SU and SLDN on today's DADT ruling

The Servicemember groups weigh in.

Alex Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United, who played a key role in the Log Cabin case:

"This order from Judge Phillips is another historic and courageous step in the right direction, a step that Congress has been noticeably slow in taking," said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and the sole named veteran plaintiff in the case along with the Log Cabin Republicans. "While this is certainly news to be celebrated, we would also advise caution in advance of a potential stay from the Ninth Circuit. If the appellate court wishes to put itself on the right side of history, however, it will allow this sound and long-over due decision to remain in effect."

SLDN's Legal Director Aaron Tax

“We applaud Judge Phillips for putting an immediate stop to all investigations and discharges under this unconstitutional law. As explained by the judge, this order applies across the military. This order bars the Department of Defense from enforcing or applying the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law against any person under its command. We have clients under investigation and facing discharge right now. We’ll be monitoring each case over the coming days. This order will likely be appealed by the Justice Department and brought to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit where her decision may well be reversed. The law still has a chance of being repealed in the lame duck session of Congress. Service members must proceed safely and should not come out at this time. Anyone in the armed forces with questions or concerns should call our hotline.”

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DADT is officially gone. Obama will actually have to choose to resurrect the now-dead policy.

"Right now, as of this moment, there is, effectively, no DADT policy in effect." - Richard Socarides, New York attorney and former Clinton White House adviser on gay rights

This is a rather fine, but important distinction, I think.

A federal judge killed DADT today. Her ruling says the government has to immediately stop the investigations, the discharges, everything. Immediately. That means no one in the government is permitted to do anything related to enforcing DADT. It's gone.

The injunction goes into effect immediately, said Dan Woods, the attorney who represented the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay rights group that filed the lawsuit in 2004 to stop the ban's enforcement.

"Don't ask, don't tell, as of today at least, is done, and the government is going to have to do something now to resurrect it," Woods said. "This is an extremely significant, historic decision. Once and for all, this failed policy is stopped. Fortunately now we hope all Americans who wish to serve their country can."

The only way for DADT to come back is for President Obama to resurrect the policy by asking the court for a "stay pending appeal" - i.e., to stay the enforcment of the district court judge's order pending appeal, and then appealing the case. Unless and until Obama resurrects DADT, it's dead. So the stakes are actually higher for the President on this one. DADT is gone. He now has to decide whether he wants to personally bring it back. Read More...

21 Senators urge Obama not to appeal DADT decision

October 12, 2010

Dear Mr. Attorney General,

We are writing to bring to your attention the recently issued decision of Judge Virginia A. Phillips of the United States District Court of the Central District of California in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States, which declared that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) underlying law violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of due process and free speech, thereby rendering DADT unconstitutional. In light of important national security concerns, we respectfully request that you, in your capacity at the Department of Justice, refrain from appealing this decision or the permanent injunction granted against this law.

The following quote from the judge’s decision captures the overwhelming reason why the decision should stand: “Among those discharged were many with critically needed skills … Far from furthering the military's readiness, the discharge of these service men and women had a direct and deleterious effect on this governmental interest.” As one of many criteria that the Justice Department will examine in deciding whether to appeal the permanent injunction to this policy, we ask that you examine whether or not an appeal furthers a legitimate governmental interest. We would say any appeal does not.

Additionally, DADT harms military readiness, as well as the morale and the cohesiveness of our armed forces, at a time when our military’s resources are strained and unity is critically important. For every person discharged after ten years of service, six new servicemembers would need to be recruited to recover the level of experience lost by that discharge. This not only weakens our military, but neither is it an effective use of our government resources or taxpayer monies.

President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, have all publicly advocated for the repeal of this harmful law. There is no legal or military justification and not one shred of credible evidence that supports continuing the discriminatory DADT law, and considering the guidance of the commander-in-chief and the nation’s top two defense officials, we urge you to refrain from seeking an appeal. The federal court decision was a step in the right direction, and we are confident that the Senate will take the ultimate step by voting this fall on the fiscal year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act to permanently lift the ban on gays in the military. Although we understand that only action by Congress can bring real finality to this issue, we believe an appeal of the recent federal court decision could set back those congressional efforts. Therefore, we request your assistance in ensuring that we can eradicate this discriminatory law permanently and urge the Justice Department to choose not to appeal any court decision that would keep this law in place.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Senators:
Udall (CO)
Gillibrand
Kerry
Schumer
Burris
Whitehouse
Landrieu
Sanders
Merkley
Shaheen
Johnson
Franken
Boxer
Feingold
Lautenberg
Durbin
Menendez
Bennet
Mikulski
Sherrod Brown
Cardin

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Palm Center says Obama doesn't have to appeal DADT decision

What's interesting about this statement just released by the Palm Center is that over the past few weeks, possibly even months, the Palm Center has given the appearance of being rather close to the administration. Some of their quotes in the press of late have almost seemed a tad too close at times. With that in mind, this statement today is quite extraordinary.  They're basically calling the President out.

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO AARON BELKIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE PALM CENTER

"Legal experts have agreed that the Department of Justice is under no obligation to appeal this ruling. President Obama can end 'don't ask, don't tell' now simply by allowing Judge Phillips's decision to stand. Should the administration continue to insist on waiting for Congressional action, we may have to wait many more years for the Pentagon to stop firing qualified men and women under this discriminatory policy.”

The Palm Center, a think tank at the University of California, Santa Barbara, produces scholarship designed to enhance the quality of public dialogue about critical and controversial public policy issues. Since 1998, the Center has been a leader in commissioning and disseminating research in the areas of gender, sexuality, and the military.

So we're actually paying taxpayer money to pay people at the White House and the Department of Justice to manage relations with the gay community?  Those relations couldn't be in more peril.  The amount of damage President Obama has done to the Democratic party's traditionally strong ties with the gay community is immeasurable.  It only took him 19 months to undo decades of friendship.  And the same horror is playing out with the party's relations with Latinos, enviros, labor and more.

You can only shit on people so many times. Read More...

Pelosi lauds DADT decision; President still MIA

This is what a fierce advocate sounds like. Pelosi should have ignored Obama from day one. Her biggest mistake, and now possibly fatal mistake, was ceding far too much territory to a man who simply wasn't willing to lead. Pelosi tweets:

Today's order barring enforcement of #DADT is welcome; further affirmation constitutional rights are being denied.

Compare Pelosi to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, talking about the same DADT decision, earlier this afternoon:

Obviously, I learned of, and haven't been able to talk, as we were walking down here, anybody in the counsel's office who might have had an opportunity to read this more closely. Obviously, there have been a number of court cases that have ruled in favor of plaintiffs in this case and the president will continue to work as hard he can to change the law that he believes is fundamentally unfair.

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BREAKING: DOJ will appeal DOMA & defend hateful law. Obama to do exactly what Bush did & McCain would have done

Kind of feels like fierce bigotry. And just wait, I suspect that any moment now we're going to learn that the Obama administration has filed a motion to stop a federal judge's order that basically eliminated DADT a few hours ago.

But remember, the Human Rights Campaign says we owe this President our gratitude.  From GLAD:

Department of Justice will Appeal GLAD’s Victory in DOMA Lawsuit

Today, the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal in the case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, the challenge brought by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) to Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Representing seven married same-sex couples and three widowers, GLAD filed Gill in March 2009. The case was heard in May 2010 by U.S. District Court Joseph L. Tauro, who issued a decision finding DOMA Section 3 unconstitutional on July 8, 2010.

“We fully expected an appeal and are more than ready to meet it head on,” said Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director. “DOMA brings harm to families like our plaintiffs every day, denying married couples and their children basic protections like health insurance, pensions, and Social Security benefits. We are confident in the strength of our case.”

The case is now before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The next step will be for the government to file its brief to that court arguing that Judge Tauro’s ruling was wrong. GLAD will then file its brief in opposition to the government, and finally the government will file a reply brief. At that point, the appeal will be scheduled for oral argument. Briefing could be concluded by the spring of 2011 with oral argument to follow by the fall of 2011.

The government also today filed its notice of appeal in the related case Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Department of Health and Human Services.
Co-counsel in the Gill case are attorneys from the firms Foley Hoag LLP, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Jenner & Block LLP, and Kator, Parks & Weiser, PLLC.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders is New England’s leading legal organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression.

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Another bumbling response on DADT from WH spokesman Robert Gibbs

And this is the guy some want to see head the Democratic party? He can't do anything but mumble when asked about the President's firm and repeated promises on gay civil rights. Of course, there was that time, right before Obama was sworn in, when Gibbs was unequivocal about doing away with DADT: "One word: Yes," I believe was his answer, when asked if the President was going to get rid of the gay ban. Not so clear anymore, is he?

Obviously, I learned of, and haven't been able to talk, as we were walking down here, anybody in the counsel's office who might have had an opportunity to read this more closely. Obviously, there have been a number of court cases that have ruled in favor of plaintiffs in this case and the president will continue to work as hard he can to change the law that he believes is fundamentally unfair.

Fierce discomfort.

NB I got the full quote from the Advocate's reporter Kerry Eleveld. You'll only see a partial quote in the link to the story. Read More...

'Legal experts' tell AP: Obama does not have to appeal DADT ruling

The future of DADT lies with President Obama. He didn't lift a finger to help pass the Defense Authorization bill, which includes the convoluted DADT language. But, a judge has declared the law unconstitutional and ordered an immediate stop to the discharges.

We've been saying that Obama doesn't have to fight this decision. His DOJ doesn't have to seek a stay -- and DOJ doesn't have to appeal. For the past year, a wide array of apologists have challenged that view. Don't just take our word for it -- here are legal experts cited by AP:

Associated Press:

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have 60 days to appeal. Legal experts say the department is under no legal obligation to do so and could let Phillips' ruling stand.

A second AP story:

Legal experts say the Obama administration could choose to not appeal her ruling to end the ban — but Department of Justice attorneys are not likely to stay mum since Obama has made it clear he wants Congress to repeal the policy.

We'll probably know later today if DOJ is seeking a stay pending appeal.

And, we'll know soon if DOJ is appealing the Massachusetts DOMA case. That appeal is due today.

I'm sure DOJ's so-called LGBT liaison, Matt Nosanchuk, is in there fighting for our equality. Ha. Read More...

BREAKING: Federal judge orders Obama admin. to stop DADT discharges immediately. Will Obama comply, or side with the bigots?

This is huge.

You want to know how to vote in three weeks? Just watch what President Obama does in response to today's order by a federal judge to immediately cease all "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" discharges immediately.

Note specifically what the judge's order says.

ORDERS Defendants United States of America and the Secretary of Defense immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation, or other proceeding, that may have been commenced under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Act, or pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 654 or its implementing regulations, on or prior to the date of this Judgment.

What's interesting about that is that the Prop 8 judge did not make his ruling overturning Prop 8 effective immediately. He gave the bad guys time to appeal. In this case, the judge heard the government's arguments, and said no, I'm going to make this decision apply effective immediately. It's a big rebuke to the government's position.

The President, who is himself a constitutional scholar, has been handed the golden opportunity to end DADT once and for all. A federal judge has now ruled that the gay ban is unconstitutional, and she has ordered the federal government to stop the discharges immediately. The President now has the power - given to him by a federal judge - to do the right thing, to do what he promised, to side with the civil rights community. All he has to do is not appeal, and DADT is over.

It's a no-brainer. Even for this administration that is loathe to do anything bold, loathe to be seen as responsible for anything even slightly "controversial." Well, now they have their out. It's the judge's fault. President Obama can simply choose not to appeal the case, to respect the judge's decision, and DADT is over. It's history.

Or the President can direct his Department of Justice to oppose the judge's order, to appeal the case, and to defend DADT - to defend bigotry, to go down in history on the same side as those who chose to defend discrimination against another class of Americans earlier in the 20th century. It's no longer up to Congress, it's no longer "out of the President's hands."  It's in Barack Obama's hands. Will America's first African-American president side with the bigots, or will he side with civil rights.  Will he act boldly, or will he choose the way of the coward?

President Obama's decision will tell you all you need to know about whether the Democratic party is on your side, or whether they are simply using you for your vote and your money. It's time for the party and the President to put up or shut up.

Expect a decision today from the White House.

Here is the judge's decision.

Judge's Judgment and Permanent Injunction of DADT Read More...

Wal-Mart to sell 'Cure the Gays' children's book

NOTE FROM JOHN: Not enough suicides for you, Wal-Mart?

Wal-Mart is planning on selling a Mormon "Cure the Gays" book for children.

A children’s book written by the wife of anti-gay Standard of Liberty president Stephen Graham is being carried by over 100 Walmart stores. Chased by an Elephant, the Gospel Truth about Today’s Stampeding Sexuality by Janice Barrett Graham was written to “help shed the clear light of truth on today’s dark and tangled ideas about male and female, proper gender roles, the law of chastity, and the God-given sexual appetite,” according to Janice Graham in the book’s introduction.

“The number of our young people involved in sexual sins has greatly increased in recent years. Some of the most stalwart-seeming youth find themselves involved in pornography, fornication, promiscuity, homosexuality, and the like,” Janice continued.

“This charming, unique, and important book is a must-read for leaders and parents to use as they see fit that stunningly and resoundingly echos the truths and warnings presented in [Mormon church] President Boyd K. Packer’s conference talk this past Sunday,” the announcement said. “For the sake of our children and youth, we can no longer afford to be silent on this topic. Given the licentious world around them, they need to be purposely taught the correct information and attitudes concerning human sexuality and God’s law of chastity.”

That would be this same hate filled Boyd K. Packer John wrote about recently. Read More...

Wash Post Post publishes anti-gay screed by man who promotes known hate group's anti-gay 'Nazi' science

Well isn't that embarrassing. The Washington Post's Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn just published an "opinion" piece - in its "faith" section, no less - by the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, a man whose anti-gay activist organization has for years been promoting the "Nazi" science (that's what the Southern Poverty Law Center calls it) of a known "hate group" that is listed alongside the Klan on the SPLC Web site. The group's Nazi science is about bashing gays. And what did the Post permit the "faith expert" to write about? Anti-gay bullying. Seriously.

Here's what you'll find currently, today, on the Family Research Council Web site.  Note the author.

Now, rather than have me tell you who Paul Cameron is, let me have the revered Southern Poverty Law Center tell you:

Cameron's brand of "science" echoed Nazi Germany.

You see, Cameron runs an organization that for years has been labeled a "hate group" by the SPLC. They list Cameron's "Family Research Institute" alongside the Klan:

Click to see larger version

Yes, the Klan, folks.

Do you think the Washington Post would let someone who promotes Klan literature write on their Web site?  No chance in hell.  But when the bigot is anti-gay, and when he's promoting known hate groups that excel in Nazi-type science - groups that are listed alongside the Klan - somehow the hate-enabler is now practicing legitimate journalism.

And there's more. Much more from SPLC:

Paul Cameron is an infamous anti-gay propagandist whose one-man statistical chop shop, the Family Research Institute, churns out hate literature masquerading as legitimate science. Cameron dresses up his "studies" with copious footnotes, graphs and charts, and then pays to publish them in certain journals. Cameron's work has been rejected by both the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association, yet his ludicrous statistics are frequently referenced in sermons, news broadcasts, politicians' speeches and even court decisions.

Religious right action groups including Focus on the Family, the American Family Association, the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition promote Cameron's statistics on their Web sites.

Not one of Cameron's anti-gay studies has been published in a respected scientific journal with rigorous content review standards. Instead, Cameron props up his façade of credibility by publishing his studies in Psychological Reports, a Montana-based vanity magazine that advertises itself as "The Scientific Manifestation of Free Speech" and will publish practically anything for $27.50 per page.

Now let me share with you some of Paul Cameron's "science" that the Family Research Council relies so heavily on. Again, I quote the Southern Poverty Law Center:

He told the 1985 Conservative Political Action Committee conference that "extermination of homosexuals" might be needed in the next three to four years. He has advocated tattooing AIDS patients in the face, and banishment to a former leper colony for any patient who resisted. He has called for gay bars to be closed and gays to be registered with the government.

Cameron even has called AIDS a "godsend," and it was for him...

What's next from the Post, an op ed by Goebbels about racial diversity in America? Read More...

Socarides on Keith talks homophobia and the 2010 elections

There's an impact beyond politics, as Richard notes. The negative messages impact LGBT youth. And, this is about full equality for all.
Read More...

Las Vegas Pastor Arrested for ELEVEN Sexual Abuse Charges

This same pastor was charged in a similar case in 2005, and many of his flock stubbornly stood by him:

A pastor of a Las Vegas church was arrested Friday on 11 sexual abuse charges, five years after a similar case against him was dropped.

North Las Vegas police arrested Billy Eckstine McCurdy, 57, following an eight-month investigation into allegations that he sexually assaulted teen boys at his home....

The new charges involve two teen boys who said McCurdy forced them into sexual relationships with him. They told police he used his position in the church and Bible scriptures to force them into sex acts, authorities said.

I'm wondering if they have learned their lesson about blind faith now that their pastor was able to molest more of their children?

Of course, it goes without saying the whole using biblical scriptures and position within the church to molest the teenage boys sounds eerily similar to another case we've been following. Read More...