Tag Archives: DADT

Via press release from the White House: Ten years ago today, a great injustice was remedied and a tremendous weight was finally lifted off the shoulders of tens of thousands of dedicated American service members. The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which formally barred gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members from openly serving, helped move our nation closer to …

The Military Times reports: Tens of thousands of LGBT veterans forced from the military for their sexual orientation and given other-than-honorable discharges will be able to receive full Veterans Affairs benefits despite their dismissal status under a new move set to be announced Monday. The change comes as the country approaches the 10th anniversary of repeal of the controversial “don’t …

Via press release from hate group leader Tony Perkins: To most people, July 19th is just another day. If you asked them what happened on this date 25 years ago, only a handful would probably know that President Bill Clinton made “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” the policy for America’s military. Even fewer would know that the summer of 1993 help …

The Air Force Times reports: Airman Second Class Helen Grace James wanted to follow in the footsteps of her father and her great-grandfather and serve in her country’s military. But her service was cut short after she was investigated, interrogated and then given an “undesirable” discharge from the Air Force because she was a lesbian, the Washington Post reported. Now, …

The Senate Armed Services Committee just voted 26-1 to approve retired USMC Gen. James Mattis as Defense Secretary. Mattis is the first Trump cabinet nominee to pass this initial hurdle and must now by confirmed by the full Senate, where he is expected to face little opposition. The lone committee vote against Mattis came from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), whom …

Josh Israel reports at Think Progress: At his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Retired General James Mattis — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be secretary of defense — refused to say whether he believes women and LGBT people should be able to serve in the military. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) noted during questioning that Mattis had previously said allowing women and men to serve together …

Via press release from the Democratic National Committee: “In the five years since Congress repealed the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, we’ve made great strides in expanding and protecting the rights of the LGBT community in the United States, but we still have further to go. More than 13,000 service members were discharged under DADT, denying those men and …

From the San Diego Union-Tribune: When Eric Fanning started working at the Pentagon as an aide, the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy had just begun. The 24-year-old didn’t have gay role models in the building. A lot has changed in the United States military since then. In May, 24 years later, Fanning was appointed secretary of the Army — becoming …

Today President Obama celebrated the designation of the Stonewall National Monument in his weekly video address to the nation, comparing the Stonewall Inn to other historic sites like Independence Hall and Kitty Hawk. Watch below. The president went on to recap LGBT progress during his administration. An excerpt: Over the past seven years, we’ve seen achievements that would have been …

From the Navy Times: Navy Department officials are urging the thousands of sailors and Marines forced out of the military because of their sexuality in previous decades to come forward and appeal their discharge — in a step to restore benefits and right a historical wrong. The Board for Correction of Naval Records can overturn a wide range of records, …

The White House today issued a lengthy recounting of the many, many advances in LGBT rights seen during the Obama administration. The “fact sheet” – which I’ve posted in its entirety below – serves both as a very well-earned bragging point and as a stark reminder of how tenuous many of these advances remain with the specter of a Republican …

Via USA Today: Spc. Shane Adriano and Pfc. Tristian Resz chose the Greene County Courthouse as a venue because they wanted something small and intimate for their Feb. 11 wedding. It was to be just the happy couple, a few supportive friends and a judge. But after they shared their “first married kiss” photo on Facebook, their small ceremony turned …

CNN reports: Ben Carson’s new campaign chairman, retired Major Gen. Robert F. Dees, says it’s time for the U.S. to reevaluate military policies like letting women serve in combat positions and allowing openly gay troops to serve. Carson is debuting his “reinvigorated” campaign after a holiday shakeup that included the departure of a handful of top advisers and new leadership, …

NBC News reports: Not long after the U.S. military repealed its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen [on the right in the above photo] married her longtime partner, becoming one of the first American service members to be wed in a same-sex ceremony. On Monday, nearly five years to the day after the repeal was signed …

It was five years ago today that President Obama signed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” into law. It was five years ago and every day since then the haters have screamed and screamed while gay soldiers and sailors got married right on their base and held joyous public reunions with their significant others upon return from overseas deployments. …

Speaking yesterday at an Iowa town hall event, Ben Carson pined for the good old days of DADT and denounced soldiers who “have to go around flouting their sexuality.” Carson’s statement was triggered by a question about military service for transgender Americans. “You know, we have too many important things to do,” Carson said at a “Veterans and Military Town …

Sen. Brian Schatz, Rep. Charles Rangel, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand have written a Veteran’s Day column for USA Today in which they the promote the bill (introduced earlier this year) that would correct the records of gay veterans expelled for their homosexuality. They write: Congress’s repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a watershed moment that ended institutionalized discrimination unjustly …

Last night Hillary Clinton told Rachel Maddow that DOMA and DADT were “defensive actions” taken by her husband. Andy Towle has the quote: “On Defense of Marriage, I think what my husband believed – and there was certainly evidence to support it – is that there was enough political momentum to amend the Constitution of the United States of America, …

Speaking yesterday at a campaign rally in Iowa, Ted Cruz blasted the move to allow transgender military service and even hinted that he would reinstate Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as president. From the Washington Post: The military will soon allow transgender soldiers to serve, noted Cruz. “How about having the military focusing on hunting down and killing the bad guys…instead …

NOTE: An important correction is below. The US Marine whose welcome home kiss from his boyfriend rocketed around the world in 2012 has gotten married. Gay Star News reports: The couple whose photo quickly became a symbol of the post-Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell era in the US got married last weekend in Honeoye Falls, New York. Back in February 2012, …