Locals React to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal

Debate continues as 'don't ask, don't tell' policy nears end
An end to the policy preventing gay men and Lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. Military isn't coming soon enough to save Sgt. Anthony Bustos' Army career, but he couldn't be happier with the action by Congress. "I was completely overwhelmed and beside myself," says the 25-year-old, who served two tours in Iraq before being discharged this month under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on Openly Gay servicemembers. "I have an overwhelming sense of pride that we are one step closer to equality,...

Making good history
There was premature talk of a post-racial nirvana after the election of President Barack Obama. But the election was nonetheless a singularly significant event in a continuum of significant events that began with "All men are created equal" on to the Emancipation Proclamation, through the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s to present day. When Obama signs a bill repealing the Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule, it will be an event as significant for Gay Rights as Pres...

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...

Activists poised for repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' law
Gay Rights Activists, congressional aides and supportive lawmakers are anticipating a successful vote this weekend to end the Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. But for Stacey Vasquez and David Hall, discharged by the military for violating the law, the tumultuous - and protracted - political fight regarding Gays in the Military is about much more than policy and procedure. "It's not just a vote. This is my life," Vasquez said Friday at a Capitol Hill news conference...

Good riddance to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
With Repeal of the bigoted "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy having passed both houses of Congress, and President Barack Obama signing it into law this week, we can finally say good riddance to this vestige of legally sanctioned Bigotry. A person's Sexual Orientation has nothing to do with their ability to do a job, yet the homophobic "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," adopted in 1993, allowed gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals to serve in the Military only if they kept their sexual orientations secret. ...

Good riddance to ban on gays
The inevitable arrived early. Despite overwhelming evidence that the Military's Controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was doomed one way or another, it didn't appear Congress would ever muster the courage to end it - until Saturday. On a 65-31 vote, the Senate finally approved Legislation to allow gays to serve openly in the Armed Forces. Among those voting for the measure were Democrats Mark Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia and Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan of N...

Political Scene
WHITE HOUSE Obama plans to sign DADT Repeal The White House says President Obama plans to sign the repeal of the Military's ban on Openly Gay service members on Wednesday, four days after the Senate voted to abolish the policy. Mr. Obama's signature would end the Pentagon's 17-year, "don't-ask, don't tell" policy and fulfill a 2008 Presidential Campaign promise. The policy has allowed gays and Lesbians to serve, but only if they were silent about their Sexual Orientation. Press Secretary Robert ...

Gay Officer in Limbo after Discharge from Air Force
Lt. Robin Chaurasiya, an Openly Gay communications officer serving in the U.S. Air Force, is in limbo after receiving discharge papers from the Military. Chaurasiya, who has served in the Air Force since 2006, received her discharge papers Apr. 28 after revealing her Sexuality to her commanding officer at Scotts Air Force Base in Illinois. However, she has not been given an official “date of separation” and thus must continue to serve, in violation of the country’s laws which b...

The Day the Marine Corps Died
The United States Marine Corps was founded on November 10, 1775. The Marine Corps was put to death on December 18, 2010. As I watched the Senate vote on December 18th on lifting the ban on Homosexuals serving openly in the U.S. Military, I got sicker and sicker to my stomach. I knew I was watching the death of my beloved Marine Corps and there was nothing I could do to stop it. My father joined the Marine Corps shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. As with most M...

Opinion: What gay military members would tell - Michelle Benecke
In the debate surrounding "don’t ask, don’t tell," we have heard from most everyone except those harmed by this law. DADT silences gay Military members and cloaks the fearful reality of what it means to live under this law. As senators decide how to cast their votes, they should consider the experience of gay Military members — and Repeal this law. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset Politico 44 Gay Military members are not afraid to fight for our country. Many ...

Obama plans to sign repeal of gay ban Wednesday
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House says President Barack Obama will sign the Repeal of the Military's ban on Openly Gay service members on Wednesday morning at a Department of Interior auditorium. With a stroke of his pen, the president will end the Pentagon's 17-year, "don't-ask, don't tell" policy. In repealing the ban, Obama will fulfill a 2008 Presidential Campaign promise. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs would not say how long it would take for the administration to implement the repeal. But ...

Obama Plans to Sign Repeal of Dont Ask, Dont Tell Wednesday
Monday, December 20, 2010 By Staff, Associated Press Washington (AP) - The White House says President Barack Obama plans to sign the Repeal of the Military's ban on Openly Gay service members on Wednesday, four days after the Senate voted to abolish the policy. Obama's signature would end the Pentagon's 17-year, "don't-ask, don't tell" policy and fulfill a 2008 Presidential Campaign promise. The policy has allowed gays and Lesbians to serve, but only if they were silent about their sexual o...

Manchin a no-show on key votes
Sen. Joe Manchin III, the West Virginia Democrat newly elected to replace the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd, has raised eyebrows in the state after opting to attend a family event while skipping a pair of politically sensitive Senate votes over the weekend. His absence didn't change the outcome of the votes to Repeal the Military's ban on Openly Gay personnel or the failure of a major Immigration Bill, known as the "DREAM Act." But it came as a surprise to many of his fellow lawmakers who have seen a...

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...

Kyl: "Don't ask, don't tell" repeal could cost lives (but I won't un-repeal it)
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl explained on Fox yesterday that allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the Armed Forces " is not a Constitutional Right as was the issue of Racial Segregation," and he went on to argue that repealing the policy that bars them "could disrupt unit cohesion... and cost lives." That's right: Repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" could kill Soldiers. Considering that this may very well kill people, the next Congress should probably Repeal the repeal, right? I mean, it'...

The trouble with Harry
Building a bit on my last post, Harry Reid is feeling victorious. And it's true he's has some successes to point to: He ultimately won a fifth term — and a raft of legislative victories in a chamber best known recently for gridlock. Repeal over the weekend of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy barring gay, Lesbian and Bisexual members from serving openly in the Military joined the economic stimulus package, the national Health Care Legislation, new Financial Regulations and

Times Embraces 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Repeal As 'Historic'
The Times marked Repeal of the Clinton-era “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Legislation preventing gays from serving openly in the Military as “historic,” comparing it to the end of Racial Segregation, in Sunday’s front-page story by congressional reporter Carl Hulse, “Senate Repeals Ban Against Openly Gay Military Personnel.” Hulse often shows favoritism toward Democratic Legislation in Congress and disdain for GOP priorities. His first five sources...

Mark Kirk Handed 28,000 Organizing For America Petitions On 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
Newly-minted Senator Mark Kirk is facing pressure from his constituents over his opposition to the proposed Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The change in Military policy allowing Openly Gay and Lesbian Troops to serve has already passed the House of Representatives. It now needs a modicum of Republican support to overcome a Senate Filibuster. Kirk, the Illinois Republican, is among the moderate senators being targeted by advocates of repeal. Today, Organizing For America volunteers dropped ...

White House Press Briefing by Robert Gibbs, December 20, 2010
MR. GIBBS: Mr. Feller. Q Thanks, Robert. A few questions on START. Can you give us your updated sense of where we stand? Does the White House feel that it has -- still has the votes? MR. GIBBS: The White House believes that before Congress leaves town, that the Senate will ratify the New START Treaty. Q So are you confident ultimately you’ll have the votes or right now is it still in play? MR. GIBBS: Look, obviously, the President and the Vice President continue to communicate with senator...

Senate votes to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'
Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles — The Senate voted to allow gays and Lesbians to serve openly in the Military, approving a bill that Repeals the policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" on Saturday. The 65-31 vote came after an earlier procedural vote that brought the milestone in Gay Rights to the Senate floor. It also fulfilled a campaign promise by President Obama, who has been under attack from liberals in his own party for seeking compromises with Republicans on economic and tax...

At Long Last, Military Honor
"More than 14,000 Soldiers lost their jobs and their dignity over the last 17 years because they were gay, but there will be no more Victims of this injustice. The nation’s Military is about to send a message of tolerance and shared purpose to the world — now that political leaders, who voted for legalized Bigotry in the Armed Forces in 1993 and kept it alive since then, have found the strength to stand up and end it. The Senate vote on Saturday afternoon to allow open service by gay...

Democrat Murkowski Must Go
Senator Lisa Murkowski is a Democrat, despite what she may have told her constituents over the past several years, and it’s time for her to leave the Republican party.   She has become THE most reliable Democrat supporter of Legislation in the entire United States Senate. “One of President Obama’s biggest supporters in the Senate in the past week is not even a member of his own party: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Murkowski supported the president’s position on...

Senate to decide on Dream Act, don't ask repeal
WASHINGTON — With enactment of the tax-cut Compromise and the possible passage of other key White House priorities, congressional leaders have asserted their authority to achieve Bipartisan agreements in advance of a more polarized legislative environment next year. The approach marks an unusual end to a Congress famed for gridlock. The Lame Duck session began with Democrats facing an emboldened GOP that vowed to block all action until its priority fiscal issues were addressed. It is wra...

Harvard shamefully reopens campus to ROTC while throwing transgender students under the bus
This has me absolutely fuming. Once DADT has been repealed, Harvard University will reopen its campus to ROTC. I look forward to pursuing discussions with Military officials and others to achieve Harvard's full and formal recognition of ROTC. I am very pleased that more Students will now have the opportunity to serve their country. I am grateful to the Massachusetts delegation for their unified support for Repeal. -- Harvard President Drew Faust ROTC was banished from Harvard in the first pl...

Gays see repeal as a civil rights milestone
Dec. 18: Cassandra Melnikow, foreground left, and her sister Victoria Melnikow, right, sit in New York's Times Square as news of the Senate approving the Repeal of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' is displayed outside ABC Television's Times Square studios. 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 op...