LGBT POV

NBC is reporting live now – watch MSNBC. Brian Jenkins asks Richard Engel who right now says “The Last Patrol” will cross the border in about half hour. His reporting is the official Pentagon announcement of troop withdraw. No more combats missions; though some soldiers staying for training.Last troop – 440 troops, per Engel embedded with Striker Brigade. Rachel Maddow reporting live from Baghad now. Side bar: Engel is broadcasting from the “Bloom-mobile.”

UPDATE: Just watched the last combat troop cross into Kuwait, 4:20 Pacific time. That’s March 2003- to-moments ago.

Engels: “The beginning of the end.” About 50,000 troops remain as trainers, desk jobs.

Lt. DeWitt from San Jose – he watched the war start when he was 17; volunteered know he’d be deployed to Iraq; “proud” of the “good job” his unit has done.

Some combat troops coming home, then some going to Afghanistan. Rent the movies “Coming Home” and “First Blood” to understand some of the PTSD that some of the troops might experience….We need to help them.

I’ll have a more thoughtful response later.

UPDATE: Admiral Mike Mullen is on Facebook (pictured) and four hours ago – about two hours before the formal withdraw – he was posting about sending out DADT surveys to military spouses and the need to fill them out. The two responses on his front page are positive.

UPDATE: LETTER FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE WHITE HOUSE BLOG:

Ending the War in Iraq

Posted by Katelyn Sabochik on August 18, 2010 at 01:00 PM EDT

Earlier today, President Obama sent a message to the White House email list about ending our combat mission and drawing down the number of troops in Iraq.  Check out the email below.  You can sign up to receive periodic updates from the President and other senior administration officials here.

Good afternoon,

Shortly after taking office, I put forward a plan to end the war in Iraq responsibly. Today, I’m pleased to report that — thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians in Iraq — our combat mission will end this month, and we will complete a substantial drawdown of our troops.
 
Over the last 18 months, over 90,000 U.S. troops have left Iraq. By the end of this month, 50,000 troops will be serving in Iraq. As Iraqi Security Forces take responsibility for securing their country, our troops will move to an advise-and-assist  role. And, consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all of our troops will be out of Iraq by the end of next year. Meanwhile, we will continue to build a strong partnership with the Iraqi people with an increased civilian commitment and diplomatic effort.
 
A few weeks ago, men and women from one of the most deployed brigades in the U.S. Army, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, returned home from Iraq. The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden were at Fort Drum to welcome the veterans home and spoke about their personal experiences as a military family:

Our commitment to our troops doesn’t end once they come home — it’s only the beginning.  Part of ending a war responsibly is meeting our responsibility to the men and women who have fought it. Our troops and their families have made tremendous sacrifices to keep our nation safe and secure, and as a nation we have a moral obligation to serve our veterans as well as they have served us. 
 
That’s why we’re building a 21st century Department of Veterans Affairs.  We’ve made one of the largest percentage increase in the VA’s budget in 30 years, and we’re dramatically increasing funding for veterans’ health across the board. In particular, we’re delivering unprecedented resources to treat signature wounds of today’s wars—Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 
 
Our sacred trust to take care of our veterans goes beyond simply healing the wounds incurred in battle. We must ensure that when our veterans leave the Armed Forces, they have the opportunities they need to further their education and support their families.  Through the Post-9/11 GI Bill, some 300,000 veterans and families members have pursued a college degree.  Others are taking advantage of job training and placement programs. 
 
My Administration will continue to do our part to support the brave men and women in uniform that have sacrificed so much.  But supporting our troops and their families is not just the job of the Federal Government; it’s the responsibility of all Americans.
 
As we mark this milestone in the Iraq war and our troops continue to move out of Iraq, I hope you’ll join me in thanking them, and all of our troops and military families, for their service. 
 
Sincerely,
President Barack Obama

Sometimes I think we LGBT equality advocates practice fishbowl politics.  Sure some of us have standing in other worlds – openly gay California Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, for instance, who stands tall in both the Latino and labor communities. He spoke very powerfully about that at the Equality California dinner where he was honored on Saturday night (that story coming up). But I wonder if we are so self-aware that sometimes we assume other people are as knowledgeable as we think they are.

This occurred to me after my 10-minute interview with California Rep. Judy Chu at the EQCA gala. Chu has been an ardent LGBT advocate and ally since she was on the Monterey Park City Council in the late 1980s.

She is a team-playing Democrat who sits on the House Committee on Education and Labor, the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform committees. But she doesn’t march in lock-step, as witnessed by her disagreement with US Education Secretary Arne Duncan over how to fix schools.  Chu holds a PhD in psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology and taught at the East Los Angeles Community College for 13 years and is a coalition builder – who became the first Chinese-American woman in Congress winning in a majority-Latino district, beating a well-known Latino politician. At the end of our interview, she indicated that the Congressional Democratic Caucus is planning on using her to help frontline Democrats in tough races – including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

But Judy Chu didn’t know about GetEqual. She wasn’t there when GetEqual’s Robin McGehee and others disrupted the Education and Labor Committee, chaired by CA Rep. George Miller, pressing for movement on the Employee Non-Discrimination Act. She didn’t know they sat in at Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. And she only got what I was talking about when I linked GetEqual to Lt. Dan Choi’s civil disobedience at the White House. 

Please click inside for my interview with Rep. Judy Chu and my questions about why we are not making more of our relationship with this real “fierce advocate” for LGBT equality.

On Saturday, the New York Times published an extensive piece  on how the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is the most conservative in five decades. Watching the Obama Justice Department lawyers defend Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in Log Cabin Republicans vs. the United States Government in District Court in Riverside over the last two weeks, it is clear that they are counting on the Court continuing its longstanding conservative deference to the military.  According to Dan Woods, LCR’s lead attorney fighting the federal case, U.S. Assistant Attorney Paul Freeborne hasn’t changed his tactic – that the entire constitutional challenge is irrelevant – since he started defending DADT after the suit was first filed in 2004.

What’s different in this case is that Judge Virginia Phillips apparently does not share Freeborne’s opinion – having refused to dismiss the case outright and allowing Woods to establish a thorough record of how and why DADT is discriminatory and unconstitutional. The case ended last Friday and Phillips could issue her ruling at any time. Like the federal challenge to Prop 8, the case is expected to be appealed all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. What will be interesting to see is how the Courts deals with a Republican plaintiff and lead attorney who, in many ways, are arguing a conservative case – that DADT negatively impacts national security, for instance. And then there’s the absurdity of DADT, as Woods notes in this section of his closing:

“We showed that open homosexuals are allowed to service in the FBI, CIA, NSA, Secret Service, DoD, and in private contracting firms performing military functions alongside active duty military personnel. The Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces can also be a homosexual.”

I spoke with Woods on Friday and asked him a number of questions on issues about which I was confused such as what is “conduct by admission” and why didn’t he call former Sen. Sam Nunn to testify. Please click inside for my interview with the extraordinary Dan Woods, partner in the Los Angeles-based White & Case law firm, who has been fighting this fight for LCR and gay servicemembers pro bono since 2004.

Dan Woods, lead attorney for the Log Cabin Republican’s federal challenge to the constitutionality of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law and policy, gave his closing argument Friday morning. In his 55-page presentation, he reviewed testimony from his expert witnesses and from former servicemembers about their experience living and being discharged under DADT. He also cited the Justice Department’s cross-examination, as well as poking holes in their defense, which relied on the will of Congress that passed the law in 1993. Woods cites quotations from congressmembers to show the animus towards lesbians and gays which he says is behind DADT. He also explained why he thinks DADT violates the constitutional right to due process and freedom of speech. It is a thorough summary of an historic case. Please click inside to read Dan Wood’s closing argument. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY. THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THE CLOSING ARGUMENTS AND REBUTTAL WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE LOG CABIN WEBSITE LATER.

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I met Servicemember United Executive Director Alex Nicholson when he arrived in Riverside, CA on Tuesday to testify at the Log Cabin Republicans’ District Court trial challenging Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. I spoke with him then and then later by phone after he was dismissed as a witness on Wednesday afternoon. While all the testimony was important, Alex’s testimony was critical since he is a named plaintiff in the case of Log Cabin Republicans v. the United States of America and the government has been mightily trying to discredit and undermine him.

Alex was 20 years old at the time of his discharge; he’s 29 now. But what he convey on the stand and again in this interview is the trauma that the experience of being outed and discharged from a career that was part of his family history still holds over him. I was reminded of what a number of us tried to convey to Admiral Mullen when he came to USC - that our people suffer from PTDS, too and it is imperative that the military take care of all its recruits.

You can read the transcipts of Alex’s testimony during the trial, but I essentially asked him to elaborate on several of the questions the Justice Department tried to trip him up on. To the DOJ, this is about a law, a policy – and most of all – about winning as if no human beings are involved. But, as Alex explains, to us, DADT is about our gay lives.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

“[This trial is] very important, I think, for those who are serving under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell today; those who’ve been impacted by Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in years past to feel like they’re getting their day in court. I think everybody in the gay military community feels like this law and our community are finally getting our day in court.”

This statement from former Lt. Dan Choi was posted on DOD Fed Globe today:

This morning I received notification of my honorable discharge from the army under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” After 11 years since beginning my journey at West Point and after 17 months of serving openly as an infantry officer this is both an infuriating and painful announcement.

But my service continues. To all those veterans who have endured similar trials and injustices or prematurely ended their military service because of the unjust policy: our fight has only begun.

The true honor and dignity of service does not come from a piece of paper, a pension or paycheck, a rank or status; only an unflinching commitment to improve the lives of others can determine the nature of one’s service. From the first moment we put on our nation’s uniform and swore our solemn oath, we committed ourselves to fight for freedom and justice; to defend our constitution and put the needs of others before our own.

This is not an oath that I intend to abandon. Doing so at such a time, or remaining silent when our family and community members are fired or punished for who they truly are would be an unequivocal moral dereliction that tarnishes the honor of the uniform and insults the meaning of America.

Lt. Dan Choi

(Editor’s note: Former Marine Captain Tom Carpenter, a longtime Servicemembers Legal Defense Network board member who has posted here about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell before, attended the Log Cabin Republican’s federal constitutional challenge to DADT at the bench trial in US District Court in Riverside, CA. He offers his impressions of the trial from the perspective of a former servicemember, an advocate and a lawyer. – Karen Ocamb)

Eyewitness to History

By Tom Carpenter

I recently attended two days of trial in the Log Cabin Republican case in Riverside. If this were a jury trial, (which it can’t be because the United States is a party), I would say the good guys would win. Judge Phillips is very bright and my impression is that she gets it and is as unimpressed with the government’s case and lawyers as I am. This is definitely not the “A” team. It appears they are merely protecting the record for appeal to eventually reach the Supreme Court. The government isn’t even putting on any witnesses!

This is a classic case of when the facts are bad, argue the law and when the law is bad, argue the facts. They are probably hoping the law will be repealed so that this case is moot. Don’t count on it as the Senate continues to drag its feet.

The White and Case lawyers [representing LCR] have really outgunned the government and they have put on an excellent case.

I saw the end of fellow Naval Academy grad Jenny Kopfstein’s testimony and she brought tears to my eyes.

Please click inside for the rest of Tom’s impressions.

Just a quick note on lunch break at the Log Cabin’s federal challenge to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell here in Riverside, CA. Former Navy Lt. Jenny Kopfstein was up first and acquitted herself well, telling her story. “Now that I’m out, I’m able to speak and I feel it’s my duty” to speak for lesbian and gay servicemembers who cannot speak for themselves. “Don’t’ Ask, Don’t Tell is a terrible injustice,” she said.

Scholar Lawrence Korb is on the stand now. The DOJ is trying their damnedest to discredit him, spitting out the word “advocate” like it’s a dirty word – as in, “Isn’t it right, Dr. Korb that you are an ADVOCATE for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?” This particular attorney is so full of himself, even the judge got mad at him.  This is the same attorney who deposed Korb for a whole day – with a 400- page transcript. He challenged Korb on whether he is a scholar and tried to indicate that he hasn’t written a “peer-reviewed” article or book specifically on the subject. Korb got so exasperated, he finally asked from the stand, “What do you mean by ‘peer reviewed?” The judge had to step in again.

Korb is finishing up cross-examination for the next 45 minutes or so and then the White & Case attorney will clean up on re-direct.

The Servicemembers United’s Alex Nicholson takes the stand. I anticipate the DOJ will press hard in their cross examination since Alex represents a Log Cabin member who gives the club standing to pursue the lawsuit.

I’ll probably get home late tonight, given the drive, so I’ll follow up tomorrow. Oh, and Tom Carpenter from SLDN is here, but no one else but lawyers and legal interns excited about the historic case.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke eloquently at a recent USC town hall meeting about his concern that stressed out soldiers returning for multiple tours in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan receive the welcome, support and thanks that their predecessors in the Vietnam War did not.  But what about returning gay and lesbian soldiers, veterans and their families who can’t even access support under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Don’t they matter? Don’t Mullen and the Pentagon care about them?

And yet – other than legal support from Servicemembers Legal Defense Network – there really has been little support for returning or discharged vets in the LGBT community, either. That was something a handful of gay servicemembers noted, as well, in 2005.  Discharged linguist Alex Nicholson helped create Servicemembers United in order to more actively and visibly involved LGBT servicemembers in policy matters that impact gays in the military, not the least of which is repealing DADT.

On Tuesday, Nicholson will face another test of honor and courage. But this time, in District Court in Riverside, California, he will be challenged to hold his own on the witness stand against the very government he joined the Army to defend in 2001.  After Nicholson became an honorary member of the Log Cabin Republican Club of Georgia in 2006 (see the declaration of Jamies Ensley who recruited him), he became central to the Log Cabins’ then two-year old case against the United States of America to prove that the DADT law passed by Congress is unconstitutional.  Nicholson’s discharge under DADT gives LCR standing to bring the case.

If last week’s behavior by the Justice Department lawyers is an indication of how he will be treated – it will be a grueling day. But if last week’s invisibility by the LGBT community is any clue – one must ask: does anyone care?

Please click inside to read more about my questioning of why LGBT equality groups didn’t show up, plus notes on the arrogance of the Justice Department’s attorneys in this historic trial.

Rachel Maddow turns shock at the military’s stunning stupidity in their instructional comic book on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell into hilarious “gaiety” and “challenges” you to respond to the comic book – which one guy did with a comic strip of his own.

There’s no doubt that President Obama is under a lot of pressure – we see Tuesday how the Dow Jones dipped, raising serious concerns about whether Europe’s economic troubles are lapping at America’s shores. Additionally, the military is undergoing a profound change as they deal with and possibly re-think the strategy in Afghanistan. Some LGBTs want Obama critics such as Richard Socarides and David Mixner to back off,  give Obama some breathing room and for heavens sake, thank him for what he’s done for LGBTs already.  OK – thank you, Mr. President. No one wants Obama to fail. We only want Obama to be who he promised us he’d be. Because for now, many of us feel like the poor hungry orphan kid in “Oliver” reaching our empty bowl up and saying, “Please, sir. I want some more.” The point is – we shouldn’t have to beg for full equality – equality that is already ours but is being denied us. And acknowledging that denial without “fierce” advocacy makes one complicit in the denial. As Gloria Nieto explains here, we are in double jeopardy because of that inequality – which is unfair, unjust and unAmerican.

Poverty is a queer issue

By Gloria Nieto

Over the weekend, Pride weekend in many parts of the world, I visited with old friends.  What was completely astonishing to me was the state of poverty that we find ourselves in right now.

All of us are well over 50.  We are the only ones to lose our home at this point.  The other friends are barely holding on.  Of the four of us out the other night at the Egyptian museum, only one of us has a job.  The other three hobos, I mean homos, have all been gainfully employed all our adult lives.  One has owned and operated several businesses over time.  Her unemployment just ran out on Friday.  She is one of the 1.3 million who were dropped that day.

My unemployment ran out back in April.  No income since then so my spouse is trying to keep both of us afloat….

Please click inside for the rest of Gloria’s essay.

I was no fan of Virginia Sen. Robert C. Bryd, the longest serving member of Congress who died Sunday night at age 92. He was one of those Southern Democrats who was always a reliable anti-gay vote. Sometimes his views were just odd – such as his explaining in 1993 – per Sen. Ted Kennedy’s recollection – that he opposed gays in the military because “there had been a terrible problem in ancient Rome with young military boys turned into sex slaves.” Servicemembers Legal Defense Network noted that Byrd had “evolved” on gays serving openly, last month voting to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

But Byrd also serves as a reminder to me that there may well be room to find common ground with those you may even despise. On March 19th, 2003, the day before the start of the Iraq War, I heard Byrd deliver an incredibly powerful speech opposing President George W. Bush’s military adventure in Iraq, which I thought was a stupid mistake. I showed it to the publishers of Frontiers – and we ran the entire speech as an op-ed.  Byrd’s speech still rings true today.

Here’s an excerpt – please click inside for the full speech:

We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. We treat UN Security Council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split. After war has ended, the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America’s image around the globe.

The case this Administration tries to make to justify its fixation with war is tainted by charges of falsified documents and circumstantial evidence. We cannot convince the world of the necessity of this war for one simple reason. This is a war of choice.

In Rose Garden comments Wednesday, President Obama says he was not personally insulted by the offensive remarks from Gen. McCrystal to Rolling Stone magazine.  “But war is bigger than any one man or woman” and McChrystal’s conduct undermined civilian control, erodes trust for teamwork and does not meet the strict code of conduct that applies to newly enlisted privates to the generals who command them. Obama said he welcomes debate but not dissent. Finally, Obama said this is a “change in personnel but is not a change in policy.”

UPDATE: PLEASE CLICK INSIDE TO READ THE COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT OF OBAMA’S REMARKS.

NBC News’ Richard Engel says Petraeus is a “rock star” and the troops will welcome the change.

Sen. Lieberman says, “We’ve just witnessed an historically significant moment” in which Obama displayed “a decisive show of presidential leadership.”

Last March, Petraeus said on CNN that he was on board with the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:

“My thinking on this matter, I’ve been wrestling with this. A lot of us have. We’ve done a lot of personal soundings. We’ve looked at the 25 or so countries, including Australia, UK, Canada, Israel. Some pretty good militaries that have all integrated, if you will, gays and lesbians into their militaries, but had very sensible and pragmatic policies. I think that has been the key to the success of their efforts.”

Here he gives qualified support for the repeal:

Patrick Range McDonald has a quick news post up at his LA Weekly blog about Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen’s appearance at USC Friday afternoon. He didn’t really change his position on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell but the context was different: he was there to ask the LA community to help returning soldiers and veterans with education, health and employment.

I got the first question and I asked him about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and DADT and if he’d commit to implementing the DADT repeal immediately after the 60 days (post the Dec 1 due-date for the Working Group report). Short answer to the last question: No, he wants to see the report first. But his wife Deborah Mullen, who’s been working with the families of serving soldiers and vets, told me later that they were going to look into the PTSD question. And I saw her carrying a handful of questions that looked like the ones GetEqual member Dan Fotou hoped to ask. GetEqual’s Robin McGehee told me she told Admiral Mullen that they decided not to protest or disrupt him out of respect for his support for DADT repeal – Sec. Gates would have been another story, she said. Mullen re-iterated his support for repeal – in the larger context.

I will have a full report on Mullen’s appearance on Monday, including the DADT response, his appeal to the community to help the servicemembers and reaction to his appearance. (Photo: Karen O. and Admiral Mullen)

The USC School of Social Work and the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families is hosting Admiral Mike Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for a free event that is open to the public on Friday, June 11.

Space is limited so RSVPs must be made by Friday, June 4 by clicking here and using the event code “Mullen,” or by calling (213) 740-1744.

The event is from 1:45pm to 3:00pm at the University Park Campus,
Town and Gown

Mullen will hear a presentation on a new program being developed at USC on training social workers on how to help veterans and soldiers returning from wars on how to discuss and handle Post Traumatic Stress.

Last month I argued that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell causes or exacerbates trauma and PTSD and sets up a Catch 22 since the military personnel who need help won’t seek it for fear of being exposed and losing their benefits. Perhaps this is something Mullen will be asked about during the post-presentation Q&A with the audience or the reception. Certainly treatment of vets and soldiers suffering under DADT deserve to be included in the Pentagon’s Dec. 1 study.

A Facebook-organized group in Los Angeles called “Sitting in Solidarity” are spending all or part of Memorial Day (from 8:00am-7:00pm) sitting in silent mediation supporting the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and praying to end the hunger strike started last Thursday by Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo. The officers are angry that the congressional repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” does not include an immediate halt to gay discharges and was stripped of a non-discrimination clause.

The “Sitting in Solidarity” group is asking anyone concerned about the health and welfare of Choi and Pietrangelo to either join them for the vigil outside the VA Cemetery at the intersection of Sepulveda and Wilshire Blvd. in West LA (near UCLA) or to create your own vigil or be individually silent wherever you are:

“This or any hunger strike is a questionable and dangerous action. A hunger strike is not a fast, and neither should be undertaken lightly. That said, we can demonstrate our solidarity with Dan and Jim for the repeal of DADT, show them that they are not alone in their pursuit of justice, and give them the message that we support their ending this fast.”

See their Facebook page for more.

With ongoing confusion about what exactly last week’s House repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell means for the debate on the Senate floor in the next few weeks, it is important that we pause for a moment and remember all to who have fallen in defense of this country. A special salute for all the LGBT soldiers who fought and died while serving in silence. Thank you.

About 20 minutes after the House passed the compromise bill on Thursday night to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo went on a hunger strike “for equality and dignity.” Pietrangelo says that the reason they are on the fast is because “gay Americans are starving for equality. We still do not have actual, full equality.” Choi says: “A lot of why we’re doing this is so the future generation knows that somebody did stand up at this time, instead of celebrating compromises….” The hunger strikers have three demands: 1) stop the firings in the military; 2) stop the DADT study; and 3) implement non-discrimination policies.

THIS JUST IN FROM SLDN: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), released a statement today after the Senate Armed Services Committee voted in favor of the repeal amendment. The final vote was 16 to 12. The full House is expected to vote on the same amendment shortly.

Statement by Army veteran and SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis:

“The Senate Armed Services Committee passed a historic roadmap to allowing open military service, but it doesn’t end the discharges. It is important for all gay and lesbian, active-duty service members, including the reserves and the national guard, to know they’re at risk. They must continue to serve in silence under the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law that remains on the books. Congress and the Pentagon need to stay on track to get repeal finalized, hopefully no later than first quarter 2011. The bottom line: gay and lesbian service members remain at risk for discharge and cannot serve openly.

Chairman Carl Levin and Senator Joe Lieberman showed remarkable courage and steadfastness in the face of unprecedented and inappropriate last minute lobbying by the Pentagon service chiefs who seemed to have forgotten that they are not the policy makers here. That role in our government rightly belongs to Congress and it was properly exercised today, and is being exercised now as the full House debates to dismantle ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’

Repeal is moving forward with the support of the President and the Pentagon, including JCS Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. The repeal amendment allows for legislative action that respects the ongoing work by the Pentagon on how to implement open service for lesbian and gay service members. Nothing would happen until the Pentagon Working Group completes its report and the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the President certifies repeal.”

Read SLDN’s warning to gay and lesbian active-duty service members, including the reserves and the national guard: http://bit.ly/ds7JAL

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (www.sldn.org) is a national, non-profit legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

CLICK INSIDE FOR VOTE BREAKDOWN AND REACTION.