Gays celebrate repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'

Gays See Repeal As A Civil Rights Milestone
NEW YORK (AP) — Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as Gay Marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” “It’s one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen,” said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., w...

Repeal of Dont ask, dont tell: A civil rights milestone?
“Even though this is really huge, I look at it as a chink in a very, very long chain,” he added. The ruling drew quick rebuke from foes of lifting the ban who argued that the Military shouldn’t be used to expand the rights of gays and that allowing them to serve openly would hurt troop morale and a unit’s ability fight. Supporters declared the vote a Civil Rights milestone. Aaron Belkin, director of the California-based Palm Center — a Think Tank on the issue —...

Gays See Repeal As A Civil Rights Milestone
Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as Gay Marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year-old ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "It's one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen," said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in The Army for seven years, including three comba...

LGBT community celebrates dont ask milestone
Stumble This! Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as Gay Marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "It's one step in a very long process of becoming an equal rights citizen," said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in The Army for seven years, including ...

Gay Pride vs Christian Military Members
From OneNewsNow An end to religious liberty in U.S. Military? In the wake of Saturday’s Senate vote to Repeal the military’s ban against open Homosexual expression in the military, a conservative legal group is warning that the religious liberty of Christian chaplains and Service members may be in jeopardy. By a vote of 65-to 31, the Senate agreed on Saturday to do away with the 17-year old “don’t ask don’t tell” policy on Openly Gay Troops and sent Presiden...

Gays celebrate repeal of dont ask, dont tell
NEW YORK (AP) — Word that the world’s largest Military power will allow gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the Military brought strong and swift reaction Saturday, with supporters declaring a Civil Rights milestone and detractors insisting it would weaken and divide the Armed Forces. In New York, home to one of the nation’s largest gay communities and a Gay Pride parade whose grand marshal this year was an Openly Gay, discharged serviceman, 28-year-old Cassandra Melnikow glan...

Gays celebrate repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'
NEW YORK (AP) - Word that the world's largest Military power will allow gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the Military brought strong and swift reaction Saturday, with supporters declaring a Civil Rights milestone and detractors insisting it would weaken and divide the Armed Forces. In New York, home to one of the nation's largest gay communities and a Gay Pride parade whose grand marshal this year was an Openly Gay, discharged serviceman, 28-year-old Cassandra Melnikow glanced at a news tic...

Gays See Repeal As Milestone
NEW YORK (AP) - One man who was kicked out of The Army under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" says the Senate's vote to abolish the ban on gays serving openly is "really huge." Opponents of lifting the ban argued that the Military shouldn't be used to expand the rights of gays, and that allowing them to serve openly would hurt troop morale. But supporters are calling yesterday's vote a Civil Rights milestone. The director of the Palm Center, a Think Tank on the issue, says the vote "ushers in a new era i...

DADT Repeal Marks Milestone In Fight For Gay Rights
NEW YORK — Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as Gay Marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "It's one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen," said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in The Army for seven years, includ...

Gays see repeal as a civil rights milestone
NEW YORK — Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as gay marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as "don’t ask, don’t tell." "It’s one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen," said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in The Army for sev...

Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal: American reaction
The US Senate has approved landmark Legislation allowing Openly Gay people to serve in the Military. The Senate and House of Representatives both approved the Repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" law, which bars gay people in the military from revealing their Sexual Orientation. Opponents argue that the change will damage troop morale at a time of war. More than 13,000 service members have been dismissed under the "don't ask, don't tell", policy enacted u...

Gay US soldiers must still hold fire on sexuality
US lawmakers have voted to allow gays to serve openly in the Military for the first time, but Troops must wait months before they can reveal their Sexual Orientation without facing dismissal. Amid concerns over unit cohesion at a time when the United States is still heavily embroiled militarily in Afghanistan and Iraq, senior officials want a deliberate process to ensure the smoothest possible transition. Several Republicans joined Democrats to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," a 1993 law enacte...

Gays Celebrate Repeal Of Dont Ask, Dont Tell
NEW YORK (AP/CBSNewYork) — Word that the world’s largest Military power will allow gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the Military brought strong and swift reaction Saturday, with supporters declaring a Civil Rights milestone and detractors insisting it would weaken and divide the Armed Forces. In New York, discharged serviceman, 28-year-old Cassandra Melnikow glanced at a news ticker in Times Square announcing the Repeal and said: “Excellent! It’s about time.” &#...

DADT Repeal: What Comes Next? Pentagon Asked, Tells Combat Troops Not To Tell
I care that some friends who are gay or defend gays, as I have at corporate career risk many times, have an opposite view of the immediate congressional Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). But, I care more about the immediate effect on the welfare of US combat Troops and for US National Security. Yes, “national security” is a BIG term, and can be read as overexpansive. Yet, that is precisely what...

Gays see repeal as a civil rights milestone
NEW YORK (AP) - Allowing gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Military is a step toward equality, advocates say, but a fight for other social changes such as gay marriage still lies ahead. The Senate voted Saturday to end the 17-year ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "It's one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen," said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Ga., who served in The Army for seven years, includi...

Dan Choi: I Am Somebody! Autumn Sandeen: I Still Not Recognized As Somebody.
I have heard many senators and congresspeople use variants of Admiral Mullen's pro-Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) Repeal phrase of relating to how DADT "[f]orces young men and women to lie to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens." For example, from the floor of the Senate yesterday (December 18, 2010): Senator Carl Levin: ...A policy, which in Admiral Mullen's words -- memorable words -- quote "Forces young men and women to lie to lie about who they are in order to de...

Gay troops cautiously optimistic after repeal...
KABUL - The gay Army lieutenant's heart had been racing all night. Shuffling between meetings at his outpost in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday night, the 27-year-old officer kept popping his head into the main office to catch a glimpse of Fox News's coverage of the Senate debate that led to a vote lifting the ban on gay men and Lesbians serving in the Military openly. "Don't cry," a 21-year-old specialist, one of the lieutenant's confidants, told his boss jokingly when news broke th...

Gay US soldiers must still hold fire on sexuality
Stumble This! WASHINGTON — US lawmakers have voted to allow gays to serve openly in the Military for the first time, but Troops must wait months before they can reveal their Sexual Orientation without facing dismissal. Amid concerns over unit cohesion at a time when the United States is still heavily embroiled militarily in Afghanistan and Iraq, senior officials want a deliberate process to ensure the smoothest possible transition. Several Republicans joined Democrats to Repeal "Don't Ask...

Progress in America: DADT goes down
By Michael J.W. Stickings The Senate voted to Repeal DADT on Saturday. We've written about DADT a lot here, and I won't repeat myself here, but I must say that while I am neither gay nor in the Military, nor even American, I am incredibly happy about this. It was a hard-fought victory for the opponents of this bigoted policy, a victory not just for President Obama and the Democrats in a partisan political sense but more broadly for liberty, for the noble principles for which America purports ...

With gay ban debate over, military impact in doubt
WASHINGTON—The debate over Gays in the Military has been settled with a historic decision to allow them to serve openly, but big questions lie ahead about how and when the change will take place, how Troops will accept it and whether it will hamper the U.S. Military effort in Afghanistan and Iraq. President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law this week the Legislation that passed the Senate on Saturday, an act some believe will carry social implications as profound as President Harr...

With gay ban debate over, military impact in doubt (AP)
WASHINGTON – The debate over Gays in the Military has been settled with a historic decision to allow them to serve openly, but big questions lie ahead about how and when the change will take place, how Troops will accept it and whether it will hamper the U.S. Military effort in Afghanistan and Iraq. President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law this week the Legislation that passed the Senate on Saturday, an act some believe will carry social implications as profound as President H...

Chicago reaction to 'don't ask' vote: 'I was numb'
Chicagoans who have lobbied for years against the U.S. Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law spent Saturday in happy disbelief after the Senate moved a historical step closer toward allowing gays to serve openly in the military. "Everybody is probably like I am, I'm still waiting for it to sink in," said Jim Darby, president of Chicago's chapter of American Veterans For Equal Rights. "You can't believe it's over." In a 65-31 vote, the Senate voted to Repeal the ban. The next step to becoming ...

US Senate lifts gay soldier ban
The Senate voted to end the 17-year ban on Openly Gay Troops, overturning the Clinton-era policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." "It's one step in a very long process of becoming an Equal Rights citizen," said Warren Arbury of Savannah, Georgia, who served in The Army for seven years, including three combat tours, before being kicked out two years ago under the policy. He said he planned to re-enlist once the policy is abolished. "Even though this is really huge, I l...

With gay ban debate over, military impact in doubt
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., left, gives thumbs up with Sen. Susan Colli... WASHINGTON (AP) - The debate over Gays in the Military has been settled with a historic decision to allow them to serve openly, but big questions lie ahead about how and when the change will take place, how Troops will accept it and whether it will hamper the U.S. Military effort in Afghanistan and Iraq. President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law this week the Legislation that passed the Senate on Saturday, ...

With gay ban debate over, military impact in doubt
WASHINGTON — The debate over Gays in the Military has been settled with a historic decision to allow them to serve openly, but big questions lie ahead about how and when the change will take place, how Troops will accept it and whether it will hamper the U.S. Military effort in Afghanistan and Iraq. President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law this week the Legislation that passed the Senate on Saturday, an act some believe will carry social implications as profound as President Har...