Tag Archives: DADT

Pentagon To Review Benefits Denied To DADT Victims

Axios reports: The military will begin reviewing cases involving LGBTQ+ veterans who may have been forced out of the service under its “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) policy. Thousands of veterans could receive retroactive honorable discharges, giving them access to the full amount of benefits for their service. The Defense Department announced the initiative Wednesday on the 12th anniversary of …

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LGBTQ Vets Sue Over Less Than Honorable Discharges

CBS News reports: A group of LGBTQ+ veterans who were kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation filed a federal civil rights suit on Tuesday over the Defense Department’s failure to grant them honorable discharges or remove biased language specifying their sexuality from their service records following the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in 2010. The …

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Pentagon Study: Fears Of Gay Troops Were Unfounded

The Military Times reports: A decade after the services first allowed gay and lesbian troops to serve openly, a report from the Joint Staff found that concerns about combat effectiveness and unit cohesion were basically unfounded. That’s the conclusion of a 196-page document published in 2021 by the Joint History and Research Office, recently brought to light by the Palm …

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Biden Marks The 10th Anniversary Of DADT Repeal

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 …

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Victims Of Military Anti-LGBT Bias To Get Full Benefits

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 …

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Tony Perkins Laments Legalization Of Homosexuality

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 …

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90 Year-Old Lesbian Sues Air Force Over 1955 Ouster

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, …

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Senate Panel Approves Mattis As Defense Secretary, Lone Vote Against Was Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

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 …

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Defense Nominee James Mattis Evades Questions On Whether LGBTs Should Be Allowed To Serve [VIDEO]

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 …

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Dems Celebrate 5th Anniversary Of DADT Repeal

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 …

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HISTORY: Openly Gay US Army Secretary Eric Fanning Rides As Grand Marshal In San Diego Pride Parade

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 …

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Obama Celebrates Stonewall Monument [VIDEO]

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 …

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US Navy: Please Appeal Your DADT Discharge

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, …

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White House Issues Track Record On LGBT Rights: DOMA, DADT, Hate Crimes Law, HIV/AIDS, And More

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 …

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Gay Soldiers’ Wedding Kiss Photo Goes Viral

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 …

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Dr. Stabby’s Campaign Chair: Reinstate DADT [AUDIO]

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, …

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AFGHANISTAN: Lesbian US Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen Killed In Suicide Bombing

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 …

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DADT Repeal Was Signed Five Years Ago Today

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. …

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Dr. Stabby: I Miss The Good Old Days Of DADT

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 …

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Veterans Day: Democrats Promote “Restore Honor” Bill To Correct Records Of Booted Gay Veterans

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 …

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