My reaction to Obama's DADT language

I think it was good.

"This year I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are — it’s the right thing to do."

Here's why:

1. The SOTU matters. No, no one remembers it after a week, but it still is the most important speech of the year, and a lot of thought and politics goes into what is and isn't included. A few days ago, Joe wrote that obviously DADT wouldn't be in the SOTU, because we never imagined the President or his people would want to come with 100 miles of the repeal. Yet they did.

2. The President said "this year." That's a timeline, baby.

3. The President said he would work with Congress and the military. He didn't call on Congress to act, putting the burden on them, which many of us feared he might. He took responsibility for working with Congress and the military. That's good.

4. He said "repeal." He didn't say "change," which he and his people have been saying a lot lately, especially in front of straight audiences. He said "repeal." That's good.

5. He added the "it's the right thing to do" remark. That wasn't in his prepared statements. It's subtle, but it means he knows this specific promise matters.

Look, I'm not letting the man off the hook. It's not been a great year for gay civil rights, or for the President's relations with our community. But if he says he's going to work with congress and the military to repeal DADT this year, I say we take him at his word, offer to help, and by time Congress goes out of session this year, probably by early October since the elections are in November, we'd better have a repeal just as the President promised.

Now he's on the clock.

And a good first way to show he means it is for the President to include DADT repeal in his budget next week. Read More...

SLDN to Obama: Include repeal of DADT in defense budget

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network wants Obama to follow through on his statement tonight:

We applaud the President tonight for his call to Congress to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" this year. We very much need a sense of urgency to get this done in 2010. We call on the President to repeal the archaic 1993 law in his defense budget currently now being drafted, that is probably the only and best moving bill where DADT can be killed this year. As Rep. Patrick Murphy and Sen. Gillibrand have made clear, this is the year to repeal the law. What is also needed is more attention and leadership to win repeal. The American public, including conservatives, is overwhelmingly with the commander in chief on this one.

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SOTU Live Blog

Joe and I are live blogging in the box below - the page updates automatically as soon as we add a new comment, so just leave the page open and read :-) What do you think about Obama's address? Leave your comment by clicking here and scroll down. You can also submit a question, or your thoughts, to us via the live-blog box below - your comment won't be posted live, we'll receive it privately, but if we like it we can post it in the chat (we have to do it this way, with so many readers the live chat would be out of control, and unreadable, if everyone had live access). Thanks.

We'll be posting a few polls and other things during the speech, which starts at 9pm Eastern, and will probably go around 45 minutes. And finally, you can watch the speech live in the box right below the chat, again below, starting at 9.

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Obama on DADT at HRC Dinner

For comparison to what the President says later tonight, here's what he said at the HRC Dinner on October 10, 2009:

We are moving ahead on Don't Ask Don't Tell. (Applause.) We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve this country. We should be celebrating their willingness to show such courage and selflessness on behalf of their fellow citizens, especially when we're fighting two wars. (Applause.)

We cannot afford to cut from our ranks people with the critical skills we need to fight any more than we can afford -- for our military's integrity -- to force those willing to do so into careers encumbered and compromised by having to live a lie. So I'm working with the Pentagon, its leadership, and the members of the House and Senate on ending this policy. Legislation has been introduced in the House to make this happen. I will end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. That's my commitment to you. (Applause.)

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The Defense rests in Prop. 8 trial

In San Francisco today, the defense has rested after calling only two witnesses. The first witness, Kenneth Miller, didn't work out so well. Nor did this one. According to Brian Leubitz, today's witness, Davi Blankenhorn was an "absolute disaster":

He had no credibility with the Judge, and his continued failure to answer questions won’t look good on a written record either.

So, the anti-gay side is 0 for 2 on witnesses.

The judge is going to take some time to review the evidence before closing arguments. So, the trial is in recess until late February or early March. Read More...

Axelrod: Obama will call on Congress to repeal DADT

And that's great. And I think meaningful. It's not just another speech, it's the State of the Union. And that matters. But calling on Congress to do this is cute, but wrong. Congress isn't going to do anything, can't do anything, until the Department of Defense publicly states that it is behind the repeal 100% and wants to see it this year. And the President is the boss of the Department of Defense. I agree that Congress needs to get its butt in gear on repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell, but on this policy in particular they can't do a thing without the full support and assistance of the Department of Defense, and up until now DOD has been cagey as hell. Not to mention, the White House and DOD still don't even have a position on whether to move ahead with DADT this year, as we reported last week, let alone a plan for doing so. It's not just up to Congress. No big policy move is. That's what many of us knew before the health care fiasco, that we need presidential leadership to make big policy changes. Anyone who didn't know that pre health care knows it now. The White House needs to lead.

But before we judge, let's see what the President actually says. If he calls on Congress to work with him, and calls for the repeal this year, then I think this is a step in the right direction. It's not a step in the right direction if the White House reiterates the old chestnut about Congress passing laws and the President being just a constitutional fig leaf that has nothing to do with legislation.

Lead. Please. Read More...

Speaking of Mary Bono

Speaking of Ms. Mary Bono. My partner, at the time, Tony Orr and I had a very bad interaction with her when we were testifying before the House Judiciary Committee and trying to assist in getting a Federal Hate Crimes Law passed. It is bad enough to be violently attacked simply for being gay. For us to come forward, testify about it and try to ensure others didn't experience the same judicial injustice we experienced, and then be accused of lying about how our case was handled by Ms. Bono was most definitely adding insult to injury. From the congressional record:

"Ms. BONO. Our staff has been in contact with the DA's that handled your case, and we were informed that you and your partner, Mr. Beauchamp, were, ''less than cooperative'' throughout your investigation and that you refused to work with the DA appointed to your case.

Is this true?

Mr. ORR. That is patently untrue.

Ms. BONO. Can you explain then for the committee the circumstances surrounding your interaction with the DA?

Mr. ORR. Certainly. The ADA who handled our case, Stephen Hightower, never contacted us. We never heard from him. The only time I heard from anyone from the assistant district attorney's office—excuse me—from the district attorney's office was when I called victim witness.

It was only through my background in criminal reporting that I was able to track down what happened.

Ms. BONO. I understand though that a standard form letter was sent to all victims asking for medical records and documentation of injuries for purposes of restitution.

Did you mention or present documents to the DA's office at the time of your——

Mr. ORR. We never received that letter. We never received that letter. We did send documentation to the DA's office. We did call and ask why no one had been in contact with us.

I checked with them every month.

Ms. BONO. Thank you. You know, I guess once again as the hearing goes forward I hope I can truly—yes, sir, go ahead.

Mr. ORR. Can I add one more thing?

Ms. BONO. Yes.

Mr. ORR. I would like to add, though, that after Stephen Hightower had made his deals with our assailants, I spoke with Brian Crane. He is the first assistant district attorney for the Tulsa County Prosecutor's Office, and he himself told me that this was not handled in the fashion that it is usually handled in.

Bill LaFortune, the district attorney at that time, later resigned, not over that, but he just resigned, so he is not even in the office anymore, but Brian Crane can speak to what I just said.

Ms. BONO. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman."

Ms. Bono wasn't aware that it wasn't the first hate crime I had experienced in Oklahoma. It simply was a straw that broke the camel's back with me. I had already been victimized several years before when I was an officer for the "United Methodists for Lesbian and Gay Concerns" and had experienced death and arson threats from a hate group. I made the mistake of publishing my name and number on a flyer for the "United Methodist for Gay Concerns Thanksgiving Celebration." My previous partner, and I had glass bottles broken in our drive way, our window shot out with a pellet gun, and I'll never forget one of the many menacing warnings for our daring to have that Thanksgiving celebration from a man with a nasally southern drawl, "How dare you have a Thanksgivin' Dinner! I'm gonna come there and shoot you queers, cut the lesbian's heads off, cut off your dicks and stuff your cocks down their throats!" Nice, huh? That one was almost funny in all its glorious ignorance.

Fortunately, Tony slammed the lid on Ms. Bono's little line of questioning. Thank God it was him testifying. I was so damned nervous I couldn't even remember my name. I used to have flashbacks all the time of the beating. Every single time the subject was brought up, I would experience vertigo and panic attacks. It took a long time for me to be able to work through the pain, and come to terms with that attack.

During Tony's testimony, I just could not believe Mary Bono tried to entrap Tony by aggressively accusing us of lying when we were there as victims, and simply testifying before a congressional committee to try to get a Federal Hate Crimes law passed.

I sincerely hope Pougnet wins. Palm Springs deserves someone more progressive and less willing to further victimize hate crime victims by basically accusing them of lying when testifying before congress. You can donate to Pougnet's campaign here. Read More...

Is mentioning DADT tonight in the SOTU enough? (if it happens)

Adam Bink says no:

This morning, CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller wrote on Twitter:

On DADT, he's expected to call for gays to serve openly in the military.

A friend of mine, and no doubt lots of others, retweeted it as if it was A Very Big Deal. In truth, it's not, my friends. If my issue were, say, Electoral College reform, it would be A Very Big Deal. It would elevate attention dramatically, help me fundraise, etc. But on this issue, what is this, 2007? Obama calling for gays to serve openly in the military is nothing new, despite the forum. He, along with his press aides, have called for this over and over. What we need is action.

The President needs to do more than call for gays to serve openly. He needs to announce he will insert repeal language in the defense authorization bill he will submit to Congress in the next few months. Then, he needs to actually go out and round up the votes like he's doing on health care. Nothing less will suffice. If he does use the bully pulpit tonight as part of that case, great. That is part of it. But everyone should understand there's a difference between reiterating a policy commitment he made years ago, and announcing he will take action, then going out and doing it. If he does not do this, it will be a lot harder to pass repeal, and if he pushes it off until after we lose seats in the midterms, we may not have a chance at all.

You will tell how serious the President is about repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell not by a bland, fleeting mention, but by what he does to go out and get it done, and that needs to start tonight.

What do you think? Big deal! Or, eh, big deal. Read More...

Major movement on civil rights

The WH is going to host a concert:

Bob Dylan and Natalie Cole are among the performers President Barack Obama will welcome to the White House next month for a concert celebrating music of the civil rights movement.

The White House on Tuesday said Jennifer Hudson, John Legend and John Mellencamp will perform Feb. 10 in a concert to be broadcast the next evening. Smokey Robinson, Seal and the Blind Boys of Alabama also are on the program, which will be hosted by Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah.

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Gay businessman sitting in First Lady's box at SOTU

That's good, visibility always helps. Of course, he's a big defender of all the good work the President has done on gay issues this past year (sigh). And, unfortunately, it appears the White House did not choose to have a gay service member be our representative tonight. That would have had real impact, helping the cause of gay equality immensely. A gay businessman, on the other hand, is nice. And safe. Read More...

Kerry Eleveld on what Obama might say tonight on DADT

The Advocate's DC reporter has been working her sources to find out what the President might -- and might not -- say in the State of the Union speech tonight:

The options range from a passing mention or a reiteration of his intent to end the gay ban to the announcement of a commission to study the policy to laying out a specific strategy for repeal.

“We are encouraging the president to share his vision, his plan, and his time line for getting rid of the policy,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the pro-repeal lobby group Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Sarvis said he was not clear what the president would say and noted that some White House advisers believe the issue should not be raised in the address at all.

“He could also tee it up among a laundry list of objectives that he would like to see Congress address but not provide any specifics,” he added.

But some LGBT advocates quietly worried that they might be watching a rerun of yesteryear and politicians past. Though several sources said the content of the president's speech was being tightly held, many had heard rumblings about stall tactics rather than action plans.

We've heard speeches from Obama already. Words without actions won't be enough. And, stall tactics are completely unacceptable. Read More...

Updated DADT Numbers from the Williams Institute

In anticipation of the SOTU address, here are a few updated DADT numbers to think about, courtesy of Gary Gates at UCLA's Williams Institute:

"An estimated 66,000 lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals are serving in the US military, accounting for approximately 2.2% of military personnel."

"Lifting DADT restrictions could attract an estimated 36,700 men and women to active duty service along with 12,000 more individuals to the guard and reserve."

"Since its inception in 1994, the “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” policy has cost the military between $290 million and more than a half a billion dollars."

Gates' full research brief can be found here. Read More...