There’s a bizarre story circulating that a gay soldier was murdered in a hate crime attack at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. Houston’s August Provost, 29, was found dead at 3:30am Tuesday morning in a guard shack. Investigators say they’ve detained a “person of interest” and at least one local gay activist (Ben Gomez, head of the San Diego chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights), citing unnamed sources, says Provost — who joined the Navy last year — was killed during an argument with another soldier over Provost’s sexuality. An autopsy has been performed; toxicology test results are forthcoming. The Navy isn’t commenting on whether Provost being gay had anything to do with his death, but Provost was open about his sexuality, at least when it came to his family and his MySpace page. And what’s most interesting? Provost’s murder just happens to coincide with Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying the Pentagon is looking in to how to be more lenient with Don’t Ask Don’t Tell laws for those who are involuntarily outed. Preemptive damage control?
MORE:
Provost’s boyfriend, Kaether Cordero, said yesterday that Provost was openly gay but kept his private life quiet for the most part.
“People who he was friends with, I knew that they knew,” Cordero said from Houston. “He didn’t care that they knew. He trusted them.”
Provost had recently complained to his family that someone was harassing and bothering him, and they advised him to tell his supervisor, said his sister, Akalia.
“He’s the type that if someone comes at him, he walks away. He never stands and argues,” she said. “He didn’t deserve anything but a good life.”
Family described Provost as a well-mannered, humble and goofy guy who strived to make sure his mother was well-taken care of. Provost was assigned to Assault Craft Unit 5 on the base.
He had completed three years of college before joining the Navy in March 2008 to help finance his education. He was studying to become an architectural engineer, his uncle said.
(Photo via Rod 2.0)
SM
That is really sad…on many levels.
It’s also why I worry about so many people wanting Obama to just take pin to paper and make DADT go away by EO. The military is a different world and I would think there should be some place established for LGBT soldiers to go for advice etc.
I dunno..
TANK
@SM:
you’re disgusting. Ew…go away, you piggy. Turning this into an obama defense…you fuckin’ sow.
SM
@TANK:
No…I was responding to an article about a soldier that was killed.
The fact bitter asswipes like you have let DADT go on for YEARS out of LAZINESS and expect Obama to right your wrongs in 6 months is an Obama defense.
Where were all you screaming ASSHOLES WHEN THE OTHER THOUSANDS OF GAYS WERE BEING DISCHARGED for YEARS …..ummmm SILENT.
——-
The Military Readiness Enhancement Act is a bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 109th and 110th Congress by Marty Meehan and the 111th Congress by Ellen Tauscher. The purpose of the bill is to amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces by replacing the current policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as “Don’t ask, don’t tell”, with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
The 2005 bill had 122 cosponsors and the 2007 bill had 149 cosponsors. They were both referred to the House Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on Military Personnel but failed to advance. The 2009 bill had 147 cosponsors as of June 18, 2009 and was referred to the House Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.[1]
As of June 16, 2009, the bill has not been introduced into the U.S. Senate.
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com
Could I please get a gift subscription to the Obambots Newsletter with its Excuse of the Day for Why Lord Obama Is Betraying His Promises?
It’s really creepy how they all spin the same far out excuses.
This is the third time, and on the third site, in a week where I’ve read the “Why Weren’t You All Complaining About DADT BEFORE St. Obama Was Elected” nonsense. Read: “you’re just complaining now because you hate BO.”
For the record, the very FIRST gay rights demonstration in the US was about the military ban in…..wait for it…1964. Five years before Stonewall and when His Holiness was only 8 years old.
Random demonstrations occured continuously until they really took off in 1975 when Leonard Matlovich became the first servicemenber to out himself to fight it and file a lawsuit to do the same.
Ever since then, there have been a continuing series of lawsuits and occasional pubic demonstrations. SLDN was formed in 1993 when no one outside his family or friends had ever heard of Barry Obama. In 2006 when BUSH not BO was President, a group of Iraqi-era vets toured the country educating the public about the ban. They were featured in the documentary “Ask Not” shown a couple of weeks ago on PBS.
In 2007, when, yes BUSH was still the Prez, some of them, along with SLDN and HRC and AVER held a demonstration on the Capital Mall, planting 12,000 American flags to represent each one of the gays discharged since DADT by then.
The outrage has increased this year because of the outrage of Obama betraying his promises to begin fighting to overturn DADT the day he took office; because of his refusal to order stop-loss. Fehrenbach went public with his discharge because he believed Obama’s promises. STOP BLAMING THE VICTIMS!
There comes a time when one has to ask these people why they are so willing to use any excuse, to distort or deny facts, to attack anyone just to defend this man over their own people.
[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2020/2081490619_5e74f35775.jpg[/img]
SM
@Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com:
An occasional demonstration? Ummm…OK… You all could have had 12,000 Dan Choi stories on the news if you had a REAL CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT instead of how you act.
FUCK YOU…I have always stood up for your equality…
Every person in America deserves to be treated equally…it does not mean you are not acting like a PIECE OF LOSER SHIT
SteamPunk
1. Ladies, please stop fighting!
2. SM, I admit, I’ve never thought of what wold happen if the President removed DADT with one stroke of the pen without fully thinking through an exit strategy. Obviously, I want to see gay people serve openly in the military, but even more-so, I want to see them do so safely. After all, I’m not in the military and won’t have to go through the harassment that they will, so it’s easy for me to yell “Fix it” from the comfort of my own home.
(And, no I’m not giving Obama an excuse. He still should be FAR more upfront about his reasons for stalling, whatever they are. I’m just saying I hadn’t thought of the other side of the coin.)
SouLKid
Or you can also look at it this way — Provost was being harassed but he had nowhere to turn to because of DADT.
SteamPunk
@SouLKid: Yep, you can look at it that way, too. Two sides of the coin, I guess.
Mike K
It’s also why I worry about so many people wanting Obama to just take pin to paper and make DADT go away by EO. The military is a different world and I would think there should be some place established for LGBT soldiers to go for advice etc.
I dunno..
Ask anyone in public housing in Chicago. Obama gave the public housing money to his real estate fairy Tony Rezko. Folk there lived without heat or water and Obama ignored them. These were the same people he supposedly was a community organizer for.
jjm16
@SM:
what you fail to acknowledge is that DADT has promoted the exact type of hate that promotes gay bashing. You obviously never played connect the dots as a child.
InExile
Funny how some continue to defend Obama for his lack of action on DADT. Did it ever occur to you that maybe he has NO intention of doing anything?
The fact be known that our soldiers, their wives, and their children continue to be EVANGELIZED within our military. The troops are encouraged to convert to Christianity, their families are pushed when they live on base by born again Christians to convert and so on. This access to our troops was granted to evangelists by the Bush administration.
With a military culture like this it is no surprise Obama has delayed action on DADT. What is surprising is he allow this culture to continue. Makes you wonder, once again, what does this man really believe?
We may never know what he believes, this pattern of mixed messages started in the primary and still continues today. It appears this man has no soul.
mike
“There’s a bizarre story circulating that a gay soldier was murdered in a hate crime attack at Camp Pendleton in Southern California.”
Sailor, not a Soldier
RIP Seaman Provost
Living Under DADT
I am currently in the military and can see from MY SIDE of the coin, which happens to be the same as Provost. Sure there are individuals who know, but I don’t want to be outted. It is a whole different ball game when everyone knows you are as oppose to individuals “guessing” you are. We still have to live and work with these people who may be horrified of the idea. I rather continue my existance as is. Sure, it would be wonderful to get rid of DADT and have EO instead … but none of you ever consider that WE are the ones being affected by the decision … WE are the ones who have to deal with the close quarters harrassment … WE do.
Yes, I want equality … but I do not want to risk the freedoms I currently have for it. Until then, I sit on the fence.
Living Under DADT
P.S. He is a Sailor and I have never been EVANGELIZED.
InExile
@Living Under DADT: http://www.talk2action.org
D Ross
USMC gay?
It staggers the imagination,,,being gay and unmanly is an oxymoron in the USNC.
Bill Perdue
More bitter fruits of Bill Clintons DADT, a policy which Obama and the Democrats in Congress refuse to deal with.
Rob
Is this man’s death worth so little that it becomes nothing more here than a bargaining chip to argue for or against DADT and continue the same whining about Obama that is already old at this point? I’m a gay veteran and this story terrifies me because it could’ve been me.
Living Under DADT
InExhile … I have read the reports before, I am saying that “I” personally have not been in that situation. Those I have served with have been open to a variety of religious understandings, and have not pushed or trying to force anyone into Christianity. Again, I have read the reports, but it is not my reality.
Thank-you for the information, though.
Living Under DADT
EXACTLY!! @ Rob’s point … that is why I sit on the fence right now. I can see how it would be good, but I also see how it can be bad.
NO NAME
STOP FIGHTING BEHIND WHAT YOU DON’T REALLY NO THIS IS MY COUSIN AND YOU GUYS HAVE TAKEN TO A WHOLE OTHER PLACE. JUST SAY YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT WHAT HAPPEN AND LEAVE IT AT THAT PLEASE.
David In Arizona
I’m an old gay vet and it’s stuff like this San Diego news article that really gets my blood pressure going. If this report is accurate then it’s one more example of why “Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell” needs to be repealed now. The policy kills people. A sailor is brutally murdered on a Naval base because he is gay. DADT policy makes it impossible for him to report the threats being made against him because he’ll be kicked out of the service for being gay. So his fear of being discharged under DADT keeps him from asking military officials for help. And he pays for this horrible policy with his life. I hope the story explodes on the front pages of every newspaper in the country and makes headlines news on all the cable news networks. The White House has dragged it’s heels on this policy and deserves to be kicked to the ground until the president signs a stop-loss order & Congress immediately begins putting together a bill to repeal this fucking law. As Commander-in-Chief, Obama can stop this insanity. I wonder how many more deaths it will take to get his attention. If I knew where they were, I’d pack up my old medals, mail them to the White House along with a note telling Obama to shove them up his ass.
AlwaysGay
FACT: Heterosexual male identity is the most delicate thing known in existance. Heterosexuals are also troublemakers. Those two factors are a dangerous combination.
I’m sure the killer(s) had set up August’s murder because his mere presence “threatened their masculinity”, they couldn’t deal with a gay man doing every thing they did on a level playing field. Anyway, I hope August gets the justice he deserve, everyone needs to press the military to actually investigate and prosecute this murder with truth.
Cam
@SM: you said “It’s also why I worry about so many people wanting Obama to just take pin to paper and make DADT go away by EO. The military is a different world and I would think there should be some place established for LGBT soldiers to go for advice etc.”
_________________________________________________________-
I feel that the reason things like this happen is becuase, with Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the military is telling it’s soldiers taht gays are something to be feared and loathed. When you have a discriminatory policy in place it is a step towards dehumanizing people. And it is much easier to beat and kill somebody who has been de-humanized. The policy actually encourages this type of activity.
Cam
@Living Under DADT: You said “We still have to live and work with these people who may be horrified of the idea. I rather continue my existance as is. Sure, it would be wonderful to get rid of DADT and have EO instead … but none of you ever consider that WE are the ones being affected by the decision … WE are the ones who have to deal with the close quarters harrassment … WE do.
Yes, I want equality … but I do not want to risk the freedoms I currently have for it. Until then, I sit on the fence.”
____________________________________________________________
Sorry but Federally mandated discrimination effects every gay person in the nation, since it labels us as separate, different, not as good, scary, etc… You labor under the direct impact of that decision, but every one of us has to deal with the impact that a Federal government who calls us “Less than” spreads through the country. You are still welcome to stay in the closet after DADT goes away, nobody is forcing you to come out, but a policy that violates peoples civil rights can not stand just because it’s removal will upset homophobes.
M Shane
The fact is that a law that asks that people lie about thier identity is truly fucked from the start- was f.., is.f.., always will be f… .
Gay people seem to get morte stupid all the time we are subversive and always will be until they accept us for who we are if ever.
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com
Let’s review some facts.
1. Neither a freeze on discharges nor repeal of DADT would REQUIRE any gay servicemember to come out.
2. Studies of countries and domestic police and fire departments in which out gay service is permitted, including the “Rand” study paid for by the Pentagon in 1993, consistently show that only a relative few out themselves. The majority stay in the “work closet.”
3. The Rand study and others consistently demonstrate what CANDIDATE Obama said was the primary requirement for the repeal of the ban AND its successful implementation: leadership. NO policy change, large or small, succeeds in or outside the military without leadership, without modeling by superiors, without consequences/punishment for refusing to comply. In 1993, even military people who were rabidly OPPOSED to Clinton’s effort to gay integrate the ranks publicly admitted: “If he tells us to do it, we will salute and say, Yes, Sir!”
“Now hear this: yesterday you wore light blue uniforms. Tomorrow you will wear dark blue uniforms. End of discussion.”
“Now hear this: yesterday we banned out gays. Tomorrow we won’t. End of discussion.”
4. Contrary to the shameless excuse-making by the CIC, the Pentagon, et al., implementation would neither be “brain surgery” nor a place where no [military] man [or woman] has gone before. Some identified or self-identified gays have…for a variety of reasons but mostly amounting to the need for every possible body to fight….have been allowed to serve along side nongays in every conflict going back to and including WWII…and have done so without incident.
Over 70% of servicemembers polled said they were comfortable around gays.
Changes in the design of military housing has rendered the “close quarters phobia” argument….identically used to oppose racial integration…..almost entirely obsolete. Ships? Submarines? Tough noogies. “Personal comfort” is irrelevant in the military. Ya got a problem with it…see the Chaplain.
Both Choi and Fehrenbach have reported, as virtually every “public” gay servicemember before them, that their coworkers have continued to treat them with the same amount of respect as they did before they knew they were gay. Even in the far more generally homophobic times of 1975, the discharge hearing of the first person to challenge the ban, Leonard Matlovich, briefly blew up when two airmen called by the “prosecution” said they’d happily work with him again.
There already IS a military department…paid for by tax dollars….whose mission it is to prevent conflicts between different groups in the military.
The Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute started as the Defense Race Relations Institute when racial conflicts on bases boiled over in the 1970s [including an all-out race riot at Travis Air Force Base] because the military was not keeping up with the changing civilian times and blacks entering the forces would no longer put up with blatant discrimination and harassment while too many whites were allowed to bring their civilian racism with them.
Investigations showed that….wait for it…the biggest problem was lack of leadership…commanders who tolerated or even encouraged racial intolerance and discrimination in military job assignments and advancement.
DEOMI has since expanded its charter to include education programs and discrimination monitoring in relation to women in the military, antiSemitism, political extremism, and, since 9/11, anti Muslim attitudes.
It could easily add issues related to out gay integration to its programs. The irony is that Leonard’s last job in the Air Force was as a “Race Relations Instructor,” so good that he coached other instructors and people in Carter’s Justice Department tried unsuccessfully to convince the Air Force to hire him as a civilian “gay rights” instructor.
Again, leadership and discipline are the solution for nipping any potential conflict in the proverbial bud.
5. Anyone having had the misfortune to have read more than a couple of the hatefilled, hysterical pit bull attacks of the person who puts the “S” in S&M, knows that she/he/it doesn’t genuninely give a flying fuck about DADT, Prop 8, DOMA, or any other LGBT issue. We only have his/her/its CLAIM that he/she/it campaigned against Prop 8. Even if he/she/it did, what’s most relevant is that ALL of his/her/its posts are ALWAYS about defending Obama’s broken promises AGAINST any legitimate criticism by anyone gay or as he/she/it prefers, “PIECES OF LOSER SHIT.”
SM
@jjm16:
Sexual Harassment towards women in the military is a big problem. For me to suggest there be something in place for LGBT soldiers as a buffer or help after DADT is gone only proves that I look out for your community more that the HATE FILLED FOOLS ON QUEERTY.
TikiHead
Question for Queerty: is there a way for SM to code for a larger font in comments? We can all tell how hobbled he feels in only having ALL CAPS to resort to. We all feel for him, really.
Perhaps a nice 72 point Arial now and then?
SM
@TikiHead:
Question for Queerty….how come you all do not blog and show your outrage towards this…because it just fueled the fire of the Religious Right.
…..oh i know…Its Obamas fault!
http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=10731
jjm16
@SM:
i fail to see how some counseling center (for LGB”T” soldiers-transgender soldiers? none.) will improve the mindsets of misogynist male soldiers toward women… back to DADT: contrary to what Obama says, dragging legislation through congress to repeal DADT simply isn’t necessary. And it also wouldn’t establish support structures for gay soldiers(who would still have autonomy over decisions to self-identify… but wouldn’t be fired if and when they do).
regarding your sentiments for my community… would you like a cookie or something? i don’t bake. yes, queerty is hate-filled, as gay folks are intelligent and enraged by bad ideas or arguments. we often frequent debate teams, they say, but i didn’t intend to come off as hateful… but the idea was downright silly and has nothing to do with the process of repealing DADT. best, jay
http://pr.thinkprogress.org/
InExile
@SM: Shilling for Obama one minute, reading virtue online the next??? What is your deal?
The man you worship is just showing what many of us knew 2 years ago, all talk, no action but have faith. What I see today is specifically why I did not support the man in the primary! Exactly what I expected has happened, nothing.
TANK
Notice that sm is trying to manage the message by shifting this conversation away from the murder which is undeniably linked to DADT (and thus his inability to report this harassment to his superiors and have it dealt with properly) in a clear progression–and about sexism in military culture–and military culture at large. And then blaming DADT on the lgbt communities…
This person is a crank. A poor propagandist. I think ignoring it is the best course of action.
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com
THIS JUST IN:
“Next week the Human Rights Campaign will launch a national tour to encourage repeal of the failed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in conjunction with Servicemembers United. The kick off event will be a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference this coming Wednesday, July 8th at 10 a.m. in the Zenger Room, 13th floor, National Press Building, 529 14th St., N.W.
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), a [nongay] veteran of the Iraq war [and new chief sponsor of the House DADT repeal bill after Cong. Ellen Tauscher resigned to take a State Dept. post], will attend along with gay, lesbian and straight veterans, including: Eric Alva, the first wounded veteran in the Iraq War; Jarrod Chlapowski, a former U.S. Army Korean linguist who opted to not re-enlist because of DADT and is currently a public policy advocate at the Human Rights Campaign; and Alex Nicholson, a U.S. Army veteran fluent in Arabic discharged under DADT and current executive director of Servicemembers United [Jarrod’s life partner and coleader with him of the 2006/2007 cross country tours and the 12,000 flags event].”
[img]http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/imager/feature_zwnj_alexander_the_gay/b/original/1103512/2243/news1.jpg[/img]
InExile
@TANK: Agree, not being able to report the abuse holds partial responsibility for the murder.
SM probably gets paid two cents per word to write here from O for America! lol
Andrew
People… any chance that this is a nuanced issue? Any chance Obama and gay rights are not mutually-exclusive? That is, any chance it’s a complicated difficult political issue AND that Obama is failing to live up to his campaign promises? On Qty, both sides always stake it out like it’s a simple black-and-white issue. (no pun intended)
Obama has not lived up to his campaign promises. Period. AND killing DADT and DOMA is NOT A SIMPLE thing. Period. Both statements are FACT. What does this mean? It means that in order to get anything done, in order to have any solidarity, in order for a real progressive agenda to move forward, etc. etc. we have to stop screaming at each other and start screaming at the powers-that-be. But when we scream, we need to scream something that’s rooted in reality. The powers-that-be want nothing more than for us, as a “community”, to be screaming at each other instead of them.
OK. I realize that by saying the above, I’m doubly-fucked. One side will now brand me an “Obamaton” or the like. The other side will brand me another way. Oh well. I kinda like a good branding now and again. 😉
TikiHead
@SM: “Question for Queerty….how come you all do not blog and show your outrage towards this…because it just fueled the fire of the Religious Right.
…..oh i know…Its Obamas fault!”
This would have ROCKED in 72 pt Arial.
Darrien
@SM: This is a serious question, not frivolous: Why do you believe that the US armed services are so much more… umm… ‘primitive’ than the armed forces in the rest of the world where out gay and lesbian soldiers serve with very little controversy. In some cases the countries had to change their policy on sexual orientation of troops within months. And it happened and there was no major fuss or hassle or victimisation of the gay soldiers. And when openly gay British soldiers have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, they’re mourned as heroes by their comrades just as much as any straight soldier is.
Seriously, why is this such a big problem in the USA? It just isn’t a problem anywhere else in the world.
schlukitz
Perhaps, in addition to Queerty giving him permission to use a larger, bolder font for his ongoing, patting-himself-on-the-back rants, we could take up a collection for SM…for a bullhorn?
And, maybe even a year’s supply of batteries to power it?
ev
What does everyone think about stopping saying people get killed because they’re gay, and starting saying that people are killing people because they’re homophobic?
Dabq
@SM: Thank you for keeping it real with the truth, these two bit posters have turned this horrible murder into their usual hate filled rants about Obama and post those foolish pictures of two guys in front of a racist Confederate statue, please whoever Leonard is he should be ashamed for that and is no better than that ridiculous DADT policy.
Bill Perdue
This isn’t the first murder caused by Bill Clinton’s DADT. In 1999 PFC Barry Winchell’s skull was crushed as he slept in his barracks. His “crime” was having an affair with a transsexual. One of the soldiers who conspired to murder him, Justin Fisher, was released after serving only 7 years of his disgracefully lenient 12 year sentence. Winchell’s commander, Major General Robert T. Clark, who shares the blame for the rabid homohating at Ft. Campbell with Bill Clinton, was not only exonerated in the murder he was… promoted to Lieutenant General.
DADT is christer military bigotry codified into law by a bipartisan Congress at the urging of Democrat Bill Clinton. Bush and the Republicans fully support bigotry and violence against GLBT folks so it was no surprise that they refused to repeal Clintons DADT.
Is that the reason Obama and the Democrats, who have the votes, refuse to do so? Obama captured much of Roves bigot vote from the Republicans and means to keep it. No matter the price. We pay the price and pay in blood. The people who urged a vote for Obama have a lot to answer for.
LGBT servicemembers will continue to suffer from official and unofficial intimidation, harassment and violence until DADT is repealed.
RIP, August Provost. Vengeance is ours.
Teresa
All I can say it does not matter what the beliefs of Obama or any one else in Goverment. What matters is that one of our own Children who decided to go into the military service was murdered. They need to find out who did this and take action. It is not the act of a brave person but a coward. It does not matter if he was gay, straight, or bi-sexual. What matters is he decided to serve our country with honor and this is how he gets paid back. God Bless his family and friends and know that he is going to be ok for he is in Heaven with the Lord. God Bless
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com
@Dabq:
If ignorance is indeed bliss, you must be ecstatic. The picture of Alex Nicholson and Jarrod Chlapowski was in no way a celebration of the Confederacy. It was simply taken by the local paper when they were in Charleston in 2006 on their cross country tour trying to educate voters about DADT [and southerners need to be educated, too]. What have you done for the cause, Bubba?
RE “Clinton’s DADT”—
Mr. Perdue always has a sticky purse full of factual distortions to try to justify his REAL mission which has NOTHING repeat NOTHING to do with gay rights but trying to convince the gullible to dump the Dems and Repugs and every other party except “Labor” but his tape loop that homophobia in the military is the fault of President Satan er Clinton is one of the most shameful.
The first fact, of course, is thata formal ban on gays in the military goes back to WWII…BEFORE BILL CLINTON WAS BORN.
Then, one incident alone, among many over decades, and one with many apparent similarities to this one, proves Perdue no better than a grave robber to serve his slimy political ends.
In the spring of 1992…note, before, Bill Clinton had even secured the Party’s nomination…. Petty Officer Allen Schindler repeatedly complained to his commanding officer on the USS Belleau Wood of harassment and blatant threats such as, “There’s a faggot on this ship and he should die.” He got no help. In fact, a disciplinary hearing related to his having revealed his gayness that he’d requested be held privately was left open and 2-300 people attended.
In October 1992….before Clinton was elected….Schindler was attacked by another sailor in Nagasaki. When the shore patrol arrived, “he was unconscious but still alive, gargling up blood. His face was so disfigured no one was sure of his race, much less his name. Patrolman Anthony Aptimes got a pulse, then lost it. He wiped the blood out of the sailor’s mouth with a T-shirt and pressed on his chest, trying to restart his heart. With each compression, blood trickled from the sailor’s mouth and bubbled out of a gash on the bridge of his nose. To Seaman Witte, the eyewitness who’d sounded the alarm, it looked as if the sailor’s nose had been shaved clean off his face. Witte cradled the man’s head and stared at the tattoos on his arms.
…The patient lying in the branch medical clinic that night had suffered at least four fatal injuries to the head, chest, and abdomen. He had eight broken ribs, fractures in the back of his skull and in the bones around his eyes; his nose was broken; his upper jaw was broken; the whole middle portion of his face was detached and floating loosely. There were bruises and cuts on the surface of his neck, head, and chest; there were bruises on his brain, on his lungs, his heart. The pericardial sac around his heart was filled with 250 milliliters of blood, enough to top off a juice glass. His liver had been turned to pulp “like a tomato smushed up inside its cover.” The impact of blows to the chest had torn his aorta; his bladder had been ripped open; his penis had been bruised and lacerated. There were sneaker-tread marks stamped on his forehead and chest. The pattern of his T-shirt had been impressed on his skin. Seven months later Commander Edward Kilbane, the forensic pathologist at Okinawa who had performed more than one thousand autopsies, would testify that he had never seen a more severe beating. The sailor’s injuries were worse than the damage to a person who’d been stomped by a horse; they were similar to what might be sustained in a high-speed car crash or a low-speed aircraft accident.”
It was only by the tattoos on his arm that his mother was able to identify his body.
WHO is so shameles that he would troll from one Website to another exploiting the murders of gays for his own NONGAY-related political agenda?
See above.
SM
@Bill Perdue:
Nothing in your rant made sense.
First, if DADT was gone today I don’t think harassement and violence would end towards LGBT people in the military. Its a problem for women. They will be a target until personal bigotry ends.
Second, DADT will not be around much longer, the next Presidential election is 3 + years away so saying Obama wants to keep Rove’s bigot vote (whatever that is) makes no sense.
Third, the majority of people in California who voted for Obama voted for No On Prop 8 yet Obama supporters get trashed.
Fourth, Obama does not make the laws. You all have Franken now in the Senate so its Reid and Pelosi you need to yell at. They have a majority. Pelosi is from San Francisco for crying out loud.
I guarantee if a bill made it to Obama’s desk, he would sign it into law.
SM
That’s what Obama promised the LGBT community in his campaign.
I do not see where you all feel betrayed with the Rick Warren stuff etc. He is on your side.
His campaign promise was to put the weight of his Administration behind the Matthew Shepard Act and he did that…2 months ago…its Pelosi and Reid you need to have a conversation with.
—————-
Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate
discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that
prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending
protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate,
I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide
benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of
my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and
a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full
equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best
way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not
stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and
lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage.
Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
– a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal
only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not
discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I
have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting
American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as
married couples in our immigration system.
The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When it comes to prevention,
we do not have to choose between values and science. While abstinence education should be
part of any strategy, we also need to use common sense. We should have age-appropriate sex
education that includes information about contraception. We should pass the JUSTICE Act to
combat infection within our prison population. And we should lift the federal ban on needle
exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. In addition, local
governments can protect public health by distributing contraceptives.
We also need a president who’s willing to confront the stigma – too often tied to homophobia
– that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to
evangelicals at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, and will continue to speak out as president.
That is where I stand on the major issues of the day. But having the right positions on the issues
is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning
broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and implement fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and discrimination
in the workplace, we need to bring the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well
as friendly ones – and that’s what I’ve done throughout my career. I brought this message of
inclusiveness to all of America in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention. I talked
about the need to fight homophobia when I announced my candidacy for President, and I have
been talking about LGBT equality to a number of groups during this campaign – from local LGBT
activists to rural farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin
Luther King once preached.
Just as important, I have been listening to what all Americans have to say. I will never compromise
on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans. But neither will I close my ears to
the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward
together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary.
Americans are yearning for leadership that can empower us to reach for what we know is possible.
I believe that we can achieve the goal of full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this
country. To do that, we need leadership that can appeal to the best parts of the human spirit.
Join with me, and I will provide that leadership. Together, we will achieve real equality for all
Americans, gay and straight alike.
Barack Obama
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/alexokrent/gGggJS
InExile
@SM: We read all the promises and heard all the speeches but they are just that! Actions as they say speak louder than words, we are waiting. Thus far the actions do NOT match the words.
BrianZ
@InExile: I honestly do not know why you even try with that crazy bitch. She’s a perfect example of how an ugly, bitter, diseased soul is personified on the Internet. It’s really sad. But then again, it makes me smile thinking about how torturous is must be to live in her skin.
Dabq
@Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com:Well if “ignorance is indeed bliss” then you and the racist picture must be in love. I realize you and the rest of the anti-black posters gay or straight here will find anything to bash Obama, but, to have no taste in this horrible murder to bash Obama with a racist, ridiculous picture speaks volumes about you and your lack of taste, and, as I said who ever this Leonard guy is he should be ashamed to have yo attaching his name to such a vile hateful post, anyone who uses death of this man to bash the President is as vile as the one who took his life and that has nothing to do with Obama or the Clinton initiated policy.
If you want to bash Obama as is the only thing you seem to have in your life fine and dandy, but to do so after this young man has lost his life in such a violent manner and to post a racist image to bash Obama with it is sick, even for you and your ignorance and poor taste.
Dabq
@Teresa: Your words of wisdom won’t work here, these posters are as hateful as the ones they denounce and if its a black face attached to a article, they let the hate flow even more.
Bill Perdue
Michael Bedwell, nee Leland Francis, is a Clintonite.
That is to say he gives personal, unqualified non-political support to anything any Clinton ever did. His frothing, hysterical opposition to Obama is not based on principles, because Michael Bedwell/Leland Francis has none. It’s based on the fact that Obama trounced the Clintons.
Michael Bedwell/Leland Francis is one of those transphobes who supported Barney Franks gutting of ENDA in 2007. He says that DADT and DOMA were “favors” the Clintons did for us. He’s incapable of telling the truth if it involves the Clintons. His support for bigotry, as long as it’s Clintonite bigotry, is repulsive.
Clintons DADT codified the existing bigotry in the military and leads to harassment, violence, unequal treatment, discrimination and every once in a while, murder. That is totally and entirely the fault of Bill Clinton and his massive bipartisan majority of Democrats and Republicans who passed DADT and to Bush and Obama and their Congressional parties that refuse to repeal it.
Clintons DOMA codified bigotry around SSM and likewise passed Congress with huge bipartisan majorities. Clinton championed DOMA so he could trawl for bigot votes. He signed it immediately signed so that he could trawl for bigot votes, hoping they’d make up for the losses he incurred supporting NAFTA and betraying unions. And so he could run these ads on redneck christer radio stations:
Clinton is a bigot. He championed DADT, NAFTA, DOMA. Clintons embargo of medicine, food and sanitary supplies murdered about half a million Iraqi children. Clinton championed the deregulation of banks and finances that caused today’s economic failure. People who support him like Michael Bedwell/Leland Francis enable bigotry to say nothing of war against children, NAFTA, deregulation and union busting.
schlukitz
@InExile:
InExile. InExile. I just don’t know about you. SM is busting her tits trying to obtain and secure your civil-rights for you and you can’t even show a little more understanding and appreciation for her tireless and fearless efforts on your behalf? She’s making these sacrifices just for you, you know? Oh..but you already do know. She’s told you a dozen or more times already, hasn’t she? You’re just not listening apparently.
You just don’t seem to understand what a tiring and trying job it is, groveling around on one’s knees, trying to keep up with a President who has so much on his plate already, while kissing his ass.
It may be a crappy job, but someone’s gotta do it.
schlukitz
@Dabq:
I know. it’s such a terrible pity that we have never learned how to kiss the asses of those who would oppress and enslave us.
What horrible ingrates, the lot of us.
galefan2004
This is sickeningly sad. We have come a long way in the last 40 years, but this shit still happens. We need to work on shutting down the hate pulpit. I personally can’t wait until those hate filled bigoted asshole “preachers” that condone and promote this kind of behavior get their final judgment (judge not let thee be judged). I really hope that his death will lead to a positive (like with Mathew Shepard) and can be used to further promote equality and decency.
galefan2004
@SM: I really like how you feel competent to comment on the military when you aren’t in it. The fact is that you are so incredibly wrong. This wasn’t a result of the military being a different world like you try to claim it is. This was a result of some hateful asshole getting a pat on the back from his “preacher” when he used the word fagot in church. This is a result of people like Fred Phelps that would protest a funeral to send a political statement.
My uncle was career Navy. He was in it from the time he was 17 (he enlisted with fake documents to go to Vietnam) till the time he got a medical discharge (about 4-5 years ago). Now he works as a civilian on a Naval base in Rhode Island. He is extremely accepting of me. When he first heard I was gay he heard it from my mother who gave her entire family the idea that I was transgendered because I did drag. He respected my right to go to my grandmother’s funeral but told me he was not going if I wore a dress. I had to explain to him that I only do drag on stage. So, maybe he wasn’t exactly accepting of transgendered people, but he had no real issue with me being gay. He was like a father to me.
One of the guys I was closest to in college was straight but had just got off a tour in the Army and last I knew he was planning on going back. He was very accepting of both blacks and gays (although we live in a very small community which normally doesn’t see that kind of acceptance). He actually served with guys that he knew were gay because they were comfortable enough with him to tell him and he was very respectful of them.
So, my point is, when you start judging an entire group of people (in this case the military) off of what nut case does you are getting into very dangerous territory. What you just claimed is about the same as saying that gay men shouldn’t go to church because the church will attack them while basing it on Fred Phelps and that crazy black lady that did the exorcism of the FABULOUS demon. Painting everyone with the same brush is stupid and naive PERIOD.
galefan2004
@SM: Seriously, I know you don’t know how wrong you are, but for the love of god, show some respect to this thread. This isn’t, per say, a thread about the military at all. This is a thread about mourning one of our own. This beautiful black man is dead for no reason. We really don’t need politics in this thread. There are about 2-3 threads daily about DADT where you can discuss politics. This IS NOT one of them.
Boston Dude
The authors of this article might try a little harder and get some basic facts straight, like the dude murdered was a SAILOR, NOT A SOLDIER; and he was based at a MARINE base, surrounded by MARINES, NOT SOLDIERS.
Boston Dude
Way too many gays have the ignorant belief all, or most, male military personnel, especially if white and from a rural or working class background, are stereotypically racist, sexist, homophobic, savage aholes. THIS, OF COURSE, IS NOT TRUE. But it does show the extent bigotry and ignorance, especially classism (the ‘ism’ that dare not speak it’s name, especially among American liberals) permeates our, and other, societies.
Mike
Nope! August was killed because he stopped a guy and his non military cousin from coming on base. The one guy had been resently speaking about burning a hovercraft.
My friend August wouldn’t let them on base and paid the consequences. Please quit reducing his life to a gay/straight issue. He was a sailor first and foremost and was protecting our country!!!
Don’t use my friend for your agenda!! He was and is a hero!!