US Congress might decide on army gay ban today

[andy]

The US Congress is on track for taking a landmark vote over the issue of LGBT people serving in the military, according to the Associated Press.

The House may well vote today on the "don't ask, don't tell" law that was established under President Bill Clinton in 1993. The proposal to repeal the law was put forward by Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Pennsylvania Democrat who served in the Iraq war.

The legislation was struck as a compromise between the White House and the Defense Department and President Obama, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff have agreed to provide considerable evidence that the lifing of the ban will not impede the US military's abilities or damage morale. The Senate Armed Services Committee is also expected to take up an identical measure which would be tucked in to a broader billl, authorising a sum of hundreds of billions of dollars for the US military.

Supporters of the movement suggested that the Senate had enough votes to pass the bill. Senator Bill Nelson, himself a supporter, said: "In a military which values honesty and integrity, this policy encourages deceit." However, some conservative Democrats including Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi have threatened to oppose the spending bill if it includes a repeal of the ban.

It is likely that the Senate will not vote until the Pentagon have completed their survey of military personnel. Speaking to Air Force cadets on Wednesday, Admiral Mike Mullen, the top uniformed officer in the US and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said service members should question conventional ideas. He said: "Few things are more important to an organisation than people who have the moral courage to question the direction in which the organisation is headed and then the strength of character to support whatever final decisions are made."

[jet2A]

Git er done!

[fredv3b]

I absolutely love American politics, at times it appears utterly loopy (I understand that is how our politics appears to them most of the time. President Obama has threatened to veto the Defence Authorisation Bill, of which the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is a clause. Details here.

[eastofeden]

Having served in the Navy at the end of Vietnam I am amused listening to all of the arguments. On my ship there were five of us that were gay and everyone knew it...and the "straight" guys CONSTANTLY approached all of us for sexual relief...I would say probably 1/3 of the crew. They even knew which one of us to approach for their particular "needs". I don't do blowjobs but I DO like to top and I had a bevy of willing bottoms...I never seduced even one of them...they would actually beg for it. I had more sex on my ship in a span of two years than I had the next ten years in San Francisco and I worked in a friggin gay nightclub LOL...

...the irony is that they are afraid of themselves and their own feelings...and what they "might" do.

The entire idea that gay people can't serve openly is assinine.

[Wintereis]

I absolutely love American politics, at times it appears utterly loopy (I understand that is how our politics appears to them most of the time. President Obama has threatened to veto the Defence Authorisation Bill, of which the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is a clause. Details here.

That is okay, Fred, our politics often seem loopy to us too, and yes, British politics also seems very loopy:

[Rychard the Lionheart]

From the Associated Press writer Julie Watson. – Fri Sep 24, 7:20 am ET

SAN DIEGO – U.S. government lawyers are trying to stop a federal judge from issuing an injunction that would immediately do what President Obama has yet to accomplish so far in his first term: Halt the military's ban on openly gay troops.

Now it is up to U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips to decide if she is willing to do that.

The White House says the legal filing Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice attorneys in a federal court in Riverside follows government procedure by defending an act of Congress that is being challenged, but it does not detract from the president's efforts to get 'don't ask, don't tell' repealed.

"This filing in no way diminishes the president's firm commitment to achieve a legislative repeal of DADT — indeed, it clearly shows why Congress must act to end this misguided policy," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press.

Phillips declared the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy unconstitutional in her ruling Sept. 9 following a three-week, non-jury trial and said she would issue a nationwide order to stop the ban. She asked both sides for input first.

The Log Cabin Republicans, the gay rights organization that filed the lawsuit to stop the ban's enforcement, wants her to issue an order that would stop the policy from being used to discharge any U.S. military personnel anywhere in the world.

Their attorney, Dan Woods, called the Department of Justice's objections to the possible injunction hypocritical. He said the administration should be seizing the opportunity to let a judge do what politics has not been able to do.

"It's sad and disappointing that the administration would file such a document days after it urged Congress to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell,'" Woods said.

In their court filing Thursday, U.S. Department of Justice attorneys argued the possible move would be "untenable" and that Phillips would be overstepping her bounds by halting a policy under debate in Congress.

Instead, she should limit any injunction to the 19,000 members of the Log Cabin Republicans, which includes current and former military personnel, the lawyers said.

"A court should not compel the executive to implement an immediate cessation of the 17-year-old policy without regard for any effect such an abrupt change might have on the military's operations, particularly at a time when the military is engaged in combat operations and other demanding military activities around the globe," federal attorneys said in their objection.

The policy also is being challenged in a federal court in Tacoma, Wash., where a lawyer for a decorated flight nurse discharged for being gay is urging a federal judge to reinstate her to the Air Force Reserve.

The judge in that case was expected to issue his ruling Friday and has expressed strong doubts about government arguments seeking to have the dismissal upheld.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members. Under the 1993 policy, service men and women who acknowledge being gay or are discovered engaging in homosexual activity, even in the privacy of their own homes off base, are subject to discharge.

In her ruling, Phillips said the policy doesn't help military readiness and instead has a "direct and deleterious effect" on the armed services by hurting recruiting during wartime and requiring the discharge of service members with critical skills and training.

Here is a roundup on where gay people can serve in the military in the world.


Key: Data from LGBT
Blue = Gays allowed to serve in the military
Orange = Countries with semi-ambiguous policies (inc DADT)
Red = Gays are banned from the military
Grey = Unknown

[fredv3b]

That map us a bit misleading. According to it, with the exception of Eygpt, gays can serve in all the armies of Africa. However as we know all too well there are several countries in Africa where being gay (even outside of the military) is illegal.

[Rychard the Lionheart]

Sorry folks for the error, hope this map is now correct.

The following list of nations at present ban gay people from their military.

* Cuba
* People's Republic of China
* Egypt
* Greece
* Iran
* Jamaica
* North Korea
* Pakistan
* Saudi Arabia
* Serbia
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Syria
* Turkey
* Venezuela
* Yemen

[eastofeden]

When I was in the Navy I was approached constantly for sexual favors from the "straight" crewmen...it isn't us they are afraid of...it is their own desires. If you want to have great sex with alot of different hot men...join the Navy! :biggrin:

The Republicans will never allow this because they use gays as a wedge issue to illicit fear in their followers...Republicans like their mothership Faux News know their constituents very well.

[Ryhunt86]

The Republicans will never allow this because they use gays as a wedge issue to illicit fear in their followers...Republicans like their mothership Faux News know their constituents very well.

The GOP played their part well. They are obnoxious and cynical on every social issue and always will be. What is amazing to me is how the Republicans/NewsCorp are able to sell their regressive policies to people who often become the victim of these cynical politics. Especially galling is seeing queers now supporting the GOP in increasing numbers. These ass hats apparently just don't seem to make the connection between the GOP and institutionalized homophobia .

Don't get me started on how the Democrats practically gave this victory to the GOP.....sigh