Thanks to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for inviting ThinkProgress to report live from its Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Day Celebration.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has been a trailblazer for LGBT advocacy as the first out lesbian to serve in the House of Representatives. She is now running for the Senate, and if elected, she’d be the first openly gay or lesbian senator in U.S. history. As one of the founding chairs of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, she is at the forefront of legislative efforts to fight oppression of the LGBT community, and she was delighted to join in Tuesday’s celebration of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Baldwin thinks that one of the driving forces behind the repeal process was gay soldiers’ testimony:

BALDWIN: I think if people watch the struggle, they will see that one of the turning points was servicemembers beginning to tell their stories. And especially since our country has been in a time of war for so long, it is something that changed the hearts of Americans. When they see people willing to put their lives on the line and be in harm’s way, and then they see them discriminated against, that’s what turned public opinion, and of course that’s what turned the political scenario in Congress so that we could pass the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

She went on to say that the effect will compound, and the repeal itself will continue to change America:

BALDWIN: I think young people get it. There is such a generational divide on issues of full equality for the LGBT community. And I think the event that we’re celebrating today — the implementation of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — is one that’s really going to change America. Once we see openly gay servicemen and women serving proudly in uniform, risking their lives for their country that they love and believe in, I think that just changes the dynamic forever.

Watch the clips:

At last night’s Republican debate, audience members booed gay soldier Stephen Miller for his YouTube-submitted question about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and none of the candidates defended him. The question was directed at Rick Santorum, who didn’t say anything on behalf of the soldier, even when he followed up on the question after the debate. After a day of criticism from media and conservatives, Santorum told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly that he did not hear the boos, and that he is, in fact, thankful for the soldier’s service:

SANTORUM: I condemn the people who booed that gay soldier. That soldier is serving our country. I thank him for his service to our country. I’m sure he’s doing an excellent job. I hope he’s safe and I hope he returns safely and does his mission well.

I have to admit, I seriously did not hear those boos. Had I heard them, I certainly would have commented on them, but, as you know, when you’re in that sort of environment, you’re sort of focused on the question and formulating your answer. I just didn’t hear those couple of boos that were out there, but certainly had I, I would have said “Don’t do that. This man is serving our country and we are to thank him for his service.”

Watch it:

Of course, Santorum made no apology to the soldier for saying that his mere presence in the Army “undermines” its ability to defend our country by creating “very difficult and uncomfortable personal situations.”

In addition to a new chair, the National Organization for Marriage now has a new effort in place to push the absurd idea that those who oppose same-sex marriage are the real victims of harassment and intimidation. The new “Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance” is supposed to “protect and defend religious freedom”:

The goal of the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance is to create a supportive community for those who have been threatened for standing for marriage, to nip the climate of fear being created in the bud, to expose for fair-minded Americans on both sides of the  debate the threats being made, to conduct high-quality qualitative and quantitative research documenting the extent of the harm, to develop legislative and community proposal to protect Americans right to engage in the core civil rights: to organize, to vote, to speak, to donate, and to write for marriage.

Isolated and alone, we can be suppressed and intimidated.  Together we are too many to be treated as second-class citizens.

Despite supposed concern for “both sides of the debate,” NOM has nothing to say for the true violence and harassment that gays and lesbians face. In fact, the poster-child for this new “alliance” is none other than Dr. Frank Turek. He tells a compelling story about losing his job for being a public opponent of same-sex marriage, but in reality, Turek regularly promotes incredibly dangerous ideas. Jeremy Hooper points out that Turek believes “gay people are embracing harmful, ‘illegitimate’ and ‘changeable’ behavior — behavior on par with that of sociopaths, alcoholics, or even gay-bashers.” NOM is just a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and any claims of “defamation” are a red herring for the damage they do to same-sex families. NOM is a bully and NOM defends bullies.

The alliance is funded through NOM’s 501(c)3 arm; ThinkProgress published the names of some of the organization’s top donors last month.

Thanks to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for inviting ThinkProgress to report live from its Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Day Celebration.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) is a passionate advocate for LGBT rights and is unabashed in saying so. At Tuesday night’s celebration for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Coons described the repeal as “one of the biggest steps forward we’ve made toward equality.” But, he was also mindful that there are unresolved issues, such as health care, pensions, and benefits, that must be addressed to ensure full equality for gays and lesbians in the service. He also expressed support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, but expects that the next bill the Senate will pass for LGBT rights will be Sen. Al Franken’s Student Non-Discrimination Act, which Coons is cosponsoring.

Coons said he thinks the Republican leadership is out of touch on LGBT issues, and he worries they will use “gay bashing and gay-baiting” to drive a wedge in the 2012 election:

FORD: What impact do you think that conservative rhetoric… is having on our nation’s young people?

COONS: I frankly think they profoundly misread the young people of America, who are far more open and tolerant, welcoming, and inclusive than generations before them, particularly around LGBT issues. I think they miss what is a basic cultural shift in the direction of tolerance, and it’s my hope that, as happened in the 2008 campaign — where youth voters really led the way in terms of breaking barriers — that we’ll see the same thing, a rejection by younger voters, more educated and more engaged voters, of gay bashing or gay-baiting, which I’m afraid may actually end up being an essential issue or central values issue in the 2012 election.

Still, he is optimistic that Republicans will remember their history of supporting social justice:

FORD: Do you think we’ll see any of your Republican colleagues ever make an “It Gets Better” video?

COONS: I hope so. You know, there is a long, proud Republican tradition of being engaged in the fight for civil rights… So it’s my hope that we will see one someday. So far, it’s disappointing, but I’m optimistic that change will come, even in the Republican party, even in the current environment.

Watch it:

Last night, Stephen Hill, who is serving in the Army in Iraq, had the courage to come out as gay to a national audience and ask the Republican presidential candidates about how they’d handle troops like him. The audience responded to his question with boos, and Rick Santorum said he’s reinstate Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (a promise he doubled down on later in the evening).

The big question today, even among conservatives, is: Why did none of the candidates stand up for the soldier? Here are some of today’s reactions to the offensive moment:

- Former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer: “Booing a soldier serving our nation is uncalled for. If I were on stage, I would make that point.”

- The Hill’s Ballot Box: “None of the Republican candidates responded to the audience’s reaction.”

- CBS News: “Some audience members audibly booed the soldier — a moment the GOP candidates on stage chose to ignore.”

- The New Yorker: “His reply was breathtakingly bad: he talked about dangerous social experiments and what a mistake the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell had been; he didn’t even thank Hill, in a rote way, for his service. But none of the candidates did, and any one of them could have.”

- Christian Post: “Santorum, who has never served in the armed forces, did not address the boos, but explained his position by saying ‘sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military.’”

- National Review: “Whatever you think of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” or homosexuality, Hill is risking his life on behalf of his country. It is troubling, and revealing, that Santorum’s answer entirely defined Hill as a gay man first and as a soldier second, if at all.”

- GOProud: “Tonight, Rick Santorum disrespected our brave men and women in uniform, and he owes Stephen Hill, the gay soldier who asked him the question about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal, an immediate apology. That brave gay soldier is doing something Rick Santorum has never done – put his life on the line to defend our freedoms and our way of life.  It is telling that Rick Santorum is so blinded by his anti-gay bigotry that he couldn’t even bring himself to thank that gay soldier for his service.”

- Log Cabin Republicans: “Unfortunately, for many Americans the take-away from last night’s debate was not that Republicans have the solutions our country needs, but that too many in our party are clinging so strongly to a failed and discriminatory law that they are willing to disrespect a man in uniform. As a current Army Reserve officer and an Iraq combat veteran, I found it appalling that a soldier serving down range would be disrespected in such a fashion.”

A petition is already underway on Change.org calling on Rick Santorum to apologize to gay soldiers. If Republicans are going to tolerate the shunning of gay troops, they will cause the very problems of unit cohesion they claimed would be the result of DADT repeal.

One of the newest endorsers of Rick Perry’s Republican presidential bid once compared same-sex adoption to child trafficking. New Hampshire state Rep. Al Baldasaro (R) testified in 2010 that he felt marriage equality was “pushed down my throat,” and went on to compare same-sex marriage to incest and polygamy before suggesting that the state was “selling” children to same-sex couples who were adopting:

BALDASARO: It’s not normal. I disagree. So because I disagree with something that was pushed down my throat, I’m supposed to roll over because, Representative, you think it’s normal? I’m sorry, you’ve got the wrong person. [...]

What about being disrespectful to sister-sister that love each other? Sister-brother? Sister-mom? Incest? …Are we discriminating against all them? What about the Muslims now? Everyone’s praising  the Muslims. They’re killing us. What about them? They want three, four wive? We’re discriminating against them! [...]

I wanted to make sure everyone understood here that this legislature sold the rights of $10,000 per kid under Title IV E, when they said that homosexual couples — not married — could adopt. [...] We sold each kid to a homosexual couple that’s not married for $10,000.

Watch it:

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) doubled down on his commitment to reinstating Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell during an appearance on Fox & Friends this morning, telling co-host Gretchen Carlson that the nation hasn’t “even begun seeing the consequences” of repeal. Perhaps projecting his own feelings towards LGBT people, the former Pennsylvania senator said he worried that soldiers will feel “uncomfortable” and “odd” around openly gay servicemembers:

SANTORUM: The man and women who sign up for the military are now going to be placed in very difficult and uncomfortable personal situations, very close quarter situations…We got to recruit people who would want to do this and now you’re going to put them in a very odd and uncomfortable environment. A lot of people, I believe are going to leave a lot of people aren’t going to join who otherwise would have joined, and that’s going to hurt our ratings, it’s going to hurt our ability to defend this country, and we shouldn’t be playing social experimentation….There is no role for playing sexual experimentation games in the United States military.

Watch it:

During last night’s GOP presidential debate in Orlando, Florida, Santorum told Stephen Hill — a gay soldier who served in Iraq — that “any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military,” as the audience booed Hill’s service. Santorum wasn’t asked about and didn’t address the reaction.