ThinkProgress LGBT Blogging Live From DADT Repeal Day Celebration | Tonight, Think Progress LGBT will be reporting live from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Day Celebration starting at 6 p.m. EST. Make sure you’re following @TPEquality on Twitter and the hashtag #GoodByeDADT for updates throughout the evening, then check back throughout the week for exclusive interviews with the many leaders who helped accomplish this important step forward for justice. Celebrations are taking place across the country, so look for an event near you.
Alaska law permits older married couples to take a property tax deduction that is as much as twice as generous to married couples as it is to unmarried couples who own their home together. Because gay couples are unable to marry in Alaska, this means that people in committed gay relationships are excluded from the favorable tax treatment enjoyed by straight married couples.
Yesterday, however, a trial judge in Anchorage, Alaska struck down this law for violating the Alaska Constitution’s guarantee of that “all persons are equal and entitled to equal rights, opportunities, and protection under the law”:
The court finds that the legislation fails to pass even the minimal scrutiny that economic burdens trigger. [...] If the policy underlying the Tax Exemption’s additional benefit to married couples is the recognition that people in long term, committed relationships build their lives together, then there is no reason to distinguish between married couples and couples who would make the marital commitment but for their sexual orientation.
If this decision is upheld on appeal — and there is good reason to believe that it will be — it could have sweeping implications for gay rights in Alaska. Because the court concluded that one anti-gay law does not survive the lowest level of constitutional scrutiny under the state’s constitution, the court’s rationale provides a powerful precedent suggesting that any law that discriminates against gay couples cannot survive scrutiny.
That is, of course, except for one. Alaska’s constitution expressly forbids marriage equality — although it does not forbid gay couples from enjoying the package of legal rights normally associated with marriage. Nevertheless, there is nothing in Alaska law that prevents the state courts from recognizing the right of gay couples to join together in civil unions.
“I suspect if something was up there like that about Joe Biden, they’d get rid of it,” Santorum said. “If you’re a responsible business, you don’t let things like that happen in your business that have an impact on the country.”
He continued: “To have a business allow that type of filth to be purveyed through their website or through their system is something that they say they can’t handle but I suspect that’s not true.”
Back in June, during an interview on MSNBC, Santorum specifically deflected responsibility from the company, saying, “I don’t know how they treated other circumstances and other situations whether they’ve treated it any different than mine. I’d suggest if they had treated it different and have done things to stop this kind of vile activity, filth on the internet, they should apply it equally to me and to everybody else.”
Gay Vet Mike Almy Continues To Pursue Suit For Reinstatement |
While the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell means that the 14,346 discharged under the policy can reapply to the military, some veterans are still suing to be reinstated. Air Force Maj. Mike Almy is part of one suit, and he points out that with military retention so high, there is no guarantee that those who re-enlist can return to their former jobs or ranks. Almy filed his lawsuit back in December, but intends to see it through despite the end of the policy that led to his discharge. He chatted with CBS News this morning about the lawsuit and the impact of DADT’s demise. Watch it:
NEWS FLASH
Santorum: Bachmann And Perry Are Not Anti-Gay Enough |
Over the weekend, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum accused his fellow contenders Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry of not being anti-gay enough, saying, “They go out and say, ‘but we’re for the federal marriage amendment,’ therefore they can appeal to both sides. They can say ‘it’s fine with me, and yet it’s not fine.’ Sort of like what Barack Obama does.” He also claimed Bachmann was inconsistent when it comes to states’ rights, because she thinks states can change marriage law but not mandate insurance, calling the juxtaposition “rather challenging, intellectually.” (HT: On Top Magazine.)
Most of 'The Playboy Club' isn't this cheery-looking.
I’ll admit I started watching The Playboy Club with a certain measure of ill grace and anti-Eddie Cibrian bias, and even after watching it, I think my skepticism is correct. There are a lot of intriguing elements in this show — a former mob lawyer who’s now representing black Chicagoans in housing discrimination cases; an aging Bunny trying to move into the ranks of management; a black Bunny who sees the Club as a refuge from the outside world’s discrimination; the problematic but interesting notion that being a Bunny was a way to reinvent yourself, even if it was a highly controlled and limited one — that are essentially swamped under some deeply clunky writing and overacting by the leads. But the first episode did have one surprise so gratifying and so potentially important that I’ll be back for another round of the show, even if it’s a storyline that’s only five minutes a week.
A lot of the Playboy Club’s problems, I think, stem from a lack of self-awareness, of the pilot’s unwillingness to explore the uncomfortable assumptions behind the things the characters are saying to each other that should be the essence of a show like this that’s all about a moment when one set of behaviors became not okay and another set of behaviors and identities fought ferociously for their right to exist. When some young Club patrons learn, to their surprise, that they can’t sleep with one of the Bunnies for the grand total of $1.50, the Bunny in question explains to them, “And I’m not a waitress, either. I’m Bunny Janie.” The interesting bit here is that self-delusion, the idea that she’s achieved some separate category, and what it takes to convince herself of that. When Hugh Hefner says in the voiceover that opens the show, “it was a place where anything could happen to anybody. Or any Bunny,” that’s true, only if bad things can happen as well as good things.
The other challenge the show faces, and I’m curious to see how Pan Am will handle this, is how to create an atmosphere of pervasive sexism and racism without making the characters who say sexist and racist things seem totally revolting to an audience who will refuse to identify with them in ways that will allow the show to actually explore issues. When one Bunny jauntily declares that if she overeats at the Mansion’s breakfast buffet, “I just stick my finger down my throat and throw ‘em up. It’s this new diet I heard about,” it’s alienating rather than creating affinity between an audience who knows the cost of bulimia and a character who’s embracing it as a trend. Read more
Chaz Bono’s DWTS Debut: ‘You Do Not Disappoint!’ |
After weeks of pointless transphobic controversy, Chaz Bono made his debut last night on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars, introducing himself as an “author, activist, and public speaker,” as well as the show’s first transgender contestant. After he received a standing ovation for his Cha Cha with partner Lacey Schwimmer, the judges told him, “You do not disappoint! Chazzy boy, you can dance! You have great footwork! It was sharp, it was precise!” and, “Cheeky but so cute and cuddly! So joyous out here! You should be proud!” Watch Chaz’s debut:
NEWS FLASH
Anti-Gay Pastor Plays Victim, Complains That He’s Being Targeted By LGBT Groups |
Rev. Keith Ogden of Hill Street Baptist Church in North Carolina — who supported the state’s effort to pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage and has accused gay people of “imposing a radical agenda on our society” — is playing up the conservatives’ victimization meme and has gone to the press to complain about “hateful” voice messages from the LGBT community. But the content of those messages pale in comparison to the kind of rhetoric conservatives regularly deploy to deny any legal recognition or benefits to gay people and same-sex relationships. For instance, Ogbden found a sign taped to his church’s marquee, urging him to “Focus on loving your own family” and four other voice messages accused him of hypocrisy and hating gay people. That is enough for a story in Asheville’s Citizen-Times, which only serves to perpetuate the the false argument that religious activists who seek to deny basic civil rights to minorities are somehow the real victims of intolerance.
During an appearance on Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor, Fox News’ Dr. Keith Ablow doubled down on his argument that Chaz Bono’s appearance on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars will encourage children to change their gender. “You have someone who is not a man, asserting that he is a man and the bottom line is that this can kindle people who are having trouble with their identities: adolescents, tom-boys, boys who are effeminate into thinking, ‘you know what, maybe I’m not just those things, maybe I should go the whole way,” he said.
Ablow, who yesterday resigned from the American Psychiatric Association because they disagree with him, also compared being transgender to anorexia and heroin addiction:
ABLOW: We wouldn’t invite people with anorexia to go on fashion shows and talk about how wonderful they feel now that they’re thinner…this is an exact parallel. [...] Take the heroin dependent people, put them on TV with their drug paraphernalia and have them speak about how happy they are.
Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow has sent a letter to the school community celebrating today’s official repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, while noting that the new policy does not apply to transgender individuals or extend full benefits to gays and lesbians.
“The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is an important and welcome milestone, and we especially celebrate this moment as an opportunity to highlight the superb chances for honorable service and challenging and rewarding work for lawyers and others serving in the U.S. Military,” Minow wrote in a letter obtained by ThinkProgress:
I do want to observe that the repeal does not apply to transgender individuals. Moreover, according to separate federal law that remains in force, married gay and lesbian service members will not be eligible for many of the benefits available to their heterosexual counterparts. I join others who wish to work to change policies that continue to discriminate against gays and lesbians and transgender individuals who want to serve their nation.
I do so because I view military service as an extraordinary calling. As Dean, I have charged our team to pursue the maximum range of career opportunities for all of our students.
HLS has long objected to the discriminatory policy, but the issue received newfound prominence during the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who preceded Minow as dean. Republicans claimed that Kagan had blocked military recruitment during her tenure, even though she was simply following the university’s long-standing policy of prohibiting employers who discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation from using the Office of Career Services. Since the mid 1980s, the military recruited on campus through the HLS Veterans Association and the school provided formal access through the Career Services office after the government threatened to cut off federal funding. [HT: Brian Clampitt]
I wish I was as optimistic as Erik Kain about the possibility of Mitch and Cam tying the knot on-camera in Modern Family:
You see, I’m almost positive that during the show we’ll see the couple get officially, legally hitched. I’m not sure if this will follow the return of gay marriage to California, or whether they’ll tie the knot-tying into the show in some other way, but I do think we’ll get the wedding. The act of getting married on the show would be far more powerful and emotionally moving than having Mitch and Cam married from the outset. Hell, I got all teary in the “Hawaii” episode when Phil threw Claire the surprise second-wedding.
I could be wrong, of course, but a wedding makes for great television. A gay wedding on Modern Family would not only be fantastic TV, it would be a really great moment for gay rights, equality and social progress in America. Furthermore, Americans are ready for it – for the first time ever, more Americans support rather than oppose gay marriage.
One commenter objected to the idea that Mitch and Cam should have gotten married already because marriage rights were only available briefly in California, though when the show began, the pair had been together for years, and given that they were planning to adopt, it seems fairly reasonable that they might have tied the knot first to make sure their future family would be protected.
And I think that gets at why Erik’s wrong. If Modern Family has Mitch and Cam get hitched without the force of law behind them, they’ll be doing something that Friends did in 1996, putting on a ceremony that a lot of viewers won’t know doesn’t actually convey any legal rights or responsibilities to the couple going through it. And if they wait until marriage is legal in California again, that feels like really kicking the issue down the road, following rather than leading. I’m not say showing Cam and Mitch’s wedding wouldn’t have an impact (though I fear it would also be an occasion for the show to take one of its unfortunately frequent detours into gay stereotyping), but that it would also be forceful and quiet to just assert that normal is a world where two men who are raising a daughter and talking about having a second child are married, and why can’t the rest of us catch up? The show appears to want some credit for leading, even if its creators joke that they’re just normalizing trophy wives. If so, they should do the work to actually be out in front.
NEWS FLASH
Obama Celebrates End Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Praises Gay Soldiers |
President Obama has issued a statement celebrating today’s repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. “As of today, our armed forces will no longer lose the extraordinary skills and combat experience of so many gay and lesbian service members,” he said. “And today, as Commander in Chief, I want those who were discharged under this law to know that your country deeply values your service”:
I was proud to sign the Repeal Act into law last December because I knew that it would enhance our national security, increase our military readiness, and bring us closer to the principles of equality and fairness that define us as Americans. Today’s achievement is a tribute to all the patriots who fought and marched for change; to Members of Congress, from both parties, who voted for repeal; to our civilian and military leaders who ensured a smooth transition; and to the professionalism of our men and women in uniform who showed that they were ready to move forward together, as one team, to meet the missions we ask of them.
For more than two centuries, we have worked to extend America’s promise to all our citizens. Our armed forces have been both a mirror and a catalyst of that progress, and our troops, including gays and lesbians, have given their lives to defend the freedoms and liberties that we cherish as Americans. Today, every American can be proud that we have taken another great step toward keeping our military the finest in the world and toward fulfilling our nation’s founding ideals.
Welcome to The Morning Pride, ThinkProgress LGBT’s 8:45 AM round-up of the latest in LGBT policy, politics, and some culture too! Here’s what we’re reading this morning, but let us know what you’re checking out too. Follow us all day on Twitter at @TPEquality.
- The pseudonymous “J.D. Smith,” founder of OutServe, has revealed himself today as 1st Lt. Josh Seefried. He joins 101 Faces of Courage profiled in today’s OutServe Magazine.
- Navy Lt. Gary Ross married his partner last night just after the stroke of midnight.
- DC residents celebrated the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell last night with a countdown at midnight.
- YouTube user AreYouSuprised, who has been making anonymous videos about coming out to his military unit, revealed his face last night as he came out to his father on the phone. Watch the powerful moment:
- Andy Towle has the scoop from last night’s Broadway premiere of “8,” including a surprise appearance from the National Organization for Marriage’s Maggie Gallagher.
- Yesterday marked one year since a young man named Seth Walsh took his own life because of bullying he faced for being gay. California’s new anti-bullying law, “Seth’s Law,” is named in his honor.
Alaska law permits older married couples to take a property tax deduction that is as much as twice as generous to married couples as it is to unmarried couples who own their home together. Because gay couples are unable to marry in Alaska, this means that people in committed gay relationships are excluded from the favorable tax treatment enjoyed by straight married couples. 
Rick Santorum has long acknowledged that he has a “
Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow has sent a letter to the school community celebrating today’s official repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, while noting that the new policy does not apply to transgender individuals or extend full benefits to gays and lesbians. 
I wish I was 
