News Archive
2008: From Obama to Prop 8
For LGBTs, 2008 was filled with triumph, tragedy and troops.
On the money: The estate of Ric Weiland-one of the first people to work at Microsoft Corporation and a high school classmate of the company's founders, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, bequeathed $65 million to gay-rights and HIV/AIDS organizations. Among the organizations that benefited from the bequest were Lambda Legal and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
...Read More
Getting Ahead of Congress
Consider "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which proved a political quagmire for Bill Clinton early in his first term. In 1993, just 44 percent of Americans believed gays should serve in the military. Today, an encouraging three-quarters of the public believes gay people should serve openly. Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell will still be controversial. But with significant public support for a repeal, the time is ripe for the administration to signal that it takes the issue seriously. ...Read More
An Openly Gay Soldier, If Only for Six Months
Queerty Year in Review - Months after admitting to superiors that he was gay and showing them videotape of him making out with his boyfriend, Sergeant Darren Manzella found himself still in the Army. Although ultimately Manzella, like so many others, ended up booted from the military branch, that it took the brass so long to can him shows that enthusiasm for the Pentagon's long-standing "don't ask, don't tell" policy is waning. Looking to raise awareness, Manzella went on 60 Minutes last year. Queerty wrote about the surprising quiet from the Pentagon following the interview. ...Read More
Q-Notes Person of the Year: Angela Brightfeather
From her humble home in North Carolina to the doorsteps of national organizations and the halls of Congress, there's no doubt that Angela Brightfeather has done her part this year. If there were issues to be discussed, if the transgender community needed an advocate or if the transgender community was being ignored, Brightfeather stepped up. The 63-year-old transgender leader and activist is a legend - she's been involved in advocacy work since she was in her 20s; and she's certainly not afraid of ruffling feathers. As vice president of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA), Brightfeather has worked diligently to see the needs of transgender service members met with dignity and equality. Among the group's accomplishments this year are a highly succesful survey of transgender service members and veterans and joint work with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." ...Read More
Will (or When Will?) Obama Repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”?
Shortly after president-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office, will he confirm parallels to Clinton (young, ran on the economy) by seeking to change the military's ban on openly gay people as one of his first major policy initiatives? Not likely. Obama has long pledged to revisit, revise and ultimately repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), as the policy is known. But early indications are that he'll do so in a manner that engages the military leadership and Congress. He hopes thereby to avoid the way Clinton's handling made it a lighting-rod issue. Obama doesn't want a public-relations hot potato that tarnishes his public image or hinders his ability to accomplish other early legislative efforts. Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, also points out that Admiral Michael Mullen (current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff "has acknowledged that they're having discussions at the Pentagon at the highest level to possibly change" DADT. The military has, it seems, been preparing for the inevitable even before Obama's plans were made clear at the Democratic Convention. ...Read More
Obama Considers Gay Museum President for Sec. of Navy
William White, the gay president of New York's Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, is being named as a possible Navy secretary in the Obama administration. White, who has been with the museum since 1992, according to Newsday, would be the first openly gay chief of a military branch. The secretary is a civilian position, meaning his appointment would not be a direct violation of the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian service members. Members of Congress and retired members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have contacted Obama's transition team, urging him to pick White. Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, told Advocate.com on Thursday that White's appointment would have resonance in Washington. ...Read More
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Disappointed by Selection of Reverend Warren
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) issued the following statement regarding the selection of Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's 56th Presidential Inauguration on January 20. ...Read More
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Addressed in “Change is Coming” Forum
Recently, a group of state and local elected officials as well as LGBT advocates participated in a "Change is Coming" forum in Chicago. The event was an opportunity for the community to "review the current LGBT policies of President-elect Obama and provide constructive community feedback via the format suggested by the transition team," according to the agenda. Nearly 70 attendees listened as James Madigan, incoming executive director of Equality Illinois (in place of Amy Bloom) , spoke about adding sexual orientation and gender identity to current hate-crimes legislation. Jean Albright of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network talked about the effects of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" while Lynn Johnson of the Chicago Foundation for Women addressed the need to improve clinical research on microbiocides and eliminate "abstinence only until marriage" programs. Jack Pevenstein and Earl Battles of SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders) spoke of the urgency of services and training focused on LGBT elderly, while Shannon Sullivan of the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance called for policies inclusive of gender identity in Chicago public schools. ...Read More
DADT Challenge Passes Legal Hurdle
A federal appeals court has declined to hear an en banc review of a lower-court ruling challenging "Don't Ask Don't Tell" (DADT). The Bush administration may quickly file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, or leave that decision to the incoming Obama administration. Major Margaret Witt had an exemplary 18-year career as a nurse in the Air Force but was discharged in 2006 after her commander learned that she was a lesbian. She challenged the constitutionality of DADT in federal court in Tacoma, Wash., but lost. ...Read More
Joint Chiefs Chairman Must Adapt to a New Boss
As President-elect Barack Obama convened the first meeting of his national security advisers on Monday, there was just one person at the table that the new president did not choose to have there: Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In preparation for his new commander-in-chief, Admiral Mullen is overseeing the final stages of a comprehensive military strategy review of the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan - one of four such studies in the government - to guide Mr. Obama in his first days as president. More quietly, he has also had initial conversations with his top commanders about potential changes in the "don't ask, don't tell" law that allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation secret. Mr. Obama has taken a strong stand against the law as a moral issue, although his team has signaled that he will not push for repeal in the early months of his administration to avoid the kind of blowup that engulfed President Bill Clinton when he sought to lift an outright ban on gay men and lesbians in the military in his first days in office. Fifteen years later, Mr. Obama is of the view that "don't ask, don't tell" is long out of date and that it is time for gay men and lesbians to serve openly. ...Read More
