LGBT POV

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.

Shame on me for thinking that military journalists are inherently biased toward the military’s antigay Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy instead of being good old fashioned journalists. While bias may have existed at one time – now, with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chief of Staff Mike Mullen telling Congress that they support a repeal of DADT, the venerable and independent Stars and Stripes newspaper is fairly reporting both sides of the debate.

In fact, they publicized their latest story, “If the military’s gay ban is reversed, what would change?” on Twitter: “If the military’s gay ban is reversed, what would change? … A look at the likely response to some key issues #DADT http://goo.gl/ethy 10:05 AM Apr 20th via web.”

Please click inside for more. UPDATE: The LGBT Servicemembers United just issued a press release saying the total official number of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell discharges for 2009 now stands at 443. That’s the total reported by the Department of Defense – 428 – plus 15 discharges from the Coast Guard. The official 17-year total is now 13,425 discharges.

At the historic August 2007 forum in which Democratic presidential candidates were questioned about their beliefs and policies on LGBT issues, singer Melissa Etheridge talked to Sen. Hillary Clinton about how wonderful gays felt finally being recognized under President Bill Clinton.

“We were very, very hopeful – and in the years that followed, our hearts were broken. We were thrown under the bus. We were pushed aside. All those great promises that were made to us were broken. And I understand politics. I understand how hard things are, to bring about change. But it is many years later now, and what are you going to do to be different than that? I know you’re sitting here now; it’s a year out — more than a year. A year from now, are we going to be left behind like we were before?”

Please click inside to see where I’m going with this. UPDATE: THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTED LATE THURSDAY THAT THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES WILL HOLD A SEPARATE HEARING WITH DEFENSE SEC. ROBERT GATES AND ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN, CHAIR OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF ON DADT. RACHEL MADDOW LATER SAID THE RESULT COULD BE A DADT-LITE WITH RESTRICTIONS PLACED ON THE INVESTIGATORY PROCESS.

The Palm Center reports that Army Secretary John McHugh thinks the military is ready to lift the gay ban. But there is an interesting twist to this important announcement. There is a HUGE battle within the Republican Party over who will replace MCHugh in a special election in the conservative 23rd District Congressional seat from upstate New York. Could the timing indicate who McHugh wants to be the GOP candidate? Click inside to see the Palm Center’s press release and possible context for the statement.