A year ago today, we upheld the fundamental American values of fairness and equality by finally and formally repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Gay and lesbian Americans now no longer need to hide who they love in order to serve the country they love. It is a testament to the professionalism of our men and women in uniform that this change was implemented in an orderly manner, preserving unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness. As Commander in Chief, I’ve seen that our national security has been strengthened because we are no longer denied the skills and talents of those patriotic Americans who happen to be gay or lesbian. The ability of service members to be open and honest about their families and the people they love honors the integrity of the individuals who serve, strengthens the institutions they serve, and is one of the many reasons why our military remains the finest in the world.”
— A statement by President Barack Obama commemorating the one year anniversary of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Michael Bedwell
This morning, I got a curious e-mail from the director of SLDN in which the only people he thanked for ending the ban are … wait for it … drum roll … straight. Not Frank Kameny. Not Leonard Matlovich nor Skip Keith nor Debbie Watson and Barbara Randolph nor Copy Berg nor Robert LeBlanc nor Don Slater nor Stephen Donaldson nor Jeffrey Dunbar. Not Miriam Ben-Shalom nor Perry Watkins nor Dusty Pruitt nor Jim Woodward nor Dennis Beller nor Cliff Arnesen nor Stan Berry nor Bill Lake nor Chuck Schoen nor Barbara Baum nor Joe Steffan nor Jim Holobaugh nor Karen Stupski nor Dirk Selland nor Keith Meinhold nor Tracey Thorne-Begland nor Zoe Dunning nor Justin Elsie nor Tom Paniccea nor Alan Stevens nor Tanya Domi nor Joe Zuniga nor Tom Swann nor Jim Darby nor Don MacIver nor Jim Donavan nor Nancy Russell nor Mel Tips nor Paul Hardman nor Arch Wilson nor Burt Gerrits nor Brenda Vosbein nor Rich Richenberg nor Keith Blaesing nor Paul Thomasson nor Michele Benecke nor Danny Ingram nor Denny Meyer nor Mike Rankin nor Bleu Copas nor Keith Kerr nor Al Steinman nor Virgil Richard nor Eric Alva nor Alan Rogers nor Margaret Witt nor Dan Choi nor Jim Pietrangelo nor Katie Miller nor Jonathan Hopkins nor Evelyn Thomas nor Larry Whitt nor Autumn Sandeen nor Ian Finkenbender nor Mara Boyd nor Rob Smith nor Geoff Farrow nor any of the multiple LGBT active duty service members and veterans and civilians who MADE straight people pay attention; who MADE them finally end the ban on gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans serving out and proud. It is THEY everyone should be thanking today!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkPpRK3IT_w
John Doe
“A year ago today, we upheld the fundamental American values of fairness and equality by finally and formally repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ ”
Haha. We? A year ago a federal judge was going to force you to implement equality re: DADT because of a lawsuit brought against the federal government. Thank you to those who brought about this lawsuit (in spite of those who feared that it’d backfire on the LGBT community). Thanks, also, to the judge who ruled in favor of equality. It was only at the judge’s discretion that she (I think a she) let the Administration and Congress repeal DADT vs. letting the ruling immediately go into force. The Administration begged for THEM to end DADT vs. letting it be done judicially. As I predicted then… the Administration would later take credit for ending DADT.
I don’t thank our lawmakers – but those individuals who stood up against discriminatory laws like DADT, etc. We now have multiple lawsuits around the country challenging DOMA. Thank you to THOSE people who are fighting strong to get DOMA overturned.
BJ McFrisky
“And one more thing . . . now that I’ve pandered to you and bragged about legislation that I was (more or less) forced to implement against my personal beliefs, for God’s sake, VOTE FOR ME!!”
frscottwest
@Michael Bedwell: You know, I’m a veteran that got kicked out for being gay 31 days before the end of my enlistment, for being gay. It was Ssgt Leonard Matlovich who inspired me to believe in myself… and I definitely think of and thank him for what I saw as a hero, not just for the active duty, but for the life everyone gets to live in 2012.
The fight isn’t over though. We have far to go yet, to recieve the same advantages that heterosexual “Christian” men and women who chose to be heterosexual have.
brent
I wonder how many liberals will aknowledge the role the log cabins played in spending years in court fighting this issue. I know Barney Frank will not aknowledge that.
Michael Bedwell
@frscottwest:
Thank you for your comment. And thank you for your service to our country. No matter how badly you were treated, THEY can’t take that away from you, nor your pride in yourself. WE are a people, too. We are Americans, too. And we will not rest until there is full equality in the military for LGB service members AND transgender service members; nor until we have the right to marry if we want to, and have the same protections against job discrimination other minorities have.
FB_100003753981248
Completely agree with Michael, we will not rest until the full equality for LGB but not just on the military but for every citizen.
frscottwest
I agree too, but just wanted to point out one man who had an affect on a lot of us. Since very few people served, I don’t think that you can possibly understand what it was like to be a young gay man at that time.
That said, as a priest, I would like to see all of the rights we have been fighting for come to fruition while I am still alive, and the biggest right for me is marriage equality. I just experience what it is like to have a partner die with no legal protection from the family. We also were not able to share medical benefits, and the fight after his death was horrible. I am now in the process of losing the house we shared together.
I want that to stop. period.
lildoggy
Lets add to this Obama’s evolution on the gays getting married shall we? When Obama said he had finally “evolved” as elections were approaching. he also added “but I believe it should be left to the individual states”. In other words, “don’t expect any help from the Federal government or ME. If the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been left up to individual states, blacks would still be riding in the back of the bus. That’s all Obama really thinks of us. We have only the recourse of the courts to win our rights. Obama is just a panderer.
Cam
@brent: said…
”
I wonder how many liberals will aknowledge the role the log cabins played in spending years in court fighting this issue. I know Barney Frank will not aknowledge that.”
__________________
Brint, I have pointed out multiple times that the OLD Log Cabin filed this case when Patrick Guarino was their leader. However, he was also the same Log Cabin leader who refused to endorse Bush because of the anti-gay tone of his camapaign.
The NEW Log Cabin leadership tried to lie to hide McCain’s anti-gay leanings, claiming he didn’t vote for an AZ law against gay adoption (Which he COULDN’T vote for since he isn’t in the state legislature) and leaving out the part where he made ads against it.
Also, the NEW Log Cabin attack Iraq War Vet Rep Patrick Murphy, the Rep who INTRODUCED the repeal of DADT into the Congress, they endorsed his not very gay friendly oppoenent and cheered when Murphy was defeated.
The NEW Leadership of Log Cabin also ATTACKED Obama and the Congress when the DADT repeal was passed.
So yes, I freely acknowledge that the old Log Cabin was a group of integrity. It is a shame that they have turned into the anti-gay organization they have become.
John Doe
@Cam: Stop drinking from the swamp. The old/new Log Cabin Republicans stand for more than just ONE issue. This is ridiculous when a candidate must take a stand on about 20 – 30 major issues… and then if they aren’t pro-gay in every way…. they’re self-haters, losers, etc. That’s ridiculous. Obama is a terrible president and there are millions of democrats that have been extremely frustrated with how he has handled his presidency. He’s squandered time and effort in NOT bringing change to Washington, especially during the 2 years when he had the change. He was so bad that he lost the independents…. and then a wave of Republicans came into office in 2010. He’s offended independents, moderates, liberals and many in the LGBT community. So, if the Log Cabin Republicans decide to ignore 29 of their other principles and choose to only vote on the LGBT issue… that’s pretty lame of them. And, it’s pretty lame to expect anyone to vote based on one issue alone.
Keep in mind, I’m not a Romney or Republican supporter. But, I have some common sense and don’t just follow the LGBT lemmings that only vote for someone if they’re a Democrat. Talk about shallow and troublesome. No matter the USA is in trouble if voters don’t even do more than chose D or R when they vote.
John Doe
@Cam: Stop drinking from the swamp. The old/new Log Cabin Republicans stand for more than just ONE issue. This is ridiculous when a candidate must take a stand on about 20 – 30 major issues… and then if they aren’t pro-gay in every way…. they’re self-haters, losers, etc. That’s ridiculous. Obama is a terrible president and there are millions of democrats that have been extremely frustrated with how he has handled his presidency. He’s squandered time and effort in NOT bringing change to Washington, especially during the 2 years when he had the change. He was so bad that he lost the independents…. and then a wave of Republicans came into office in 2010. He’s offended independents, moderates, liberals and many in the LGBT community. So, if the Log Cabin Republicans decide to ignore 29 of their other principles and choose to only vote on the LGBT issue… that’s pretty lame of them. And, it’s pretty lame to expect anyone to vote based on one issue alone.
Keep in mind, I’m not a Romney or Republican supporter. But, I have some common sense and don’t just follow the LGBT lemmings that only vote for someone if they’re a Democrat. Talk about shallow and troublesome. No matter the USA is in trouble if voters don’t even do more than choose D or R when they vote.
frscottwest
John Doe? Can’t show an identity because you don’t believe your own words?