Posted 10 months, 1 week ago at 7:27 am. 1 comment
Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed a new law which includes “sexual orientation” in the list of federal hate crimes. It’s the first federal act to specifically benefit GLBT citizens, and some are calling this a landmark similar to African-American civil rights legislation of the 1960s.
Is this a sign of Obama sticking to what he’s promises? In my opinion, not quite. It’s a nice contrast, however, to the acts of President Bill Clinton, who signed DADT and DOMA, two glaring slaps in the face to our country’s dedication to equal rights, but it is a step in the right direction.
Prominent civil rights activist and political guru David Mixner is recovering well after what his friend Corey Johnson told The Advocate was a “very close” call this weekend which landed Mixner in the intensive care unit at New York Presbyterian Hospital at Cornell. A note on his popular blog, Live From Turkey Hollow, notes that Mixner hopes to be back on the blog in “a week or so.”
Mixner has been organizing anti-war and pro-civil-rights campaigns since the 1960s. He was a major fundraiser for President Bill Clinton, rallying gays and lesbians to contribute generously to Clinton’s first presidential campaign. He and Clinton were close personal friends as well, or so Mixner thought. After Clinton caved on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Mixner participated in protests outside the White House, and was dragged away in a widely publicized arrest. His relationship with Clinton cooled.
Doctors still aren’t completely sure what’s ailing the 63-year-old, and they are continuing to monitor him closely now that he’s out of intensive care.
Back on May 24, Gay News Daily covered the story of Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, who was facing discharge under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Fehrenbach was Queer of the Month for June. Today, the Washington Post got around to covering it. Read More
Lieutenant Daniel Choi is a veteran of the US Army, where his service included an extended tour of duty in Iraq as an Arabic interpreter. A graduate of West Point Military Academy, he is the co-founder and spokesperson of Knights Out, an organization that includes about 75 West Point grads who are openly gay or lesbian, in defiance of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that requires homosexuals and bisexuals in the service to keep their sexual orientation secret. As an infantry platoon leader in the New York National Guard, Choi is still subject to the ramifications of DADT.
On March 19, 2009, Choi appeared on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show, where he began to tell his story. “By saying three words to you today, ‘I am gay,’ those three words are a violation of title 10 of the U.S. Code.” The audio feed mysteriously cut off, but he returned the next day to continue the interview. Referring to his extended tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom he noted, “One of harder things was coming back from Iraq. Being an Iraq combat veteran, an Arabic linguist, a West Point graduate, I come back to America as a second-class citizen who‘s forced to lie because of this rule, because of this law.”
A few weeks after this interview, Choi received his discharge letter. On June 30, 2009, a panel of New York National Guard officers recommended that Choi be discharged from the military. The final decision, which will be made by the commander of First Army and the chief of the National Guard Bureau, is pending.
He has since become even more active in the gay civil rights movement, focused on repeal of the ban on openly LGBT service members. He’s a popular speaker at events including Pride rallies and protests. He was Grand Marshal of 2009’s San Francisco Pride Parade.
In an open letter to President Obama and Congress, Choi begged to keep his job. “As an infantry officer, an Iraq combat veteran and a West Point graduate with a degree in Arabic, I refuse to lie to my commanders. I refuse to lie to my peers. I refuse to lie to my subordinates. I demand honesty and courage from my soldiers. They should demand the same from me.”
Video of speech from Lt. Dan Choi at the Pink Triangle unveiling ceremony on Twin Peaks in San Francisco on Saturday, June 27, 2009 as part of the Pride weekend festivities.
The sailor accused of murdering gay seaman August Provost has been found dead in his cell at Camp Pendleton in California. Petty Officer Jonathan Campos had been charged with murder in the June 30 shooting of Provost, who was killed while on sentry duty at the base. Provost’s body was set on fire at his guard post after he was killed.
Campos apparently committed suicide and authorities have reported his death was due to asphyxiation.
Military investigators have said Provost’s sexuality was not a factor in his slaying, but his family has been pressing for answers. Provost had been harassed by fellow sailors for being gay. Provost’s aunt Rose Roy believes Provost may have been killed to keep him from outing Campos. “This guy went the extra mile to make sure that my nephew would never be able to speak about his [the killer’s] sexuality. … My nephew died for reasons other than what the military is saying.”
Soldier is the official “Magazine of the British Army.” The monthly publication covers news, policies, training, history, and personal stories of British military personnel. This month, for the first time, the cover of Soldier features an openly gay officer, Trooper James Wharton. Inside is an article, “Equal Partners” that focuses on how “gay soldiers celebrate the diversity of the modern British army.”
For nearly ten years, following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, homosexual men and woman have been able to proudly serve in the British army without hiding their sexuality. This is a stark contrast to the situation in the US where “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” enforces deceit and results in the discharge of hundreds of soldiers every year.
Wharton, 22, is a six-year veteran who served in Iraq and is soon to be promoted to Lance Corporal.
Lt. Dan Choi, the West Point graduate and Iraq veteran who received a discharge notice from the Army after he announced he was gay on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC in March, was in Los Angeles to introduche the new film Silent Partners. The film focuses on the plight of partners of military officers who must share the code of silence enforced by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Read More
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 11:54 pm. 1 comment
In 1995 Rachel Maddow was the first openly gay or lesbian American to earn a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. Later, she broke into radio by winning a contest held by a small FM station seeking on-air talent. “I was crashing with friends in Massachusetts, working odd jobs, when they told me to try out. And they hired me on the spot. Radio came to me, I didn’t come to it.”
One of her odd jobs was doing yard work for accountant/artist Susan Mikula. They’ve been living together since Halloween 2000.
Beginning in 2004, Maddow hosted The Rachel Maddow Show for the national Air America network. She moved into television by substituting for Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. They gave her her own show in 2008, and she started attracting big ratings for her liberal punditry.
Recently she broke the story of Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, who is facing discharge from the Air Force because he’s gay.
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 8:42 am. 0 comments
Air Force vet Victor Fehrenbach will attend today’s White House event commemorating Stonewall hosted by President Obama. Fehrenbach, who is facing discharge after 18 years of service, under the still-in-effect “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” anti-gay policy, will be a guest of the Service Members Legal Defense Network. He will be in full uniform with nine medals. Hopefully he’ll have the opportunity to ask the president why his administration has allowed over 200 qualified military personnel to be discharged for being gay since his inauguration, despite his stated opposition to DADT. Search this site for more articles about Fehrenbach.
UPDATE: Lt. Col. Fehrehnbach spoke to President Obama about DADT on Monday. “I didn’t let him go,” said Feherenbach, who left the meeting assured that the days are numbered for the anti-gay policy, but that repeal may not come soon enough to save his own career. If forced to retire at the 18-year mark, Fehrenbach will not receive the benefits he would receive if he were allowed to complete 20 years of service.
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 7:01 am. 0 comments
Anthony Woods was born on Travis Air Force base in California to a single mother who worked as a housekeeper. After graduating from high school, he jumped at the chance to attend West Point military academy, where he became the commander of summer training for his class and graduated on the Dean’s List. He was part of the first deployment of troops to Iraq in 2003, serving as a platoon leader. After a second tour of duty there, he was awarded the Bronze Star. He returned to the US to continue his military career, as a graduate student at the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His intention was to become a teacher at West Point. During all this time, he adhered to the military policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by keeping his homosexuality secret.
When he graduated at Harvard in June 2008, he was chosen to deliver the graduate English address at Commencement. By then he had decided he would inform his commander that he was gay, effectively ending his nine year career, and costing him at least $35,000 to repay the military for his education. “As I grew more comfortable with who I was, the less comfortable I was with lying about it.” In November he was told he was to be “eliminated” from the military for “moral and professional dereliction.” A court-martial resulted in his discharge.
Now he’s running in the Democratic primary to replace US Representative Ellen Tauscher, who’s been nominated by President Obama to a State Department position. Without significant government experience, at age 29 he’s campaigning as an outsider, purely on the facts of his exceptional biography. The special election will take place this fall.
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