Let's Start With Addabbo

After 8 Democrats (4 from the borough of Queens) in the New York State Senate were responsible for defeating gay marriage in New York, I have decided to target all 8...one at a time.

Let's start with freshman Queens Senator Joe Addabbo. His vote was especially damaging, because, alphabetically, he is second on a roll call. His defection at the onset set the stage for a betrayal.

How is this a betrayal?

Let's start with the fact that Addabbo got significant glbt financial support.

According to Queerty,

Despite supporting gay rights while a member of NYC's City Council, and despite receiving the maximum $9,500 campaign contribution from Gill Foundation creator Tim Gill, and despite scoring major financial support from the Democratic State Senate Campaign Committee (which LGBT donors dumped cash into), Addabbo was a "no" vote.

A report from NYPIRG's Bill Mahoney reaveals that Addabbo was the 4th leading recipient of glbt dollars. By his count,$23,000 was raised for Addabbo, so that he could spit in our faces.

Why we need to be better activists

Most revealing about Addabbo, who supported glbt civil rights while on the city council, and who had no problems taking glbt money while campaigning, are his declared reasons for voting 'no.'

From the Queens Chronicle:

Addabbo said he simply voted to reflect an emerging consensus within his district. Of the nearly 400 constituent letters and calls received by his office, approximately 73 percent had urged the senator to defeat the bill.
“I voted no because that’s what my people want. I will always stand by my people — that’s my job,” the first-term senator said. “This past Saturday I was at Woodhaven Library and two residents made it their business to sit down with me and talk about their opposition to marriage equality It’s clear that my residents are not for it.”

Forget the fact that recent polling showed that New Yorkers favored same-sex marriage 50-44, or that it was morally the right thing to do. Senator Addabbo was able to use the fact that anti-gay forces lobbied him more effectively.

This is where we need to change the equation.

I bowl in a large gay bowling league. When a fellow bowler a couple of weeks back asked for people to see her so that she could tell them how to lobby their state senators to vote for the bill, she got hardly any reaction. Out of 34 teams of 4 bowlers each, maybe 1 or 2 responded. This is shocking, but hardly surprising.

If we want full civil rights we need to start looking in the mirror and beginwith the reflection we see.

In that spirit, here is information on contacting Joe Addabbo to let him know how you feel about his vote. He thinks that New Yorkers do not want gay marriage. Let's prove him wrong.

His Facebook page
District Office 159-53 102nd Street Howard Beach, NY 11414
E-mail: addabbo@senate.state.ny.us
Phone: 718-738-1111

New Jersey May Vote On Gay Marriage Next Week

According to a report at NJ.com, a New Jersey Senate committee will consider a gay marriage proposal on Monday, with the possibility that the full chamber will vote on it by the end of the week. If this vote then gets passed, gay marriage in the Garden State could happen by Christmas.

This is important to do now, since the New Jersey governor-elect, Republican Chris Christie, has vowed to veto any gay marriage legislation on his watch.

Meanwhile, the 'Daily Intel' column at New York magazine's online site had interesting speculation on why the New Jersey bill might be enjoying a new life:

How would a huge defeat for same-sex marriage on Wednesday create momentum for the bill's prospects, and not against them? Maybe it's the irresistible opportunity to show New York what a progressive Northeast state with balls looks like.

Meanwhile, TPM is reporting an assessment by Steve Goldstein, executive director of Garden State Equality:

"We're counting votes. We're not there yet in one of the houses but things have changed dramatically in the last 48 hours where the momentum has shifted our way," Goldstein said.

New York Senate Rejects Gay Marriage

The New York Senate rejected gay marriage today, and the vote was not close.

The final count was 38-24. All 30 GOP members of the Senate voted against it, as did 8 Democrats. This shows a couple of things.

One, despite the disillusionment with the Democratic party these days over relative inactivity on glbt issues, this is why we can NEVER vote Republican. This was an anti-gay bloc vote, pure and simple, despite protestations otherwise by GOP honcho Dean Skelos.

Second, it is time to defeat Democrats that have denied us our civil rights. Prime among these is Ruben Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx), a despicable politician who was the only Democrat in debate to argue vociferously against gay marriage.

The other DINOs to vote against gay civil rights are, Joseph Addabbo (D-Queens), Darrel Aubertine (D- Cape Vincent), Shirley Huntley (D-Queens), Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn), Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens), George Onorato (D-Queens) and William Stachowski (D-Buffalo). They must be ousted through effective primary challenges. If they survive the challenge...let them try their luck without us in a general election. A message needs to be sent.

We already have way too many moderate Republicans inhabiting the Democratic party. Let's send them packing.

Californians Looking To Ban Straight Divorce

It is a story too good to be true...according to the Associated Press, there is a move afoot in California to impose a ban on divorce.

A Sacramento Web designer, John Marcotte, would like to see this become a ballot initiative in 2010.

As the AP reports:

"Since California has decided to protect traditional marriage, I think it would be hypocritical of us not to sacrifice some of our own rights to protect traditional marriage even more," the 38-year-old married father of two said.

Unless you have a good bankroll behind you, making these petition drives successful is a huge, uphill climb:

Marcotte is looking into whether he can gather signatures online, as proponents are doing for another proposed 2010 initiative to repeal the gay marriage ban. But the odds are stacked against a campaign funded primarily by the sale of $12 T-shirts featuring bride and groom stick figures chained at the wrists.

Marcotte needs 694,354 valid signatures by March 22, a high hurdle in a state where the typical petition drive costs millions of dollars. Even if his proposed constitutional amendment made next year's ballot, it's not clear how voters would react.

The deck is pretty much stacked against Marcotte, but the point has been succinctly made.

Often times the most truth can be found in satire, and I give this man credit for having the vision to call the hypocrites and phonies out.

You can read the full story here.

Great Coming Out Story From ESPN

Brendan Burke, the 20-year old son of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, has come out in a very public way.

Brendan, pictured above, next to the Stanley Cup that his father won, while GM with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, currently is a student at Miami University (Ohio), and also serves as a student manager for the school's championship hockey team.

After initially coming out to his family, he also came out to his team and has encountered fairly unanimous support.

Rather than telling the story in the first person, ESPN columnist John Buccigross pretty much tells his story for him, albeit in a very honest and compelling way.

Buccigross takes the coming out story from its genesis to where it has evolved...stressing how supportive Burke's dad and school have been and pushing the envelope by asking ex-NHL stars to join Brendan in disclosure. Along the way, questions about how a gay athlete would be received in the macho NHL are tossed out and speculated upon.

Brendan Burke wants to be the trailblazer and open the dialogue about being gay in the homophobic sports world of professional hockey. For this alone, he deserves praise and encouragement.

Read the story here.

After you read the piece, send an e-mail of appreciation to Buccigross at john.buccigross@espn.com

AP Story Reports Gay Marriage Efforts In NY & NJ Are Stalled

Not a very encouraging story on gay marriage efforts in NY and NJ, courtesy of the Associated Press.

Geoff Mulvihill writes:

The state-to-state march to legalize gay marriage across the left-leaning Northeast has lost more momentum since a major setback three weeks ago at the ballot box in Maine.

Since then, legislatures in New York and New Jersey have failed to schedule long-expected votes on bills to recognize the unions in those states.

Mulvihill then uses a Maggie Gallagher quote to set up the rest of his story. As Mulvihill reported, the extremist right-winger said,

If they are unable to pass gay marriage in New York and New Jersey, combined with the loss in Maine, it will confirm that gay marriage is not the inevitable wave of the future.

The rest of the piece is pretty much spent, with gays on the defensive, refuting the allegation of Gallagher.

This was written as if everybody thought Maine would be a slam-dunk and we were all allegedly blindsided.

We were about 5 points down in the polls the day before Maine, so, for me, at any rate, the outcome was not surprising. What is surprising is that we have so many in America that think it's perfectly acceptable to leave minority civil rights up to a simple majority vote.

The one part of this report I actually found useful was the call for immediate action in the Garden state:

There's a sense of urgency in New Jersey. This month, voters elected Republican Chris Christie over incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine. Corzine has said he'll sign a gay marriage bill. Christie promised a veto.

As a result, activists are pushing hard to get a bill passed before Christie takes office on Jan. 19.

But since the election, key Democrats have said they don't intend to put the bill up for a vote unless they know it will pass. And so far, they say, that's not assured. On Monday, when lawmakers met for the first time since the election, the issue was in legislative limbo — not scheduled but not declared dead either.

Access the full AP story here.

Anti-Sexual Orientation Hate Crimes Up 11% In 1 Year

New FBI statistics are out on hate crimes, showcasing a disturbing trend. Equally disturbing are how news organizations are covering it.

AP Version

In the story released by the Associated Press, they state:

Overall, the number of reported hate crimes increased about 2 percent from last year. These same figures show a nearly 11 percent increase in hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and a nearly 9 percent increase in hate crimes based on religion. The largest category, racially-motivated hate crimes, fell less than 1 percent.

With anti-gay legislation on the ballot in California last year, and the deliberate GOP incitement of the right-wing base, an increase in crimes against people based upon sexual orientation, should have been expected.

And yet, the AP includes their own skewed analysis:

The increases may be partly due to more law enforcement agencies reporting hate crimes data to the FBI: 2,145 agencies in 2008, compared to 2,025 agencies the year before.

Let's do the math. Hate crimes up 11%. Agencies reporting hate crimes up 5%. No it does not add up. Especially when one notes that racially-based hate crimes actually fell (which is rather startling, considering the anti-immigration rhetoric).

And, what of religion. Simply saying that religious-based hate crimes also were up would probably cause smug Christians to feel that maybe they are also under increased attack. Curious that the AP left out the most significant component of that segment, because it wasn't even anti-Muslim sentiment that was the reason.

CBS News version

For details on this, check out the CBS News account of the story:

Anti-Jewish bias accounted for 65.7 percent of the religious bias attacks; 7.7 percent of the attacks were against Muslims.

One would think that this would be a significant story, in and of itself.

But I digress.

In the CBS account, there is no mention of the huge increase in anti-sexual orientation attacks. In fact, they report it this way:

Hate crimes rose slightly in 2008, with bias-motivated attacks based on race, religion and sexual orientation all increasing, according to new data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Didn't the actual number of race-based incidents drop slightly?

One interesting thing that CBS did, in its report, was make clear that anti-sexual orientation hate crimes are not gay male-specific. They report:

Gay men were the victims in most of the sexual orientation-bias attacks - 58.6 percent.

Why not mention the numbers of anti-lesbian and anti-transgendered attacks? My guess is because it helps to keep those groups invisible.

(Note: The picture in this blog post is that of 15-year old, African-American, lesbian Sakia Gunn. Gunn was slain in Newark in 2003 and got nowhere near the coverage that Matthew Shepard's killing received, despite her young age.)

Sometimes it is not the story that is the focus, but the way that the story gets reported. As I have done in my past glbt-activism, one of the focuses of this blog will be watching and monitoring the way glbt news is covered. We need to hold news organizations accountable for what they tell the public, because all of this matters when it comes to changing hearts and minds on glbt issues.

Source Material

Click on the following links from the FBI website for the summary, and the full report on hate crimes.

Don't Ask, Do Postpone Indefinitely

AFP is reporting that a promised hearing on the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," which had been scheduled for this month, has been "postponed indefinitely."

Tara Andringa, a spokesperson for the U.S. Armed Services Committee, indicated that "we do not have a date" for the hearing to be rescheduled.

I guess the return of gay dollars to the DNC will be postponed indefinitely, as well.

In a strongly gay-positive press report, compared to what one would get from an AP story, the French press agency added the following:

About 13,000 US service members have been discharged under the policy since then, and estimated costs through 2003 run at 95.4 million dollars in recruiting costs and 95.1 million in training replacements, according to the US Government Accountability Office.

An overwhelming number of Americans support allowing openly gay men and lesbians to serve in the US military.

Think you would see a news report like that originating in America?

Not unless you were watching MSNBC.

For the full AFP story, click here.

Action Alert: Contact AG Holder On Puerto Rico Slaying

Last weekend, 19 year old George Steven Lopez Mercado, a popular member of the Puerto Rican gay community, was found murdered.

According to the towleroad.com website, "he was partially burned, decapitated, and dismembered, both arms, both legs, and the torso."

Making matters worse, the police investigator suggested he "deserved" his fate, because of his "lifestyle."

I have been to Puerto Rico, since coming out, and, like many other areas of the Caribbean, anti-gay sentiment runs deep. I remember feeling a bit threatened by some local hoods that were lingering around the gay club at the beach in San Juan that I went to...they were very vocally predatory. It may have been in the 90s, but it is no secret that this is hardly a gay-friendly environment.

According to the AmericaBlog report on what the police had to say:

Here's the Spanish version of what the investigator reportedly told Univisión about the victim:

"Este tipo de personas cuando se meten a esto y salen a la calle saben que esto les puede pasar."

I speak Spanish fluently, so let me give you a rough translation:

Someone like that, who does those kind of things, and goes out in public, knows full well that this might happen to him.

John Aravosis also writes that it is time for the Justice Department to investigate, now that we have a Hate Crimes law in effect.

To sign an online petition asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate, go to the online action center that AmericaBlog set up by pointing here.

As towleroad.com reports, an arrest has been made and a "gay panic" defense has been initiated.

To follow this story at towleroad, click here.

To visit the newly created facebook page on this crime, click here.

8: The Mormon Proposition -- Coming To A Theatre Near You

A documentary that passionately and forcefully targets the Mormon church for being the driving financial force in attacking the rights of gays to marry, is set to be released soon.

The movie is called "8: The Mormon Proposition," and according to an AP article, Reed Cowan, a gay Mormon, decided to make the film after the personal turmoil he experienced within his own family over the issue of gay civil rights. His own sister was a supporter of Proposition 8.

The film is still in production, but the trailer is generating a ton of hits on the net. It is very well done.

To go to the movie's official website and view that trailer, click here.

Rhode Island Governor Signals A Surprise Shift On GLBT Rights

Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri, who had just recently vetoed a bill that would give gay surviving partners burial and funeral rights, has apparently signaled that he is looking into statutes that might give the glbt community a broader range of rights, similar to the civil unions statute that recently passed in Washington state.

The Governor, who is a staunch social conservative, on record as opposing both gay marriage and civil unions, allegedly vetoed the funeral planning bill because he didn't want to resolve glbt civil rights issues in a piecemeal manner.

This apparent about face has many in the glbt community scratching their heads. Either way, it looks like there will be a vote upcoming in the Rhode Island legislature to override the Governor's veto.

The story is reported above by WPRI in Providence.

For the AP take on this development, click here.

Rhode Island Governor Vetoes Bill That Allows Gays Funeral Privileges

In a story that sounds like it belongs in a state from the Deep South, Rhode Island Governor Dan Carcieri has just vetoed a bill that would have given survivors of gay partners burial rights.

It was Tuesday that the Governor vetoed the bill that, according to the Providence Journal would have wound up, "giving "domestic partners" the right to make funeral decisions for each other."

This is what passes for family values?

To the credit of the Rhode Island state legislature, the bills originally passed by aq margin of 63-1 in the House and 38-0 in the Senate. Yet, still, it is apparently not definite that there will be a vote to override the veto.

About a possible veto override, the Providence Journal reported,

House Majority Leader Gordon Fox issued this statement in response to an inquiry: "Personally, I favor an override of this legislation. I look forward to meeting with Speaker Murphy and the Senate leadership in the near future to review all of the vetoes and discuss our next course of action."

If you would like to express your displeasure to Governor Carcieri, the contact page is here. It contains a form where you can e-mail Carcieri directly. It also has his contact numbers and the snail mail address.

Barney Frank vows An End To DADT In 2010

Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced on Wednesday that repealing 'don't ask, don't tell' will be included as an amendment to the fiscal year 2011 Defense Appropriations bill. Rep. Frank told the Washington Blade that once the bill passes in 2010, that President Obama could begin issuing stop/loss orders, preventing further discharges, as of October 1.

I am one of those who believe that President Obama could issue those orders now, while the flawed policy is under review.

I've never been a big fan of Barney Frank. I think he messed with the glbt community on ENDA. And his comments undercutting the recent march on Washington were self-serving and infuriating.

Color me cynical, but the timing on this to me has everything to do with the recently announced boycott of the DNC.

This probably explained why Frank took great pains to mention that Rahm Emanuel is somehow behind this policy decision.

Whatever you say, Barney.

For the full Blade article, click here.

Kerry Eleveld also has a report on this at The Advocate.

Action Alert: Veteran's Day Letter From SLDN

It's Veteran's Day, what better way to celebrate than supporting our gay brothers and sisters who serve in America's military?

The nation's leading advocacy group for gays in the military is asking for your help in writing letters to the editor. The following letter has a hyperlink that will make it easy for you to do. The hyperlink is included twice.

It was sent out today by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN):

Today, November 11, we mark Veterans Day across the country. On this day, we remember our veterans -- which include an estimated one million LGBT patriots -- and express our gratitude for their service.

As a retired Navy Captain with 29 years of dedicated service, I have seen firsthand how "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" dishonors the brave sacrifices of our service members. I will always love and respect the military, which is why I know our men and women deserve better than the injustice of DADT.

This year, let us honor the courageous men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice and renew our commitment to end DADT.

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and make the case for repeal:

www.sldn.org/VeteransDay

If published, your letter will raise awareness about DADT and the need for repeal. A particularly effective letter can get thousands of people talking about the issue and have effects well beyond the pages of the paper.

Join us now:

www.sldn.org/VeteransDay

Thank you, as always, for your support.

CAPT Joan Darrah, USN (Ret.)

AMA Supports Gay Marriage & Ending DADT

The American Medical Association gave a 1-2 punch of support Tuesday, officially calling for an end to "don't ask, don't tell," and stating that gay marriage bans contribute to health disparities because gay couples are less likely to be fully covered by health insurance.

As reported by the AP, the policy decisions by the nation's largest organization of doctors, occurred during an interim policy-making meeting in Houston. It comes one day after the AMA endorsed the health care reform bill passed by the House. However, unlike that endorsement, do not expect the White House to be trumpeting, or pointing to, these new policy statements.

On coming out against same-sex marriage bans, The AP reported,

Same-sex families lack other benefits afforded married couples, including tax breaks, spouse benefits under retirement plans and Social Security survivor benefits — all of which can put their health at risk, according to an AMA council report presented at the meeting.

On the governmental ban on gays serving openly in the military, it was reported that,

Doctors who pushed the group to oppose "don't ask, don't tell" say the policy forcing gay service members to keep their sexual orientation secret has "a chilling effect" on open communication between gays and their doctors.

"A law which makes people lie to their physicians is a bad law," said Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont psychiatry professor who attended the meeting.

We in the glbt community should find a way to thank the AMA for doing their part to help us in our struggle for full civil rights. It would be a good idea to refer to their support when we are advocating in support of both gay marriage and ending dadt.

You can learn more about the AMA at their website.

Update: New York State Senate Postpones Gay Marriage Vote

The New York State Senate, still in need of 5 Democratic votes, has put off a vote on gay marriage, according to reports.

An AP story posted at a Rochester news site first broke the story at 12:22PM, and was later followed up by confirmation at the New York Times.

Democrats hold a slight 32-30 majority in the Senate.

According to the Times report,

Republicans and Democrats said that as of Tuesday afternoon the measure was still several votes short of the 32 necessary for approval. About five Democrats remained either opposed or noncommittal, meaning that Republican votes were needed to secure passage.

But not enough Republicans have committed yet to voting yes, legislators said.

Sponsor of the bill, Tom Duane, has not been able to say whether or not it will come to the floor for a vote at all, at this point. According to the Times, Duane did say he was "optimistic."

Some in the State Senate are indicating that the vote may come after the Deficit Reduction Plan is addressed, as the Times also reports.

As I learn who the 5 State Senators are, I will post them so that we can continue our lobbying efforts, as well as seeking out GOP converts to the cause.

Stay tuned.

Action Alert: Lobby NY State Senate On Tuesday Gay Marriage Vote

On Tuesday, at the urging of Governor Patterson, the New York State Senate will vote on gay marriage. We only need to sway a few votes. Please join us in helping bring equality to New York's gay and lesbian couples.

There is a useful tool at the website of the Empire State Pride Agenda. There is a form feed that will allow you to get all the contact information for your State Senator so that you can personally ask them to support gay marriage.

This is the page of the action center. Just input your zip code and you will get contact information for your State Senator. PLEASE call or e-mail your State Senator asap, since the vote is tomorrow. Ask them to support gay marriage so that gays in New York are not 2nd class citizens.

Please share that site info with your friends and crosspost, because what we need right now is direct contact with the State Senators voting on this on Tuesday

No More Money For The DNC

First a note about LelioRisen and this blog

Sorry I have not been blogging much here since renewing my LelioRisen 'net presence. I have been starting a new business and keeping much of my focus there. However, I have spent a lot of my blogging time posting at AmericaBlog. But now, I do plan on renewing my focus here. I have my own stories and agenda that I would like to put forth.

For the past several years, I had blogged as scootmandubious, and received a ton of hits leading up to the 2008 election. My incredible disillusionment with Obama after that election has caused me to temporarily suspend blog activity there. I have no heart to defend the Dems and Obama on anything these days.

Rather, I plan on going back to my original focus, glbt issues, which can be best served through this blog. Since I have a decade of prior glbt advocacy as leliorisen, I thought it best to use this presence.

The Petition

I have pretty much decided to leave the Democratic party and register as an independent. The one thing holding me back, for the moment, is that I want to work in the primary system to help ensure that Blue Cross DLC-style Dems are beaten by progressives at every turn. So, I have to evaluate which scenario suits me best.

But, I have made a pledge to not give another dime to the Dems and the DNC. Democrats have used gays and lesbians to tap our time and our resources and then stab us in the back at every turn.

No More.

At AmericaBlog I just signed a petition to notify the DNC that they can no longer count on me for monetary support until they follow through on promises made to the glbt community.

Under the heading "Don't Ask, Don't Give," The petitioners are asking for people to join in signing the following pledge:

"I pledge not donate to the Democratic National Committee, Organizing for America, or the Obama campaign until Congress passes, and the president signs, legislation enacting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), and repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)."

Please take the time to sign the petition and pass it on to others.

The link to the petition can be found by clicking here.

(note: above logo found at lonestarbear.blogspot.com)

Excellent AP Analysis Of Gays In The Military of Our Allies

It was only a matter of time before the logical dominant argument for lifting 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' would rise to the surface...the fact that our allies have had no problem making the transition. Today's AP has a great report that examines the successful integration of gays in Great Britain, Australia and Israel. This is then contrasted with a whole new set of bogus charges by homophobes in the American military.

Some of the highlights from the article, prominently featured today at the Washington Post website, includes the following:

In Britain, on the other hand, uniformed gay and lesbian service members marched in the annual Pride London parade July 4. Gay Australian soldiers and sailors had their own float in Sydney's Gay Mardi Gras parade. In Israel, the army magazine earlier this year featured two male soldiers on the cover, hugging one another.

It is hard to be more battle-tested than the Israeli military, where gays have served openly since 1993. The article reports,

Maj. Yoni Schoenfeld, a gay officer who is the editor of the military magazine, Bamahane, said there was little friction in the ranks related to gay soldiers.

He served as a combat soldier and as commander of a paratrooper company, and said his sexual orientation - though known to fellow soldiers - was never an issue.

And adds,

Schoenfeld's magazine has reflected the evolving attitudes. In 2001, it was shut down briefly after featuring an interview with a retired colonel who had come out of the closet. Yet this year, there was no adverse reaction to the cover picture of two male soldiers embracing.
The military also provided the backdrop for the 2002 movie "Yossi & Jagger" about two Israeli combat soldiers who fall in love on the front lines. It was a hit with critics and the public, and was even screened on military bases.

In Australia,

The lifting of the ban was preceded by heated debate, yet the change itself was relatively uneventful.

Among opponents of the change at the time was Australia's main veterans group, which later withdrew its objections.

The group's president, retired Maj. Gen. Bill Crews, said concerns about lowered morale and HIV transmission on the battlefield proved ill-founded.

"I thought there'd be a continuing problem because of prejudice that exists in parts of the community," Crews said. "I don't see any evidence now that homosexuals are in any way discriminated against. ...A homosexual can be just as effective a soldier as a heterosexual."

Regarding Britain's experience since the change occurred 10 years ago,

At the time, there was significant opposition to the change among military officers. There were predictions that unit cohesion would suffer and that large numbers of personnel would leave the military if gays could serve.

Lord Alan West, former head of the Royal Navy and now Britain's terrorism minister, served before and after the ban was lifted.

"It's much better where we are now," West said. "For countries that don't do that - I don't believe it's got anything to do with how efficient or capable their forces will be. It's to do with other prejudices, I'm afraid."

Lord West added that "Americans really need to make the move."

Because the global example has refuted the allegations by homophobes in the military, there is new pompous, isolationist rhetoric being provided by the bigots in charge.

The AP article features the following lunacy:

"Who's the only superpower military out there?" argued Maj. Brian Maue, a professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy, in a debate in June in Chicago. "This is hardly convincing to say, 'Ah, the others are doing it. We should too.'"

I am sure Israel appreciated hearing that. Not to mention, every other NATO member but Turkey. And further,

Maue - who says he's been speaking out on his own, not as a military spokesman - also suggested in an online forum that "an openly gay military would be the heterosexual equivalent to forcing women to constantly share bathrooms, locker rooms and bedrooms with men."

Retired Army Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, is alleged to have disparaged the integration of gays in the military of our allies, without offering a shred of evidence. He adds,

Repealing the U.S. ban would trigger the departure of some career service members who object to homosexuality and deter some people from enlisting.

I wonder how many similar comments were made when our military was first subject to racial integration?

The AP article refers to Pennsylvannia Rep. Daniel Murphy's leadership in trying to get DADT repealed. Murphy, a Democrat and the first Iraq war veteran to gain election to Congress, had this to say,

"I take it as a personal affront to our warriors," he said. "To say that other countries' soldiers are professional enough to handle this and American soldiers aren't is really a slap in the face."

The last word in the AP story is given to Iraq war veteran, Army National Guard Lt. Dan Choi. Choi is facing dismissal under the DADT ban. He says,

"...don't ask" forces gays who are serving to be furtive and dishonest.

"Closeting is what causes instability," he said. "It's the most toxic poison."

As for the U.S. being different from its allies, Choi agrees.

"We are exceptional - because we take the lead on things," he said. "To me, it's an insult to the idea of American exceptionalism to say we're somehow scared of gays."

Read the full article and pass it along. It can be found here.

What Gives With "Don't Ask, Don't Tell?"

I have to admit, I am baffled.

There are 2 NATO nations that do not allow gays to openly serve. Turkey is one of them. Guess the other?

That's right, America is pretty much the last major Western nation to discriminate on gays in service. Currently, President Obama is allowing 2 servicepeople's lives to be ruined each day, as they get discharged.

It is an issue that affects America's security. In a vastly depleted military, we have booted an inordinately large number of Arabic translators and linguists for being gay. This is just plain lunacy.

In the global model, the nations that allow gays to serve openly, including Israel, have not reported a loss of military cohesion as a result of lifting their own bans.

That being the case, it undercuts the military's sole argument...that it would be some sort of grand social experiment and the sky might possibly fall. It is not an experiment...we have successful examples to point to. This is a no-brainer.

Additionally, in polling, a vast majority of people favored lifting the policy. In fact, even a plurality of Conservatives favored it.

So, what do we get now...Defense Secretary Robert Gates looking to use selective enforcement...another way of saying...humanely discriminate.

And today, Adm. Mike Mullen (pictured above), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had some more absurdist comments on "State of the Union" on CNN.

As the AP reported Mullen said:

"It's very clear what President Obama's intent here is. He intends to see this law change.

"I've had conversations with him about that. What I've discussed in terms of the future is I think we need to move in a measured way," Mullen said.

One would think that would mean somebody is looking into how to change policy.

One would be wrong.

Mullen is actually loathe to initiate this at all. He said today,

"I haven't done any kind of extensive review. And what I feel most obligated about is to make sure I tell the president, you know, my — give the president my best advice, should this law change, on the impact on our people and their families at these very challenging times," he said

This is the most important issue in the glbt political spectrum for me. I find it more necessary to resolve than the marriage issue and here is why...

We cannot expect to be treated with dignity and respect until we get our house in order. It is imperative to understand the stigma of DADT.

Gay self-identity cannot be criminalized, in and of itself. It is unacceptable. Here we are seeking to gain the full civil rights afforded by marriage, rights that we pay into the system to fund, and another part of government codifies us as unworthy.

DADT says that there is something wrong with the mere fact that a person is gay. DADT says that a gay person who is true to one's self is not worthy to serve their country. In fact, DADT encourages gay people to lie. What sort of value is that?

It was not all that long ago that gays were being lobotomized. Gay people are executed, solely for who we are, to this day.

The very least Obama should do is issue a stop-loss order to prevent any more gay people from being discharged, until the policy gets lifted.

The next thing he should do is initiate the dialogue so that we get rid of this policy, once and for all.

To this point, Obama has done nothing.