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Local LGBT vet says there is 'power in numbers' as DADT repeal fight continues
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday he would like to see the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy repealed, according to the Associated Press. Gates was in Australia over the weekend and made the comments then.
The recent midterm elections, in which the Republicans gained control of the U.S. House and made strides in the Senate, appear to make congressional repeal less likely in the next legislative session.
In a live press conference today to address the election results from Tuesday in which the House went to the Republicans, President Obama said there may still be hope for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Here's to hoping.
Answering a question from a reporter, Obama said, he is a firm believer in the repeal of the anti-gay DADT policy because those who want to serve, "putting their lives on the line for our security," should be able to do so regardless of their sexual orientation.
Paul Schappaugh was a vocal supporter of Barack Obama when he ran for president, inspired by his inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues in his platform and his promises to ensure equality for all Americans.
What a difference a couple of years make.
Today, Schappaugh, an Atlantan and president of his own information technology business, said he is unhappy with the president’s misfires on LGBT issues, specifically his failure so far to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
President Obama said Wednesday that he doesn’t think the “disillusionment” that some LGBT people have for his administration thus far is “justified.” He also refused to say whether he believes “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is unconstitutional. And he said he has a strategy for getting the military ban on gays repealed in the lame-duck session.
The remarks came during a 45-minute group interview Oct. 27 with a group of five progressive bloggers. Only one of the five was gay: Joe Sudbay, who blogs at americablog.com. The interview took place in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, a daily meeting room next to the Oval Office.
Former Army Lieutenant Dan Choi, a prominent advocate for the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, took to CNN this morning to blast the Obama administration over its decision to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that the policy was unconstitutional.
Choi, who was discharged under DADT this summer, said that he was “resentful” and went on to add that he felt the Obama administration was playing politics with the policy.
Federal Judge orders Department of Defense to suspend "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
A ruling handed down today by United States District Judge Virginia Phillips orders the Department of Defense to “immediately suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation, or other proceeding that may have been commenced under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Act.”
Phillips previously ruled that DADT was unconstitutional as it violates freedom of speech and due process. Phillips did not write when the order would go into effect and the government still has the opportunity to appeal.
Efforts to allow gays to serve openly in the U.S. military received a serious setback Sept. 21, when the U.S. Senate rejected a motion to break a Republican-led filibuster against an annual defense spending bill that includes language aimed at ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
The vote was 56 to 43 — four votes short of ending the filibuster. Georgia’s two U.S. senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, both Republicans, voted in the majority to stymie the repeal.
Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, called the vote a “frustrating blow.”