We need to talk…

It’s been well over a year now since Obama took office, and unlike some other members of the gay community (inasmuch as there is a ‘gay community’) I’ve been willing to give Obama and the democrats a little more leeway.  Perhaps they just needed some time.  Perhaps they had other larger and more pressing issues on their plate.  Or perhaps they thought that, given the tenuousness of their control over the House and Senate, now would not be the best time to wave the banner of an unpopular social issue.

Pussyfeathers.

I’m finally fed up.  I’m tired of hearing one thing and then reading another.  I’m tired of all the little carrots of good will handed out here and there just to appease us.  The ‘string-along-song’ of the democrats is nauseating, and right now, with the soaring price of food, I’d like to keep it down, thanks.

With this in mind, I’d encourage you to take a look at the California based Courage Campaign.  Their letter is a warning to the pussyfooting democrats that have promised too much and acted far, far too little.  Please sign and pass along.  And just enjoy the letter… because we all know there’s nothing better than a dramatic and snarky break-up that leaves the other party eating crow. From the Courage Campaign.

You were so adorable when we were courting. Sure, you never really understood me, but I liked that you seemed to try. The White House cocktail parties were totally fun, and that Easter Egg Roll is something I’ll always cherish. Or remember the time you let me march in the Inaugural parade! Other than that whole Rick Warren thing, I really thought we had a connection.

I know you kept telling me that you weren’t ready for marriage, but I was willing to wait since you had promised so much else in the meantime.

But now, I’ve kind of had it. I’m just not getting what I need out of this relationship. You rarely call me anymore, and when you do it’s to ask for money. We talked about joining the military together — but now it seems like you are flaking on that commitment. You promised to protect me from the homophobes at work, but you don’t seem to be in a hurry to actually do it. And — that Department of Justice brief thing was just cruel. I’ll never understand why you did that.

It almost seems like you’re embarrassed by me in public. I know not everyone in your family approves of us, but before you got your new job, it seemed like you didn’t care what they thought and were always ready to fight for me. Now, it’s like you’re a different person.

Please don’t take this the wrong way. I still think we have a future. I want us to have a future. But I need this relationship to be healthy for both of us. And I just can’t get excited anymore by your empty promises and half-gestures.

Congrats to Mary Glasspool!

Congratulations are in order: Mary Glasspool is the first open lesbian to be ordained as a bishop by the Episcopal church.  Mary’s historic ordination comes just seven years after the the ordination of the first openly gay man.

The Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool, of Baltimore, was ordained and consecrated on Saturday, making her the second openly gay bishop in church history and one of the first two female bishops in the Diocese of Los Angeles’ 114-year history.

She was installed at Long Beach Arena before 3,000 people, who burst into applause at the end, church spokesman Bob Williams said.

Read the entire post here on Huffpo.

Gay Service Men and Women to Testify?

It seems that the hearings on DADT are going to move forward, and Congressman Hastings has authored a bill that would allow gay service men and women to testify without fear of being discharged.  I have to wonder how well this will work out…  Although gay service men and women may not be discharged for providing their stories, it seems that once they have been outed publicly through the testimony process, that they would be subject to intense scrutiny once they return to work.  Given all the lip service that the gay community has received from the Administration (with very little meaningful action) I wouldn’t be surprised to see an increase in discharges once testimony begins.

Here’s an excerpt from HuffPo.

For too long, the national debate about gay service has centered not around those most affected by the gay ban, but around straight people, who are presumed to be so uncomfortable around gays that their discipline will be smashed if they’re allowed to know the truth about their peers. Recent data show this ain’t so. Three quarters of straight troops are “personally comfortable” around gays, and the majority of younger enlisted folks actually favor ending the gay ban. Yet, while most Americans think the ban is unfair and unnecessary, the nation still doesn’t know the full extent of its costs, doesn’t grasp the dire urgency of ending the ban. I’ve sought to chronicle many of these reasons elsewhere, but I am not an active duty gay soldier; how can any national debate about today’s gay troops be healthy and robust if the very policy at issue bars those most affected from speaking up?

Read the whole posting here.

D.C. Council passes Gay Marriage

Congrats to DC!

View the snippet from HuffPost here.

Lane Hudson: The Gay Guide to Obama’s Remarks Today

Today marks the first time he has spoken about the gay community since his election. That’s a step forward, but only a very small step in and of itself.

Here are a few things that could make the President’s remarks today a home run:

1. Extending the full range of benefits (whatever they may include) to same sex partners of Federal employees in a lasting Executive Order. According to Chuck Todd of NBC News, a Presidential Memorandum will not last past his Presidency.

2. Calling on the Congress to immediately pass legislation that would extend the balance of benefits not able to be extended via Executive Order.

3. Announcing that he will instruct the Department of Justice not to defend section 3 of DOMA, which deals with Federal benefits, that is being challenged in a federal lawsuit by the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) in Massachusetts.

4. Signing an Executive order that bans employment discrimination against transgender persons in the Federal workforce.

5. Announcing a concrete path forward on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

6. Calling on Congress to pass the far too long delayed Employment Non-Discrimination Act and Federal Hate Crimes Legislation.

7. Urging Congress to include the Uniting American Families Act in immigration reform legislation to be considered this year.

8. Committing the National Institute of Health to undertake a new effort for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and the Department of Health and Human Services to commit to new efforts on prevention of HIV/AIDS.

It’s not asking too much. It’s taken this long for the White House to address our community. There is much to be done to end discrimination and this would be a great start. The President could announce everything on this list today. Don’t ask, don’t get.

via Lane Hudson: The Gay Guide to Obama’s Remarks Today.

Emma Ruby-Sachs: Obama Offers Gays a Consolation Prize of Extended Benefits

When I first read the brief in support of DOMA, I was astonished.  President Obama promised so much to the gay community during his campaign, yet it seems that each time he has an opportunity to stand up for the basic civil rights of LGBT people he cowers away.  Today Obama plans to announce health benefits for the same-sex partners of federal employees.  And while I’m happy that more same-sex couples will have access to health care, this is nothing more than a carrot given to the LGBT community to quell the outcry against Obama and his administrations backpedaling on LGBT civil rights issues.  Ruby-Sachs says it best in a post on HuffPost:

Well, I hate to be the one to explain a rights struggle to the first Black President, but the equality movement is not a grab bag of rights. You don’t get to reach in and see which prize you’ve won. Each of the rights discussed above – the right to benefits for your partner, the right to serve openly in the military and the right to access the same tax breaks and immigration privileges given to heterosexual couples – should be granted. Immediately. Granting one does not absolve trespass over the other rights.

As Ruby-Sachs calls for later in her post, I believe national outrage is looking more and more like our only viable option.  We are constantly mentioned in speeches and promised that soon we will see change, and then thrown under the bus as more of our best soldiers are discharged while our families are denied the dignity afforded to heterosexual couples.  This simply cannot continue.  We cannot allow ourselves to be ignored any longer.

via Emma Ruby-Sachs: Obama Offers Gays a Consolation Prize of Extended Benefits.

HuffPost: North Korea Sanctions Unanimously Expanded By U.N. Security Council

The U.N. Security Council on Friday punished North Korea for its second nuclear test, imposing tough new sanctions, expanding an arms embargo and authorizing ship searches on the high seas.

In a sign of growing global anger at Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of the council, the North’s closest allies Russia and China joined Western powers and nations from every region in unanimously approving the sanctions resolution.

via North Korea Sanctions Unanimously Expanded By U.N. Security Council.

HuffPost: Holocaust Museum Shooting In Washington D.C.

An elderly gunman opened fire with a rifle inside the crowded U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday, gravely wounding a security guard before being shot. Authorities said they were investigating a white supremacist as the suspect. The assailant and his victim were both hospitalized, said Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty, who added that the gunman was in critical condition

via Holocaust Museum Shooting In Washington D.C..

Contessa Brewer Steamed By Palin Defender: You’re Insulting Me, “Cut His Mic”

I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about Sarah Palin (other than she doesn’t show well in an interview), but I find this MSNBC report to be a bit funny.  Click, read, and watch.  And then please tell me why Palin needs a lunatic as her spokesperson?

Full article via HuffPost:

Contessa Brewer Steamed By Palin Defender: You’re Insulting Me, “Cut His Mic”.

Federal Challenge to DOMA – Kentucky Fairness Alliance

Dear Andrew,

Right now, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is filing a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Boston – Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management et al. - fighting for fairness. This lawsuit is on behalf of eight married same-sex couples and three surviving spouses from Massachusetts, each of whom was denied federal benefits because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

The case against DOMA states that Section 3 of the legislation denies legal rights and protections by overriding a state’s determination on same-sex marriage. It also argues that DOMA Section 3 violates equal protection guarantees by requiring all federal departments to disrespect the valid state-licensed marriages of same-sex couples, but follow state determinations of marital status for other married couples.

This lawsuit seeks a ruling that DOMA Section 3 is unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs in Federal Income Tax, Social Security, federal employment benefits, and the issuance of passports.

According to GLAD, this case has no bearing on state laws about marriage. It focuses on discrimination by the federal government against a class of people who are already married in their state.

“Same-sex couples have been marrying in Massachusetts for five years… it’s not right for the federal government to follow state’s determinations of marital status except for a subset of people” said Travis Myles, KFA Board Chairperson.

GLAD has launched a website for you to track the progress of this case as it proceeds through federal court. At some point down the road, this case may end up in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.  We should watch it closely.

In fairness,
Your KFA Team!

Founded in 1978, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is New England’s leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression.