DADT protesters repeatedly interrupt Obama speech at Boxer fundraiser; Obama looked pissed

Why people are ticked off about DADT.



This is the moment that Obama is being heckled for the second time about DADT during his speech at Sen. Boxer's fundraiser. The face is priceless. Check out this video 5:20 into it - that's where the second heckler gets Obama's attention. You can tell by his face that he is royally pissed.

And for anyone who thinks this doesn't accomplish anything or is counterproductive, GetEqual just got the attention of the President of the United States. You can't buy that kind of access (well, you can, but...)

Transcript of protest from official White House Web site:

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell!”

THE PRESIDENT: We are going to do that. Hey, hold on a second, hold on a second. We are going to do that.

AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

THE PRESIDENT: Here we go. All right -- guys, guys, all right. I agree, I agree, I agree. (Applause.) Now --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no, listen. What the young man was talking about was we need to -- we need to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don't Tell,” which I agree with and which we have begun to do. (Applause.) But let me say this: When you’ve got an ally like Barbara Boxer and you’ve got an ally like me who are standing for the same thing, then you don't know exactly why you’ve got to holler, because we already hear you, all right? (Applause.) I mean, it would have made more sense to holler that at the people who oppose it. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: It’s time for equality for all Americans!

THE PRESIDENT: I’m sorry, do you want to come up here? (Applause.) You know, the -- all right, because can I just say, once again, Barbara and I are supportive of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” so I don't know why you’re hollering.

Now, the problems that we have here put a further strain on folks in this state, forcing painful choices about where to spend and where to save. And the challenges folks have been facing here --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

THE PRESIDENT: Barbara -- I just -- everybody, I just wanted to confirm -- I just wanted to confirm -- I just checked with Barbara, so if anybody else is thinking about starting a chant, Barbara didn’t even vote for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the first place, so you know she’s going to be in favor of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” (Applause.)

Video of Obama being interrupted by DADT protesters. Obama told the protesters "we already hear ya." Cute, but not true. Barney Frank has tried to get the White House for one month now to say that it wants DADT repealed this year. Frank has received silence in response. The President very clearly doesn't hear us. Watch 5:37 into the video, Obama is pissed. This worked folks. His entire speech got disrupted.

More coverage: AP, Photo of the protest.

From the White House pool report it doesn't sound like Obama was loving it by the second time the GetEQUAL protesters interrupted him. There's just going to be more of this until the White House gets off the dime and starts making DADT repeal happen this year.

POTUS took the stage at 6:13 p.m. local time. Audio again is not the greatest. He calls out names of several California government officials, each of whom draw applause.

At 6:17, several protesters among the crowd interrupted POTUS' speech, expressing anger over the slow progress on repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay service members. The crowd tried to hush them. "What about don't ask, don't tell?" one protester shouted.

POTUS yelled back "we are going to do that."

POTUS kept talking, increasing his volume to speak over the protesters. The crowd then erupted into chants of "Yes, we can."

He later said, "we are going to repeal don't ask, don't tell."

Your pooler has learned the protesters are from GetEQUAL, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group that also orchestrated protests outside the fundraiser. The group was also behind a protest last month at the White House, where activists Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. James Pietrangelo handcuffed themselves to a gate.

"IT's time for equality for all Americans!" another protester yelled at 9:22. Obama said, "can I just say again Barbara and I are supportive of repealing Don't ask dont tell." But protester keeps yelling. Bringing Obama's remarks to a halt. The crowd responds again by "shouting yes we can!" over the protesters.

"Be quiet!" someone yells.

At 6:25 local time, POTUS has regained control of the speech.

Had White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina done a better job of handling this issue, the President wouldn't be facing what now appears to be an ongoing campaign of civil disobedience. Read More...

Sen Udall (D-CO) to hold press conference on DADT tomorrow (Tuesday)

Udall has been a big supporter of our community on the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. He also sits on the all-important Senate Armed Services Committee. From Udall's office:

TOMORROW: Former Military Members to meet with Udall, Tell Personal Stories Highlighting Need for Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell This Year

Udall to discuss future of DADT repeal in upcoming DOD Authorization Bill

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, April 20, U.S. Senator Mark Udall will meet with three former U.S. service members who were discharged under the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law to make the case for its repeal this year. Distinguished veterans Mike Almy, Stacy Vasquez and David Hall will talk about their service, how it ended under DADT and the why the law should be repealed now.

3:00 p.m. EST What: Senator Udall will host three former service members to discuss their service and advocacy for DADT repeal

Where: Hart Office Building Suite SH-317
Washington, D.C. 20510

Read More...

Gays to protest Obama over DADT in LA

The gays are coming. And they're pissed. From Ben Smith:

The energy (and money) in the gay rights movement at the moment are on the confrontational end of things, and a new group called GetEQUAL will be staging a protest at Obama's fundraiser with Barbara Boxer today in Los Angeles, the group says.

There could be some fireworks: These are the guys who recently handcuffed themselves to the White House gate to demand an end to Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Read More...

Barney Frank still hasn't heard from White House on DADT

It's not a good sign when the lead gay member of Congress has to send public messages to the White House, and even then still doesn't get a response:

Frank also said that he has not heard from White House officials since he began prodding them to take a stand on the timing of a vote.

“I haven’t talked to the White House about this,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve been sending them public messages about how unhappy I am.”

Read More...

Christian music singer, Jennifer Knapp, announces she is gay

I just read where Christian music singer, Jennifer Knapp, has announced she is a lesbian.

Jennifer Knapp is just the way she is and doesn't care who knows it.

The former Christian music singer, whose last album "Way I Am" was released in 2001, has come out as a lesbian, CNN reports.

The Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter vanished from the music scene seven years ago amidst rumors - which now turn out to be true - that she was gay.

Good for her, and I hope her journey is smoother because of the road paved by those like Marsha Stevens-Pino. Marsha's web site is here and she has actually visited our church, UCC Community of Hope, and the exile she related to our congregation, at the hands of those who claim to be Christian, was shameful. Undeterred, Marsha still performs her incredible music and ministers to the LGBT and affirming Christian community.

In The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, editor Mark Powell referred to the incident as "Contemporary Christian Music's first official scandal". Christian Century Magazine's Mark Allan Powell in a 1999 article stated that after coming out of the closet, Stevens-Pino became "conservative Christianity's worst nightmare - a Jesus-loving, Bible-believing, God-fearing lesbian Christian."[1]

After her divorce and subsequent vilification by the Christian music industry, Stevens-Pino formed her own music ministry, BALM (Born Again Lesbian Music) in the mid-1980s. It was at that time that Stevens-Pino began ministering within the predominanty gay and lesbian Metropolitan Community Church as well as other, independent Christian-Gay congregations not affiliated with MCC. The transition from being a celebrity within evangelical Christianity to being an open lesbian was not easy for Stevens-Pino. Along with losing custody of her young children after her divorce, Stevens-Pino reports that more than once she has received by mail ripped out and torn up hymnal and songbook pages upon which was printed, For Those Tears I Died.

During a Gaither Homecoming Concert in Phoenix, Arizona in 2002, singer/musician/songwriter Bill Gaither acknowledged Marsha's presence in the audience along with her significant contribution to early Contemporary Christian music. When a backstage photo showing Stevens, Pino, Gaither, and Mark Lowry arm-on-arm circulated on the internet following the concert, a large backlash from conservative, fundamentalist, and evangelical Christians ensued. The controversy caused Gaither to issue a press release which included the statement, "someone snapped a photograph of the four of us, a picture Marsha has exploited on her Web site ever since." In response to Gaither's press statement regarding the incident, MCC moderator, Reverend Nancy L. Wilson, released a rebuttal statement in defense of Stevens-Pino.[2]

It will be interesting to see how far Christians have grown in regard to Jennifer Knapp since that shameful chapter with Marsha Stevens-Pino. Read More...

Greenville, SC Tea Party rally calls out GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham for being gay

Dr. Frankenstein, your monster's ready.

Read More...

SLDN 'disturbed by multiple reports' that Obama admin. is urging congress not to vote on DADT this year, asks Obama to keep his promise

Today, via Ben Smith, we learn that Aubrey Sarvis, the Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), wrote a letter directly to President Obama asking him to get involved in the effort to repeal DADT this year. After all, that was Obama's promise to the nation in the State of the Union on January 27th. Sarvis says that he's heard from multiple sources on the Hill that the Obama administration is telling congress not to vote on DADT this year:

I am very disturbed by multiple reports from Capitol Hill that your Congressional liaison team is urging some Members of Congress to avoid a vote on repeal this year. The upcoming House and Senate votes will be close, and very frankly, Mr. President, we need your help now.

In the letter, Sarvis makes it clear that time is running out to get repeal done this year. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees will soon be marking up the Department of Defense authorization bills, which offers the best hope for repeal.

Last week, John reported that he and I "were just informed that the White House congressional liaison office is telling US House members not to include the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" in the Defense Authorization bill, and not to have a vote on DADT on the House floor, this year." In response, an unnamed "White House official" issued a response denying our report, without stating whether or not the White House did indeed want a vote this year. John deconstructed that response here. After reading the Sarvis letter, it's clear we're not the only people hearing that a delay is being urged. This is a significant development and the White House needs to address it from a named official this time: the Deputy Chief of Staff, Jim Messina, is in charge of the DADT strategy. Someone needs to ask him if the White House wants DADT repealed this year.

Kerry Eleveld talked to Sarvis about this letter. He indicated the roadblock was coming from officials at the Pentagon:

Sarvis told The Advocate that he has gotten reports from Capitol Hill staffers in both the Senate and House that representatives from the Department of Defense have asked them to hold off on taking a vote to end the policy until a report on how to implement repeal is completed. The study, ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in February, is due in early December.

“The administration is saying, ‘Look, the working group has its task, their work is not concluded until the end of the year, and we would prefer that this not be voted on this year,’” Sarvis said.

Asked if the directive came from the officials at the White House or the Defense Department, Sarvis said, “It’s the Pentagon, but the Pentagon is part of the administration.”

That is indeed true. The Pentagon is under the command of Obama. This also comports with what Secretary Gates said last month. He indicated that he didn't want a change in the law until his study was done -- and he indicated that the President was comfortable with that strategy. So, the White House could deny what AMERICAblog reported. Will they deny this charge from Sarvis, too?

From the tone of the letter, it's obvious SLDN sees an urgency. No wonder. SLDN is the organization that represents servicemembers who are being discharged. This isn't about access and party invitations for SLDN. It's about people's live. And, these people are willing to put their lives on the line for the rest of us. The groups representing our gay and lesbian servicemembers speak with moral authority. The White House really should listen to them. Obama needs to get control of this situation. He made the promise to repeal DADT "this year." He needs to make sure his staff is getting it done. If the Democrats suffer serious losses in November, the opportunity to repeal DADT may be lost for years. Repeal has to happen "this year."

Here's the letter to the President from Aubrey Sarvis:
SLDN's Letter to the President Read More...