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Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway has emerged in internal Pentagon deliberations as the most outspoken opponent of permitting gay men and women to serve openly in the U.S. military, according to a former senior Pentagon official. Most of the senior brass hold deep reservations about President Obama's pledge to end the ban on gays in the military, especially in the middle of two wars that have put extra stress on the military, down to the platoon level, where soldiers and Marines would be expected to bond with openly gay colleagues. But Gen. Conway has gone further than others...

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway has emerged in internal Pentagon deliberations as the most outspoken opponent of permitting gay men and women to serve openly in the U.S. military, according to a former senior Pentagon official. Most of the senior brass hold deep reservations about President Obama's pledge to end the ban on gays in the military, especially in the middle of two wars that have put extra stress on the military, down to the platoon level, where soldiers and Marines would be expected to bond with openly gay colleagues. But Gen. Conway has gone further than others...

Navy officials handed a career-ending letter of censure yesterday to the chief who oversaw the prolonged hazing and sexual taunting of members of a Navy dog-handling unit in Bahrain. Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael Toussaint was removed from supervisory duties overseas with the Naval Special Warfare Command and will work in an administrative post at a base in Norfolk, Va., until his forced retirement in January, said Cmdr. Elissa Smith, a Navy spokeswoman. Toussaint is on leave and has refused all interview requests, said Cmdr. Greg Geisen, a spokesman for the Coronado-based Naval Special Warfare Command. The Navy began investigating...

The commander in chief on Saturday reiterated his support for having homosexuals serve openly in the military. Fortunately, there's a good chance this is another issue on which President Obama is all talk. In his speech at the Human Rights Campaign's annual banquet, Mr. Obama recycled candidate Barack Obama's "hope and change" talking points, adding an apology for not yet delivering on his promises. "I actually have been much more vocal on gay issues to general audiences than any other presidential candidate probably in history," he told the activist newspaper the Advocate in April 2008. However, in that interview, he...

The commander in chief on Saturday reiterated his support for having homosexuals serve openly in the military. Fortunately, there's a good chance this is another issue on which President Obama is all talk.

Title only.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected. "I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group. He did not give a timetable for the repeal of the law passed by Congress in 1993 and signed by President Bill Clinton, who also promised to repeal the ban on homosexuals...

President Barack Obama restated his campaign pledge to allow homosexual men and women to serve openly in the military, but left many in his audience of gay activists wondering when he would make good on the promise. "I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said Saturday night to a standing ovation from the crowd of about 3,000 at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group. He offered no timetable or specifics and he acknowledged some may be growing impatient. "I appreciate that many of you don't believe progress has come fast enough," Obama...

In last year’s presidential election, Barack Obama won 70 percent of the gay vote, John McCain just 27 percent. Does that kind of clearly dominant constituency — one that’s more politically-attuned than the rest of the electorate — come with any political obligation regarding gay rights? You bet it does, and this weekend Obama is acknowledging the debt. On the eve of Sunday’s National Equality March, expected to draw thousands to Washington, he’s addressing the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group. ...Marriage and the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay men and women in uniform...

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) has taken up the mantle as the chief opponent of "Don't ask, don't tell" in Congress, and he's confident the policy banning gays from serving openly in the military will get its first full committee hearing in a decade and a half this session. Murphy, a second-term Democrat, will be lead sponsor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal "Don't ask, don't tell" — a policy first passed by Congress and signed into law under President Bill Clinton. "It's our job," Murphy said of a repeal. "This was an act of Congress in 1993...

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will focus "at the right time" on how to overturn the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays serving openly in the military, his national security adviser said Sunday. "I don't think it's going to be — it's not years, but I think it will be teed up appropriately," James Jones said. The Democratic-led Congress is considering repealing the 1993 law. Action isn't expected on the issue until early next year.

A Comment about Gays in the US Military and Don't Ask, Don't Tell

“I introduced an amendment to H.R. 3326, now withdrawn, prohibiting the use of funds in this bill to investigate or discharge our dedicated service men and women on the grounds of ‘telling’ their sexual orientation. The Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces – commonly called ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ – provides that a service member can be separated from the Armed Forces for stating that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual. Due to pressure from some of my Congressional colleagues and from the White House, I have withdrawn my amendment.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama, under fire from the gay-rights community over slow action on its priorities, promised to deliver by the time he leaves office. [Barack Obama] Barack Obama The president gave no new details about how he would advance these issues, but he made passionate remarks saluting the pioneers of the gay-rights movement and expressed solidarity with those working for equal rights. "Welcome to your White House," the president said at a reception Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the birth of the modern gay-rights movement. His remarks were greeted warmly by a cheering crowd of some...

super-friender and MTV hookup star Tila Tequila has a message for President Obama: Repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays. In a blogpost at globalgrind.com, Tequila, née Tila Nguyen, tells the story of Dan Choi, "a hero to many of us in the human rights movement," who was booted from the Army after publicly announcing he's gay. "Being an openly bisexual woman myself and having a lot of close gay friends, I have always HATED that policy," which was instituted by former President Bill Clinton in a compromise over his position on gays in the military that...

CNN anchor Kyra Phillips sympathized with an outed homosexual army officer on Tuesday’s Newsroom program. Phillips questioned Lt. Colonel Victor Fehrenbach about his recent meeting with President Obama, and asked, “What else did you tell him, because I know this has weighed heavily on your heart for a very long time....What did he tell you that gives you...hope...that he is going to get rid of this?” [video of interview available here] The anchor’s interview with Fehrenbach occurred a day after he attended a “celebrating LGBT Pride Month” event at the White House. He was the guest of the homosexual activist...

In an editorial in today’s paper, The New York Times is again beating the drums for one of its favorite causes — repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which would allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military. Apparently, The Times thinks the military is an equal opportunity employer — and that every adult American has a right to serve. But certain people are automatically disqualified, based on various conditions and infirmities. A 110-lb man can’t join the Navy SEALS. The vision-impaired can’t train as pilots. And homosexuals shouldn’t serve openly. The Times tries to frame the argument...

The thick-muscled man with close-cropped hair who called himself Rick Duncan seemed right out of central casting as a prop for a Democratic candidate running against Bush administration policies last fall. A former Marine Corps captain who suffered brain trauma from a roadside bomb in Iraq and was at the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks. An advocate for veterans rights who opposed the war. An Annapolis graduate who was proudly gay. With his gold-plated credentials, he commanded the respect and attention of not just politicians, but also police chiefs, reporters and veterans advocates for the better part of two...

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed with the Obama administration and refused to review Pentagon policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The court said it will not hear an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The federal appeals court in Boston earlier threw out a lawsuit filed by Pietrangelo and 11 other veterans. He was the only member of that group who asked the high court to rule that the Clinton-era policy is unconstitutional. "I think this decision is an absolute travesty of...

Not all U.S. Supreme Court rejections are bad news. And when the nation’s highest court couldn’t find four justices willing to hear the appeal of a gay servicemember challenging the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy, most gay legal activists breathed a sigh of relief. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the appeal in James Pietrangelo v. Gates. Pietrangelo filed the appeal and against the wishes of his fellow plaintiffs in the original case, Cook v. Gates. The 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled last year that the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy was "an exercise of...

Protesters lined a footbridge Thursday in support of Dan Choi, an openly gay Iraq War veteran from Tustin whose job is on the line because he violated the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The gathering of about 25 people marched overlooking Campus Drive, a few feet from a U.S. Army recruitment office, while Choi waited in New York for a television taping. He was set to appear Thursday night on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," where last month he publicly outed himself. Days ago, Choi received a letter stating he would be discharged from the Army National Guard for...

The May 6 passage of marriage equality legislation in Maine brings to five the number of states in America that allow gay and lesbian families to wed. The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which adds sexual orientation, sexual identity, and disability, to the list of federally protected demographics (which already provide enhanced penalties for hate crime targeting victims on the basis of race, religion, and nationality among other factors) seems well on its way to becoming law. States are dealing with issues of family equality, and Congress and the Senate are poised to extend protections to a class...

President Barack Obama sent a hand-written note in response to a Chicago-area lesbian's plea for him to change the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers. She sent her letter to Obama just six days after his inauguration, and it was published in the Feb. 11 Windy City Times as a cover story. 2nd Lt. Sandy Tsao photo by Donna Tsao said she is “very hopeful” after receiving the letter May 5. “I believe he is a man of his word. … My heart is bounding with joy.” The timing is bittersweet: Tsao's last day in the service will...

With the nation engaged in two wars and facing a number of potential adversaries, this is no time to weaken our military. Yet if gay rights activists and their allies have their way, grave harm will soon be inflicted on our all-volunteer force. The administration and some in Congress have pledged to repeal Section 654 of U.S. Code Title 10, which states that homosexuals are not eligible for military service. Often confused with the "don't ask, don't tell" regulations issued by President Clinton, this statute establishes several reasons that homosexuality is incompatible with military service. Section 654 recognizes that the...

(CNSNews.com) - A letter signed by 1,050 retired military officers, including 47 four-star leaders, requests that a 1993 law banning homosexuals from serving in the U.S. armed services be retained. The letter was delivered to President Barack Obama and Congress last week. The 1993 law, which passed with bipartisan support and has been upheld as constitutional by federal courts, specifically excludes homosexuals from serving in the military and is frequently mislabeled or mis-reported as the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy,” an enforcement regulation put in place by President Bill Clinton after the law passed. The March 31 letter to Obama...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush cabinet, told reporters that changing the US military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy is "very difficult", and that doing so could take years, or never happen at all, according to 365gay.com. Speaking at the Army War College, Gates said he and President Barack Obama were discussing the policy and whether to change it. Gates said he was not yet taking a position about whether gay troops should be open about their sexuality, which could lead to their discharge under the current rules. President Obama has made it part of...

Reporting from Carlisle Barracks, Pa. -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that the Obama administration would move cautiously in shifting policies on gays serving openly in the military, but he signaled that service members should prepare for possible changes. In his most extensive remarks to date about the ongoing ban on gays who serve openly, Gates said he and other military leaders had "begun a dialogue" with President Obama about the issue. Obama promised during last year's presidential campaign to end the ban on gays in the military, and the White House said recently that it was reviewing...

(CNSNews.com) - A letter signed by 1,050 retired military officers, including 47 four-star leaders, requests that a 1993 law banning homosexuals from serving in the U.S. armed services be retained. The letter was delivered to President Barack Obama and Congress last week. The 1993 law, which passed with bipartisan support and has been upheld as constitutional by federal courts, specifically excludes homosexuals from serving in the military and is frequently mislabeled or mis-reported as the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy,” an enforcement regulation put in place by President Bill Clinton after the law passed. The March 31 letter to Obama...

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 1,000 retired military officers, including several who were top commanders, are urging President Barack Obama and Congress to maintain the law that bars gays from serving openly in the armed forces. Obama is consulting with the Pentagon on the issue and says he supports eventual repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which prohibits gays in the military from being open about their sexual orientation. A bill that would allow gays to serve openly has been introduced in Congress. A statement issued by the retired officers Tuesday said passage of that bill "would...

Gay Rights Activists Chagrined at Obama Administration Foot-Dragging on Overturning Don't Ask/Don't Tell March 30, 2009 7:57 AM Gay and lesbian rights advocates expressed chagrin Sunday at the lack of urgency President Obama seems to be giving his campaign promise to overturn the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the armed forces. Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged on Fox News Sunday that funds have been allocated for the 2010 budget to enforce the "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" policy. "It continues to be the law," Gates said, "and any change in the policy would require a change in the law....

2 hours ago WASHINGTON (AP) — Don't expect any change soon to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy about gays in the military. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says both he and President Barack Obama have "a lot on our plates right now." As Gates puts it, "let's push that one down the road a little bit." The White House has said Obama has begun consulting with Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on how to lift the ban. Gates says that dialogue has not really progressed very far at this point in the administration. The Pentagon...

Here comes Uniting American Families Act; there goes Don’t ask, don’t tell and barring Gays from demanding employment at Faith Based intuitions. Barack Obama has notified the United Nations America will reverse .. Bush decision support a French proposal to decriminalize homosexual conduct. Until now America had been the only western country to hold this position and for good reason. This move is a backdoor way to pave the way for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). UAFA will allow gay Americans to bring their alien sex partners in to our country as if they were married couples. Commenting on...

9 hours ago WASHINGTON (AFP) — Gay rights advocates welcomed US support for a United Nations declaration decriminalizing homosexuality but expected no quick action by President Barack Obama to lift a ban on gays serving openly in the US military. The United States had opposed the UN measure under former president George W. Bush but joined 66 other countries on Wednesday in backing the declaration proposed by France. Although the State Department said the measure had no legal consequences for the United States, opponents of the US military's ban on openly gay members viewed the move as an encouraging sign....

(CBS/AP) A group of U.S. Military Academy graduates came out of the closet Monday in a bid to overturn the ban on gays in the military and help West Point create an environment of tolerance and acceptance as they educate future officers, reports the Military Times. The 38-member "Knights Out" contacted the military academy's administration seeking to provide an "open forum" for gay troops and Army leaders, the paper reports. The Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was instituted after President Bill Clinton tried to lift the ban on gay service members in 1993. It refers to the military practice...

The Army fired 11 soldiers in January for violating the military's policy that gay service members must keep their sexuality hidden, according to a Virginia congressman. Democratic Rep. Jim Moran said he has requested monthly updates from the Pentagon on the impact of the policy until it is repealed. In a statement released on Thursday, Moran said the discharged soldiers included an intelligence collector, a military police officer, four infantry personnel, a health care specialist, a motor-transport operator and a water-treatment specialist. "How many more good soldiers are we willing to lose due to a bad policy that makes us...

the current policy was essentially written by six admirals and generals who made up the second study group assigned by Clinton. The first head of this group was Lt. Gen. Robert Alexander, who told me his team "didn't have any empirical data," so the conclusions it drew were purely "subjective." It was "very difficult to get an objective, rational review of this policy," he said. One group staffer, Vince Patton, tried to provide research to the flag officers in charge, but he said it was never even considered. According to Patton, the policy was created "behind closed doors" by people...

WASHINGTON — Congress’ leading opponent of the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy on Monday reintroduced legislation to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., backed a similar measure last year. In a statement Monday, she said the policy has "failed our country and military for 15 years" and hurt readiness by preventing qualified citizens from joining the ranks. The legislation would remove the current rules preventing homosexuals from serving openly in the military and allow anyone discharged under the policy to apply for reinstatement, though details must be worked out. More than 12,500...

(AP)California Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a Democrat, will tomorrow introduce legislation in the House to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bans gay soldiers from serving openly in the military. “This law has failed our country and our military for 15 years,” Tauscher said at a news conference. “It harms military readiness and discriminates against patriotic young men and women who want to serve their country. It’s time for Congress to right this wrong.” Tauscher planned to introduce the legislation today but did not because the weather kept the House out of session, according to communications director Jonathan...

So, we've heard that Barack Obama is going to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. As two queer teachers that have been working hard to arrest the militarism of education in Chicago—a public high school for every branch of the military, and two for the army ( and not one of these with a Gay Straight Alliance for students ) , and over 10,000 youth from 6th to 12th grade participating in some form of military program in their public schools—we are not leaping with joy at this...

Caution: The following contains a report on activities many will find objectionable. Peter LaBarbera at Americans for Truth about Homosexuality announced today that a Washington, D.C., inaugural week event that originally was described in an e-mail as a "pig sex" orgy has been cancelled after concerned citizens complained to the Doubletree Hotel hosting the event. "A big 'Thanks' to each of you who called the Doubletree and its parent company, Hilton Hotels," said LaBarbera in a statement, "urging them to not allow this unbelievably depraved and unhealthy homosexual event to occur in public conference rooms." LaBarbera continued, "We learned that...

A member of Barack Obama’s transition team is denying media reports that the president-elect has decided to delay efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” until 2010. An Obama transition team spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the decision on how to approach repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which prohibits gays from serving openly in the military, would be made after more experts have joined the Obama administration. “These decisions will not be made before the full national security team is in place,” the spokesperson said. The Washington Times reported last week that two people who have...

President-elect Barack Obama will not move for months, and perhaps not until 2010, to ask Congress to end the military's decades-old ban on open homosexuals in the ranks, two people who have advised the Obama transition team on this issue say. Repealing the ban was an Obama campaign promise. However, Mr. Obama first wants to confer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his new political appointees at the Pentagon to reach a consensus and then present legislation to Congress, the advisers said. "I think 2009 is about foundation building and reaching consensus," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the...

Today Congress is holding its first hearing in 15 years on the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy barring bisexuals, gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The hearings, called by a House Armed Services subcommittee, are likely to be more notable for the fact that they are being held at all rather than anything of substance they may produce. The simple fact that the hearings are taking place offers the most significant indication yet that the U.S. is finally reconsidering its strange policy of enforced hypocrisy that came to be called "Don't ask, don't tell." The hearings should...

Some Berkeley business owners say they have received such a negative response from the recent City Council resolutions against the Marine Corps recruiting center in Downtown Berkeley that they may withhold city taxes in protest. Last week the council declared that the center was "unwelcome" in Berkeley and sought to aide Code Pink, a group that organizes regular protests outside the center, by reserving a parking space for the group in front of the center, among other actions. Since then, the resolutions have elicited a nationwide response. Last Thursday, United States Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said he would attempt to...

Society for years has endured the freakish antics of Berkeley dwellers. Naked people streaking in the streets; smelly hippies begging for money as they sing drunken renditions of '60s anti-war songs; adults sitting in trees like a bad zoo exhibit. But the Berkeley City Council and instigators from the extreme left have crossed the line this time. The council Tuesday night passed two anti-military, anti-American resolutions and agreed to send a letter to the city's only Marine recruiting office saying the military are "uninvited intruders." This is treasonous, hateful behavior that steals the First Amendment rights of the Marines, the...

Remember the gay retired brigadier general who chastised Republicans for their stance on gays in the military at Wednesday's CNN/YouTube debate? Turns out Keith Kerr was packing a partisan sword. He's served as a member of an advisory team on gay and lesbian issues to the Sen. Hillary Clinton Campaign. In the words of CNN's debate crew: D'oh! And here's Anderson Cooper falling on his nonpartisan sword. So how did this slip under CNN's radar? Maybe CNN could have checked its own website. Instead, they paid for Kerr's airfare and hotel to St. Petersburg for the debate. This is a...

CNN is defending its job in vetting questions for last night's debate, reports Politico's Kenneth Vogel: The retired general who quizzed Republican presidential candidates about gays and lesbians in the military was not the only person linked to a Democratic presidential candidate who got to ask a question at Wednesday’s CNN/YouTube debate. CNN also aired questions from supporters of Democratic candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama. And that’s fine by the network, which is standing by its question selection process and lashing out at critics who say the debate demonstrated CNN’s liberal bias. “We’re focused on the questions, not the...

The Republican party’s having a gay identity crisis as of late - and the ideological winner could change the party’s political fate, not to mention the election. As Kerry Eleveld eloquently explains in the Advocate, three of the presidential contenders oppose a federal amendment against gay marriage: John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson, although the latter wants to make sure no one state has to endorse another’s married gays. Regardless of Thompson’s middle ground, his and his peers’ moderate stances show that the Republican party’s facing an important decision. Will they stick to their guns and give the once...

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace ignited a firestorm on Monday during an interview with the Chicago Tribune when he expressed his personal viewpoint that homosexuality was "immoral." His remarks were in the context of a discussion about the U. S. military’s policy of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell", that allows gays to serve under the condition that their sexual orientation remain private. Gay activists and homosexual rights advocacy groups have already demanded that Gen. Pace apologize for comments that were characterized as "outrageous, insensitive and disrespectful." Staffers for Pace indicated the General would not apologize for...

Sailor Talks About Lesbian Lover, Loses Job NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The Navy is kicking out a female sailor who took part in a NYC rally for same sex marriages and was heard on 1010 WINS talking about her lesbian lover. Navy Petty Officer Rhonda Davis was in uniform when she gave the interview to 1010WINS on Saturday June 3rd, as she marched across the Brooklyn Bridge with hundreds of others supporting same sex marriage. Davis says now she is losing her job "because my superiors heard the broadcast from 1010 WINS." Navy spokesman Jeff Nichols confirmed that discharges...