is expected to sign the measure this week. The president, secretary of Defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff must then sign a letter certifying that the necessary policy and Regulation changes have bee...

Pentagon says no timeline yet on ending gay ban
Stumble This! WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday said it was unclear how soon the Repeal of a ban on Openly Gay Troops could be carried out after Congress scrapped the law in a ground-breaking vote. Defense officials had to first review and revise policies and make other preparations to reflect the change adopted Saturday by the Senate, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters. "I don't think anybody has any idea yet how long this will take," Morrell said. When President Bar...

Hollywood's Role in Changing Attitudes About Gays
On the heels of the passage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the Senate, Walter Shapiro has an excellent column up today titled "Why Are Liberals Winning the Culture War and Losing the Tax Battle?" Walter is, I think, spot-on when he gives credit (or blame, depending on your point of view) to the Entertainment Industry for contributing to the changing cultural attitudes about Homosexuality. As he writes: "An obvious guess [as to why attitudes have changed] is that these positions correspond with ...

More Gay Rights Policy Hurdles Ahead
WASHINGTON — The Republican senator from North Carolina was blunt. “Because she’s a damn Lesbian,” Jesse Helms snapped, explaining to The Washington Times why he would vote against Roberta Achtenberg, President Bill Clinton’s nominee for assistant housing secretary. Later, he clarified, calling her “a Militant, Activist, mean lesbian.” Senator Jesse Helms, top, in 1989, spoke against a Clinton nominee who was a lesbian. The latest on President Obama, t...

Militarys Ban on Homosexuals Repealed, But Restrictions Remain for the Time Being
Monday, December 20, 2010 A sign outside ABC Television's Times Square studio in New York announces that the U.S. Senate approved the Repeal of the law banning Homosexuals from Military service on Saturday Dec. 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg) Washington (AP) - While President Barack Obama this week is expected to clear the way for gays to serve openly in the military, the new law won't go into effect immediately and unanswered questions remain: How soon will the new policy be implemen...

Sexual orientations ignored by lame-duck Democrats
The lame-duck Congress has now passed the Obama-endorsed Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" – by a vote of 250 to 175 in the House and 65 to 31 in the Senate. In the House, the 250 votes in favor of recruiting self-announced Homosexuals into our Armed Forces contrasted with 175 votes against it. When the newly elected House convenes next month – so many of those Democrats who voted for Repeal will be gone – having themselves been repealed by an overwhelming majority of the v...

"Don't Ask" Repeal Set - but Next Steps Unclear
Like this Story? Share it: The Senate has voted to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" clearing the way for gay men and women to serve openly in the Military. Whit Johnson has the story behind the Controversial policy. The Senate has voted to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," allowing gays to serve openly in the Military. Whit Johnson explains how this 17-year-old policy is coming to an end. (AP) While President Barack Obama this week is expected to clear the way for gays to serve openly in the U.S. mi...

What Exactly Does It Mean to Achieve (Gay) Equality?
In her thoughtful post on a new gay group called “Equality Matters” (wish someone had instead created “Freedom Matters”), Ann Althouse gets at one reason, I believe, Democrats tried to keep DADT Repeal on the back burner: The Democratic Party gets a political advantage by looking like a repository of hope. But would gay people continue to favor Democrats if the Democrats actually followed through and satisfied those hopes? There’d be some gratefulness, but — unl...

With Equality Matters, Media Matters Takes a More Activist Approach
Media criticism and social change Activism are two different things. Sometimes the first can be oriented toward the second, but Watchdogs groups that work the refs. are in general far less effective than the sort of Activists who take direct action against their cultural opponents and organize for change -- Activists who have been a critical part of every rights-based social change movement in the past century. So it is interesting to see this week that Media Matters for America, a well-funded ...

US gay activists celebrate fall of their 'Berlin wall'
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Rights Activists are comparing the lifting of a ban on gays openly serving in the US Military to the fall of the Berlin Wall, hoping the move could pave the way for the legalization of Gay Marriage. "For the first time in our country's history our government sent a very strong message that you don't have to hide if you are gay or Lesbian," said Fred Sainz, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the country's main Lesbian, gay, Bisexual and trans...

Leadership key to ending military gay ban (AP)
WASHINGTON – No public displays of affection. No separate bathrooms. No harassment and no special treatment. As the U.S. Military begins to map out how it will implement the new edict allowing gays to serve openly, the first order of business is drafting the regulations. The rule changes under discussion won't dictate how Troops feel about the change, but will strictly enforce how they act on it. From small wording tweaks and training programs to more complex questions about benefits and...

Lawmaker seeks to block gays from Va. National Guard
Del. Robert G. Marshall says he will seek to bar gays from serving in the Virginia National Guard. The Republican lawmaker from Prince William County argues that the U.S. Senate vote to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to allow gays to serve openly in the U.S. Military will weaken recruitment and increase pressure for a draft. "After 232 years of prohibiting active, open Homosexuals from enlisting in our military, President [Barack] Obama and a majority in Congress are conducting a social experime...

Military isn't about the individual
The conversation surrounding "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" needs to be adjusted. The current discussion in the media deals with the progression over time of a Military member's individual rights, from segregation to women's rights to the natural and inevitable acceptance of Homosexuals' rights. The key point that the current conversation is missing is that the Military is an institution for the country, not for the individual. Ask anyone who has gone through boot camp how much freedom he o...

A hearty welcome to Equality Matters
Clinton White House aide Richard Socarides, a frequent critic of the Obama Administration on LGBT issues including its actions in support of DADT Repeal, heads Media Matters' "New Media and communications initiative" in support of LGBT equality. "Equality Matters, [David] Brock said, should 'expose right-wing Bigotry and Homophobia wherever we find it' and 'stiffen the spines of Progressives.' That, he said, did not change with the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' . . . 'We know that "Don't ...

The Marines: Sacrificedfor San Francisco values
A Democratic Congress, discharged by the voters on Nov. 2, has, as one of its last official acts, imposed its San Francisco values on the Armed Forces of the United States. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is to be repealed. Open Homosexuals are to be welcomed with open arms in all branches of the armed services. Let us hope this works out better for the Marine Corps than it did for the Catholic Church. Remarkable. The least respected of American institutions, Congress, with an Approval Rating of 13...

What's Next for the Gay Rights Movement?
(Credit: AP / CBS) Just days after Saturday's historic passage of a stand-alone Senate Bill repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," David Brock, founder and CEO of the liberal Watchdog group Media Matters for America, has announced the launch of Equality Matters - a New Media initiative that aims to promote Lesbian, gay, Bisexual, and Transgender equality. The initiative, which Brock describes in a Press Release as a "communications war room for gay equality," comes as Activists start to shift the...