Tag Archives: Topic: Military

“Signaling the growing seriousness of the Obama administration’s commitment this year to ending the military’s ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces, the Defense Department said Sunday that it will release a long-awaited report on the matter earlier than planned because senators are eager to vote on whether to repeal the policy.”

CNSNews: “Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) today likened the United States of America to Iran, North Korea and Pakistan because those nations also do not allow homosexuals in their militaries.”

Boston Herald: “Harvard will formally bring ROTC back to campus if Congress acts to let gays serve openly in the military, the university’s president pledged Wednesday night in her most pointed comments on the subject to date.”

“‘There’s more than 60 senators, I’m convinced, who are prepared to vote for this bill, including Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent who is voting with Democrats on this issue, said in a press conference Thursday morning.”

OneNewsNow: “According to open homosexual Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), there is ‘zero chance’ that Congress will do anything on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). He says the focus will be on repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ But the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) has warned since last May that returning Democrats would try to pass ENDA and other controversial measures after the November 2 midterm elections.”

“Senate Democrats on Thursday pressured Majority Leader Harry Reid to strike a deal with Republicans to aid passage of a bill that would let gays serve openly in the military.”

“President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will press forward to repeal the ban on openly gay people serving in the military.”

“These staffers tell me they’ve received private indications from a handful of moderate GOP Senators that they could vote for cloture on a Defense Authorization Bill with DADT repeal in it — if Dem leaders agree to hold a sustained debate on the bill on the Senate floor.”

Balkan Insight: “According to Pink Embassy the armed forces should begin a process of educating their members on their rights related to sexual orientation by introducing materials in the training of the military that could help fight prejudice against gays and lesbians.”

Navy Times: “A bill recognizing proxy marriages involving service members in immigration cases passed the House of Representatives on Monday. The bipartisan legislation is aimed, specifically, at helping the Japanese widow of a Marine killed in Iraq come to the U.S. to raise the couple’s child — but it would change the law for other military couples as well.”

New York Times / The Caucus: “Mr. Obama had declared ratification of the New Start treaty his ‘top priority’ in foreign affairs for the lame-duck session of Congress that opened this week. But the chances of winning the two-thirds vote required for passage of the treaty appeared to collapse with the announcement by Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate and the party’s point man on the issue, that the Senate should not vote on it this year.”

Washington Post: “As President Obama pushes for ratification of his signature nuclear treaty with Russia in coming days, all eyes are on one Republican. Sen. Jon Kyl (Ariz.) has been his party’s leading voice on the treaty and has pressed the administration to commit to a major modernization of the country’s weapons labs in exchange for approval of the pact.”

At The Heritage Foundation / The Foundry, Conn Carroll comments: “Gates has already offered Kyl an extra $4 billion in spending on nuclear programs in exchange for his vote. This is on top of the existing $10 billion Administration pledge. This deal is bad policy and deplorable politics.”

CNSNews: “Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said today that in the upcoming lameduck session of Congress he will continue to oppose a repeal of the law that bans homosexuals from serving in the U.S. military.”

Washington Post / Federal Eye: “On Monday, three groups that support lifting the gay ban — the Palm Center at the University of California Santa Barbara, OutServe and Knights Out — said they want lawmakers to pass the [defense authorization bill] whether or not it includes language ending ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ . . . It’s a risky political calculation that puts them in direct conflict with four larger groups more directly involved with lobbying efforts to end the ban: the Human Rights Campaign, the Center for American Progress, Servicemembers United and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.”

Washington Post / PostPartisan: “Less than 24 hours after Cindy McCain threatened to topple Collins from it with her gutsy comments that contradicted her husband’s stance on don’t ask don’t tell, the wife of the senior senator from Arizona backpedaled.”

Washington Post: “Sen. John McCain on Sunday said the Pentagon should study how ending the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy would impact troop morale and battle effectiveness, instead of reporting to President Obama and lawmakers on how the Defense Department could lift the gay ban.”

NPR: “. . . What is far less clear is whether Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, other Senate Democrats and the White House will go to the mat on issues that include a high-profile measure that would end the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ ban on openly gay Americans serving in the military.”

Knoxville News Sentinel: “From a black Ford Explorer Sport Trac, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, a Memphis native, watched two soldiers in fatigues smoking outside a military recruiting center in Little Rock. He aimed an assault rifle out the window and fired . . . ‘It’s a war going on against Muslims, and that is why I did it,’ an officer heard him say. ‘You see how I gave up with no problem.’”

Associated Press: “Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered an investigation into the leak of details from a draft study about gays in the military.”

Washington Post: “A Pentagon study group has concluded that the military can lift the ban on gays serving openly in uniform with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts, according to two people familiar with a draft of the report, which is due to President Obama on Dec. 1.”

Associated Press: “Cindy McCain, the wife of 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, is speaking out against the ban on gays serving openly in the military while her husband is working to maintain it.”

“The court did not comment in denying a request from the Log Cabin Republicans.”

LifeSiteNews: “The U.S. administration’s emphasis on promoting homosexual ‘rights’ on the international level drew considerable attention during the review. Some European countries asked about homosexual ‘rights,’ prompting the U.S. delegation to stress its ‘important initiatives to ensure more robust protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.’ They include seeking the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ military policy.”

FRC: “Family Research Council (FRC) today called upon the Department of Defense (DOD) to publicly disavow and formally investigate leaks to the media regarding the content of a forthcoming report on the issue of homosexuals in the military.”

Mike Dorf writing at Dorf on Law: “Federal district courts have recently taken action on gay rights on three fronts: (1) Perry v. Schwarzenegger found a right of same-sex couples in California to marry; (2) Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and its companion case invalidated the provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denies federal recognition to same-sex marriages that are legal under state law (there Massachusetts); and (3) Log Cabin Republicans v. United States invalidated Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell (DADT). Each case is currently pending on appeal. The issue presented in each case will probably make it to the Supreme Court within the next few years. Does the order in which they arrive matter? Possibly.”

Lyle Denniston reports at SCOTUSblog: “The Obama Administration, continuing its defense in court of the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the U.S. military, urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday not to interrupt that policy while its constitutionality is being tested in lower federal courts. A California federal judge’s worldwide order against enforcement of the 1993 law and Pentagon regulations should not be allowed to take effect in the meantime, the government contended. The opposition document in Log Cabin Republicans v. U.S. (application 10A465) is here.”

Human Rights Campaign: “Senator Lisa Murkowski has the opportunity to prove once again that she represents all Alaskans. In 2009, she voted for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  Now, she can again vote for that same bill which funds our military and will also repeal DADT.  That’s why I’m here on the ground in Alaska. . . ”

ACLU Press Release: “The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of New Mexico filed a class action lawsuit today challenging the Defense Department’s discriminatory policy of cutting in half the separation pay of service members who have been honorably discharged for being gay. The separation pay policy is not part of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ statute, and can be changed without congressional approval.” Complaint.

Washington Times: “The report made no mention that Maj. Hassan, who is paralyzed and awaiting a military trial, had become a radical Muslim. However, it called for ‘promptly’ establishing standards and reporting procedures that would clarify ‘guidelines for religious accommodation.’”

AFP: “Republican opposition to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has stiffened since their victory in mid-term elections last week, dimming prospects for action in Congress, even Democrats acknowledge.”

“The American Legion has called on Congress, the president and the Pentagon to carefully consider the concerns voiced by the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps regarding the lifting of the military’s ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on homosexuals.”

Washington Post: “The Obama administration reiterated its support Monday for repealing the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) worked to strip language repealing the ban from the annual defense authorization bill.”

New York Times: “‘This is not a social thing,’ said Gen. James F. Amos, the Marines commandant. ‘This is combat effectiveness’ . . . General Amos said repeal of the policy could have unique consequences for the Marines. ‘There’s risk involved,’ he said. ‘I’m trying to determine how to measure that risk.’”

Human Rights Campaign Press Release: “Today the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, launched an aggressive grassroots campaign to urge Senate action on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal in the upcoming post-election session. Field organizers on the ground are focusing on eight key states to amplify the voices of veterans and other fair-minded Americans who know the time is right to repeal this law and strengthen our national security.”

Associated Press: “Defense Secretary Robert Gates is encouraging Congress to act before year’s end to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military. It’s a position shared by his boss, the president.”

Associated Press: “A Republican gay rights group is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow a California trial judge’s order barring enforcement of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy to go back into effect.”

National Law Journal: “Efforts to retain the military’s ban on openly gay service members scored two big wins this week when a federal appeals court on Monday halted an injunction barring its enforcement and voters on Tuesday replaced members of Congress who had pushed for legislative repeal of the law.”

Family Research Council: “Family Research Council today released an analysis of the military’s survey regarding the effects of allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the Armed Forces showing that the military’s survey is deeply flawed, according to FRC President and Marine Corps veteran Tony Perkins.”

AFP: “President Barack Obama will not be protected by a vast armada of 34 US warships when he visits Mumbai this weekend, officials said, calling reports from India on security preparations ‘comical.’”

Human Rights Campaign: “Today the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, praised a statement from the Association of Professional Chaplains affirming the responsibility of chaplains to serve all service members and refuting the notion that the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ would preclude a chaplain from serving ‘both God and the U.S. armed forces.’”

Ed Whelan writing at the Ethics and Public Policy Center: “The recent district court ruling that the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law governing homosexuals in the military is unconstitutional triggered speculation that the Obama administration, which is eager for Congress to repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ might choose not to appeal the ruling. That speculation proved mistaken — an appeal has been filed — but it provides an apt occasion to explore the principles that ought to govern a presidential administration in deciding whether to defend a federal law that it disfavors.”

The Hill: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said . . . [it] could possibly be squeezed into a short lame-duck Senate session, but that its ultimate fate will depend on Republican cooperation.”

Mercury News (AP): “Civil libertarians are suing the Navy on behalf of a junior officer at a Connecticut submarine base who’s seeking an honorable discharge as a conscientious objector.”

Washington Blade (“lgbtq” news source): “Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), who is expected to become Speaker of the House in January, agreed to a request by the gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans not to penalize House Republicans who voted in May for repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ according to the group’s leader.”

Associated Press: “President Barack Obama says he still sees an opportunity to overturn the military’s ban on gay servicemembers during Congress’ upcoming lame-duck session.”

Catholic News Agency: “While the chaplains’ opposition to the policy change includes concerns with issues like military readiness, their specific concern is that religious faith ‘will be discriminated against in favor of the new political correctness that will be imposed by the Obama administration,’ [ADF Attorney Daniel Blomberg] added. Asked about reports that active chaplains can be accused of insubordination if they publicly oppose changes to ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ the ADF attorney said that the servicemen have been informed through their chain of command that ‘they should not be commenting on this at this time.’”

“The city of King will adopt a policy crafted by the Alliance Defense Fund that will preserve its citizens’ right to honor U.S. veterans through a display consisting of 11 flagpoles, which was attacked by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).”

Lyle Denniston reports at SCOTUSblog: “A federal appeals court in California voted to allow the U.S. military to continue enforcing the 1993 law that bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. One judge of the three-judge panel would have stopped any discharges under that policy, but otherwise would have allowed it to remain in effect.” | Order, Log Cabin Republicans v. U.S. (Nov. 01, 2010)

Dale Carpenter writes at the Volokh Conspiracy regarding the litigation in Log Cabin Republicans v. U.S.: “Military policy is an area where courts rarely intervene, even if the justifications for the policy are very thin (as they are for DADT) and even if similar government policies would be unconstitutional if applied to civilan life. The writing is on the wall for this litigation.”

A divided three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the U.S. government’s request for a stay while it challenges the trial court’s ruling that the ban on openly gay service members is unconstitutional.

OneNewsNow: “A national defense analyst and Pentagon advisor doesn’t think a leaked Pentagon survey is accurate in saying a majority of active duty and reserve service members wouldn’t object to serving and living alongside homosexuals in the military service . . . ‘They did not ask the question whether or not homosexuals should serve in the military; they did not ask the question whether or not the ban should be lifted,’ Maginnis points out. ‘So any suggestion that the military members have no problem with homosexuals serving openly has to be taken with a lump of salt because that question wasn’t asked.’”

Washington Post: “Dozens of retired military chaplains say that serving both God and the U.S. armed forces will become impossible for chaplains whose faiths consider homosexuality a sin if the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy is thrown out. If a chaplain preaches against homosexuality, he could conceivably be disciplined as a bigot under the military’s nondiscrimination policy, the retired chaplains say. The Pentagon, however, says chaplains’ religious beliefs and their need to express them will be respected.”

Washington Post: “A majority of active-duty and reserve service members surveyed by the Defense Department would not object to serving and living alongside openly gay troops, according to multiple people familiar with the findings.”

Associated Press: “An Air Force Academy survey found that 41 percent of cadets who who identified themselves as non-Christian said they were subjected to unwanted proselytizing at least once or twice last year.”

Servicemembers United on YouTube: “Servicemembers United’s Executive Director, Alex Nicholson, explains how to get DADT repeal done during the lame duck session of Congress in November and December of 2010.”

Big Government: “Over 35 counties in Illinois missed the deadline to mail military ballots to our soldiers defending America. But in Chicago, county election officials have taken special steps to ensure that no inmates at the Cook County Jail are unable to cast a ballot.”

Ann Althouse links to the transcript and comments at her blog: “He wonders why the Log Cabin Republican are pursuing their court case, when they could instead try to get a few Republican Senators to vote for repeal. He says he doesn’t ‘understand the logic of’ using the courts when you could go to Congress, but of course he does. People conceive of their equality in terms of their individual rights — which don’t depend on the support of political majorities and supermajorities. As a Harvard-trained lawyer and sometime law professor, he knows that. He knows why people go to courts. I don’t buy his understanding of the logic. Or should I say his understandings of the logics?”

“It comes down to changing the culture, and top brass say they need more time. The military has been long resistant and, at times, hostile to gays, and it draws much of its 2.4 million members from socially conservative parts of America.”

“Cash-strapped and alone on the home front, some military wives are making a living by carrying babies for other couples. What’s behind this emotional choice? And why are they so hotly in demand? A Glamour investigation.”

The Korea Herald: “Controversy over an antisodomy clause in the military penal code has been reignited since a state human rights watchdog judged Monday that the clause may be unconstitutional. The National Human Rights Commission’s top decision-making committee of the whole has decided to present their opinions to the Constitutional Court that the clause infringes on homosexuals’ rights to make their own sexual decisions and other fundamental rights.”

Fourth Estate Newspaper: “Federal Judge Virginia Phillips ruled the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy of the U.S. military be discontinued Oct. 12, which instituted a worldwide ban on enforcing the policy . . . According to Alexander Nicholson, executive director …

Advocate.com: “A White House official tells The Advocate that pro-repeal groups are scheduled to meet Tuesday with White House officials to discuss the path forward on repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ during the lame-duck session following the midterm election.”

Lambda Legal: “Lambda Legal today filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to leave in place pending appeal the injunction a federal district court judge issued against enforcement of the U.S. military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT) ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces, saying that the policy’s impact extends far beyond those in uniform and that continuing it would do irreparable harm to lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans.”

ADF Attorney Gary McCaleb writing at Speak Up Movement / Church: [T]he Department of Justice appealed that deeply flawed decision in Log Cabin Republicans v. Gates—a decision that should never have been made. The lower court should have honored the constitutional separation of powers that vests Congress and the President with control of the military . . . [T]he leftist homosexual advocacy group, Servicemembers United . . . deemed the government’s decision to appeal the Log Cabin case while not appealing the ADF case to be ‘incomprehensible.’ But to borrow a line from The Princess Bride with regard to a similar term, ‘You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.’”

The Recorder (Law.com)“Phillips prefers to keep a low profile, and has for much of her career on the district court. But her ruling that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is unconstitutional and can’t be enforced has propelled her to the front of the fight over gays in the military, earning her hero status with gays and lesbians and condemnation in conservative circles. Even academics sympathetic on the merits suggest she may have acted rashly in issuing a worldwide injunction and refusing to stay that order pending appeal.”

Catholic News Agency: “Archbishop Broglio explained to CNA what he sees as the basic flaw in Judge Phillips’ ruling, which declared that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ denied homosexual soldiers their rights to freedom of speech and due process . . . ”

CNSNews: “The Republican leadership in both the House and the Senate have said they will continue to oppose any attempt to repeal the legislative ban on homosexuals serving in the military.”

Peter Sprigg writing at the FRC Blog: “Homosexuality is a behavioral characteristic; being black is a superficial matter of skin color. The racial integration of the military was successful precisely because it proved that the behavior of black soldiers did not differ from that of whites. But with homosexuality, a difference in behavior is what defines the issue. Do not be fooled by vague references to ‘sexual orientation”’ as though it were an innate characteristic—what homosexual activists now seek is the right to continue engaging in homosexual acts while in the military.”

ABC News: “‘I don’t know what is going through the [Obama] administration’s thought process on “don’t ask, don’t tell,”‘ Olson said. ‘It would be appropriate for them to say “the law has been deemed unconstitutional, we are not going to seek further review of that.”‘”

ADF attorney Matt Bowman appeared on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss the lack of justice for the 14th victim at Ft. Hood.| MP3 audio 18:50 mins

Washington Square Newspaper (NYU): “Three panelists spoke yesterday at NYU Law School on the recent advances made against the U.S. military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. Organized by OUTLaw, an LGBT advocacy group for NYU Law students, the event was timed to coincide with the arrival of U.S. Navy Judge Advocates General’s Corps recruiters on campus.”

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman: “President Barack Obama opposes the Pentagon’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on gays in the military, so why are Obama administration lawyers in court fighting to save it?”

Associated Press: “The Pentagon says it’s working to come up with new guidelines regarding gays serving in the military after a court ruling restored the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law, at least for now.”

TIME / Swampland: “So just who is Judge Phillips? Elaine Donnelly of the conservative Center for Military Readiness has christened her the ‘supreme judicial commander of the U.S. military.’ Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council calls her ‘an activist judge playing politics with our national defense.’ But she is generally well-regarded in California legal circles, which was only as far as her reputation had spread until she ruled the military’s gay ban unconstitutional Sept. 9.”

“A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily granted the U.S. government’s request for a freeze on a judge’s order requiring the military to allow openly gay troops.”