Openly Gay Soldier Who Appeared On 60 Minutes Has Been Discharged
Openly Gay Soldier Who Appeared On 60 Minutes Has Been Discharged
Last December, CBS’s 60 Minutes ran a segment on the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policies. Correspondent Lesley Stahl examined whether, in light of the struggle to retain and recruit soldiers to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, commanders were becoming less strict in enforcing the ban on openly gay servicemembers.
During the segment, Stahl spoke with Army Sgt. Darren Manzella, who said he was very open about his homosexuality and even introduced his fellow soldiers to his boyfriend. The Army was forced to open an investigation, but Manzella was eventually cleared to go back to work. He said he was basically told by his commanders, “I don’t care if you’re gay or not.” Watch it:
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) reports that Manzella, “one of the first openly gay active duty service members to speak with the media while serving inside a war zone,” has now been discharged. Manzella’s response:
My sexual orientation certainly didn’t make a difference when I treated injuries and saved lives in the streets of Baghdad. It shouldn’t be a factor in allowing me to continue to serve.
DADT is not only discriminatory, but also outdated and impractical. SLDN is aware of more than 500 U.S. soldiers who are “out” to their colleagues and continue to serve. A December 2006 survey of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found that 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.”
In recent months, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy that the military was ready to accept gay servicemembers if Congress repeals the ban. Former senator Sam Nunn — a leading proponent of DADT in the 1990s — has even said that it may now be “appropriate” to reconsider the policy.
97-year-old woman in Arizona falls victim to state’s stringent voter ID law.
97-year-old woman in Arizona falls victim to state’s stringent voter ID law.
A 97-year-old Arizona woman who has voted in every election since 1933 says she won’t be able to vote in November, due to the state’s stringent voter ID law that requires proof of citizenship for those registering to vote and a photo ID when voting. Shirley Preiss was born in 1910 in Kentucky, before the state issued birth certificates. She has no driver’s license or passport. “Preiss said for someone who once lived in a time when women could not vote, the law is a step backwards.”
CA Supreme Court rejects stay on same-sex marriage ruling.
CA Supreme Court rejects stay on same-sex marriage ruling.
The California Supreme Court “rejected a bid to freeze” last month’s ruling on gay marriage, “paving the way for same-sex couples to begin walking down the aisle as soon as June 17.” Opponents of same-sex marriage sought to stay the ruling until after the November election, but in a 4-3 ruling, the court rejected their efforts. Yesterday, a constitutional amendment stating “that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” qualified for the November ballot.
Sam Nunn Reconsiders DADT: ‘Times Change,’ May Be ‘Appropriate’ To Lift The Ban On Gays In The Military
Sam Nunn Reconsiders DADT: ‘Times Change,’ May Be ‘Appropriate’ To Lift The Ban On Gays In The Military
As chairman of the powerful Armed Forces Committee in the 1990s, then-Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA) led a series of hearings that helped undermine President Clinton’s attempt to lift the ban on gays and bisexuals serving openly in the military. Nunn faced strong opposition from gay and civil rights groups. As UPI reported in January 1993:
Nunn, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has opposed lifting the ban and had proposed a six-month waiting period during which federal hearings would be held to consider the impact of removing the restrictions.
“We are here today to call upon Sen. Sam Nunn to stop obstructing President Clinton’s effort to end discrimination in the United States military,” said Don George, the Atlanta field coordinator for the Human Rights Campaign Fund.
Speaking in Atlanta, GA today, however, Nunn indicated a shift in his views, saying that it may now be time to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT):
“I think [when] 15 years go by on any personnel policy, it’s appropriate to take another look at it — see how it’s working, ask the hard questions, hear from the military. Start with a Pentagon study,” Nunn said. […]
Pressed for his position on the matter, Nunn said, “I’m not advocating anything — except I’m saying the policy was the right policy for the right time, and times change. It’s appropriate to take another look.”
Although he doesn’t specifically say he supports a repeal, Nunn’s change of views is refreshing and follows progress by other traditionally conservative institutions. Last month, Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen also said that the military was ready to accept gay servicemembers if Congress repeals DADT. A December 2006 survey of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.”
NY governor announces plan for state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages.
NY governor announces plan for state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages.
Today, New York Gov. David Paterson (D) held a press conference announcing his directive for all state agencies to begin recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. At a meeting with LGBT leaders on May 17, Paterson called it “a strong step toward marriage equality.” Watch his press conference today:
Good As You has video of the question and answer session of the briefing.
Transcript: Read the rest of this entry »
California to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses on June 14.
California to start issuing same-sex marriage licenses on June 14.
AP reports:
Same-sex couples in some California counties will be able to marry as soon as June 14, the president of the California’s county clerks association said.
Stephen Weir, who heads the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials, said Monday he was told by the Office of Vital Records that clerks would be authorized to hand out marriage licenses as soon as that date, which is a Saturday and exactly 30 days after the California Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage should be legal.
The court’s decisions typically take effect after 30 days, barring further legal action.
Anti-gay website removes comparison of marrying same-sex couples to helping the Nazis.
Anti-gay website removes comparison of marrying same-sex couples to helping the Nazis.
Reacting to the California Supreme Court’s decision allowing gay marriage, the website of the far right group Campaign for Children and Families recently compared county clerks issuing same-sex marriage licenses to Nazis gassing Jews during the Holocaust. From the site:
Ask your county clerk if they were a Nazi officer during WWII and had been ordered to gas the Jews, would they? At the Nuremberg trials, they would have been convicted of murder for following this immoral order.
Campaign for Children and Families has now removed this text from its site. Good As You, however, has saved the original version here and writes, “We know you said it. We know that you were likening the ‘tough’ decision to marry gays to the mind-blowingly abominable order to murder humans. And everyone else is going to know it to. We’ll see to that.”
(HT: Pandagon)
Toobin Calls Voter ID Laws ‘A Clear Attempt By Republicans To Stop Democrats From Voting’
Toobin Calls Voter ID Laws ‘A Clear Attempt By Republicans To Stop Democrats From Voting’
On April 28, the Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s voter ID law, which guards against supposed fraud by requiring voters to show identification. The decision came despite the fact that “the record contains no evidence of any such fraud actually occurring in Indiana at any time in its history” — and despite the fact the law tends to suppress voter turnout by minorities and poor people.
Commenting on the decision on last night’s “Bill Moyers Journal,” legal scholar Jeffery Toobin explained that the “real agenda” behind voter ID laws is “to help Republicans”:
I thought it was a bad decision, but a predictable one because it was a very clear attempt by Republicans to stop Democrats from voting. I don’t think there’s any doubt about what the motivation was of that law. … The real agenda was to help Republicans.
Watch it:
Though the Court’s majority claimed the impact was nothing more than a “minor inconvenience” to voters, in fact there are as many as 21 million voting-age Americans without driver’s licenses. Thirteen percent of registered Indiana voters lack the documents needed to obtain state identification.
During the recent Indiana primary, a group of 12 nuns were turned away from the polls because they lacked a valid photo ID. One nun in Missouri said, “This is going to keep a lot of our loved ones from being able to vote.”
Moreover, the new law disenfranchised many out-of-state students attending private Indiana colleges, such as Notre Dame and DePauw, because “ID cards issued by private colleges don’t qualify under the state law.”
Anti-gay group compares marrying same-sex couples to helping the Nazis.
Anti-gay group compares marrying same-sex couples to helping the Nazis.
Reacting to the California Supreme Court’s decision overturing a same-sex marriage ban, the far right group Campaign for Children and Families compares county clerks issuing same-sex marriage licenses to Nazis gassing Jews during the Holocaust. Here’s what they say on their website, SaveCalifornia.com:
Ask your county clerk if they were a Nazi officer during WWII and had been ordered to gas the Jews, would they? At the Nuremberg trials, they would have been convicted of murder for following this immoral order.
(HT: Andrew Sullivan)
McCain Tells Ellen DeGeneres: You Shouldn’t Have The Right To Get Married
McCain Tells Ellen DeGeneres: You Shouldn’t Have The Right To Get Married
Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) taped an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, which airs today. Ellen, who recently announced that she plans to take advantage of the California Supreme Court’s recent gay marriage ruling