TresSugar

Oh Snap! Marching For Love

TresSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Gay rights activists carried a rainbow flag at the US Capitol Building during yesterday's National Equality March. Thousands gathered in Washington DC to push the Obama administration and congress to live up to their promises to advance civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans. The demonstrators called for marriage equality and the end to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. On Saturday, President Obama spoke to the nation's largest gay rights organization, renewing his promise to allow gay Americans to openly serve in the military. We'll have to wait and see if the demonstrations urge leaders to fulfill these promises any time soon.

View 5 Photos ›

Jon Stewart Calls Out Obama on Don't Ask, Don't Tell

TresSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0700

On last night's show, Jon Stewart pondered whether gay people frighten Americans more than terrorists. Why else would Obama stall the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), turning away openly gay Americans ready to fight for the country?

The official word from the Obama administration is that they have too much on their plates right now to figure out how to let gay Americans serve in the military. Jon thinks this a bogus excuse, and points out that Obama continually made promises as a candidate to make repealing DATD a priority.

Perhaps surprisingly, DADT has been shown to have a greater impact on women. A 2007 report revealed that although women make up only 14 percent of Army personnel, 46 percent of those discharged under DADT were women.

Do you agree with Jon Stewart that it's time for Obama to find time to repeal DADT?

Gay Activists Ready to Fight DADT and Wait For Prop 8 Repeal

TresSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0700

From fighting for the right to serve in the military to pushing for the right to marry their partners, gay Americans face battles for equality on many fronts. It appears that progress is about to be made toward the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, while the fight for marriage equality in California is set to sit on the back burner for some time.

This Fall, the Senate will hold hearings on Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It's the first time since 1993 that lawmakers will take up the policy that prevents openly gay people from serving in the military. NY Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, whose legislation prompted the hearings, points out that 265 men and women have been dismissed from the military under the policy since President Obama took office. According to polls, 69 percent of Americans think gays should be allowed to serve.

In California, backers of same-sex marriage are thinking about waiting until at least 2012 to campaign to overturn Proposition 8. Major gay rights activists believe that the only thing worse than losing the fight for marriage equality in 2008 would be losing in 2010, and based on current poll numbers, a loss could be very likely.

So what's the moral of this story? It appears that the fate of gay rights is closely tied to poll numbers.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Save or Scrap?

TresSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Victor Fehrenbach, an F-15 fighter pilot in the US Air Force, has been serving his country with honor for 18 years. In that time, he's flown 88 combat missions, logged 1,500 fighter hours, and received nine air medals. He's gotten word, though, that his record doesn't matter as much as the fact that he is gay.

Under the Pentagon's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, he will be fired two years before he could receive a full Air Force pension, which he discussed recently on The Rachel Maddow Show. Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which allows gay people to serve in the military as long as they don't disclose their sexual orientation and which forbids their supervisors from asking if they are gay, was enacted in 1993 and approved by Bill Clinton, who saw it as a compromise between his campaign promise to let all people serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation and what was a ban on gays in the military.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell is based on the premise that being gay "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of moral, good order, discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability." Many argue that it's time for President Obama and Congress to review - and get rid of - Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Do you think it's a good policy based on sound reasoning, or is it antiquated and discriminatory?

Obama Will Delay Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

CitizenSugar — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:00:58 -0800

This week word broke that the president-elect will not move for months, and perhaps not until 2010 to ask Congress to end the military's longstanding ban on open homosexuals in the service.

Throughout his campaign Barack Obama said he would repeal the ban on open gays in the military, but when selecting his joint chiefs of staff, he wouldn't require that they share his position on the policy. In a September interview, Obama said he wouldn't try to repeal the 1993 policy regarding gay service members on his own and that he hoped to ensure that when "we revert 'don't ask, don't tell,' it's gone through a process and we've built a consensus."

Advisers are now saying Obama wants to work with the joint chiefs of staff and his new political appointees at the Pentagon to reach a consensus and then present legislation to Congress.

"Don't ask, don't tell" prohibits gay military personnel from disclosing their sexual orientation because anyone that "demonstrates a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion."

Source

They Asked, He Told: Obama Won't Repeal 'Don't Ask' on Own

CitizenSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:57 -0700

In an interview to gay publications to be published today, Obama said he wouldn't try to repeal the 1993 policy regarding gay service members on his own. Saying:

I want to make sure that when we revert 'don't ask, don't tell,' it's gone through a process and we've built a consensus or at least a clarity of what my expectations are so that it works. My first obligation as the president is to make sure that I keep the American people safe and that our military is functioning effectively. Although I have consistently said I would repeal 'don't ask, don't tell,' I believe that the way to do it is make sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be.

Earlier this summer, the House considered a shift to the policy, and 75 percent now approve of allowing gays to serve. John McCain has indicated that he would keep the policy in place.

In the interview Obama declined to comment however, on whether his attorney general would support a lawsuit against the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages in favor of state's rights.

Source

"Don't Ask" Hits Women Hardest, Ladies Shut Out of Service

LibertySugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:15:11 -0700

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," might bring to mind men fighting in foxholes - but the plan is actually rooting out more foxes of the opposite gender. The US Army and Air Force discharged an hugely uneven ratio of women to men in 2007 under the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy, which prohibits gay military personnel from disclosing their sexual orientation.

The New York Times reports that even though women only make up 14 percent of Army personnel, 46 percent of those discharged under the policy in 2007 were female. Up in the air, women account for 20 percent of the Air Force and 49 percent of its discharges.

And the trend is growing - there's a noticeable increase from 2006, when about 35 percent of both the Army’s and the Air Force’s "asked and tolds" were women, according to stats pulled from Pentagon data by a policy advocacy organization. What's making the L-word, "lost female soldiers?" To see what the executive director of the organization had to say about the findings, read more.

Women make up 15 percent of the armed forces, so to find they represent nearly 50 percent of Army and Air Force discharges under "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" is shocking,” said Aubrey Sarvis, the organization’s executive director. “Women in particular have been caught in the crosshairs of this counterproductive law.

Sarvis's organization, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, didn't perform formal interviews and therefore couldn't offer any specific reasoning for the increase in women being discharged. According to the Times, Pentagon officials couldn't explain why the numbers for women spiked last year either and isn't pushing for any change in policy - the Pentagon holds that it's up to Congress to decide whether the law should be altered or repealed.

The don't-ask policy prohibits anyone who "demonstrate(s) a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States because it "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order, and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability." While gay and lesbians in the military are prohibited from speaking about any homosexual relationships, interestingly the law states that one must engage in open homosexual acts to commit a punishable offense.

On the recent fifteenth anniversary of the policy's adoption Time put together an exposé noting that while the "move was initially hailed as progress for the rights of gays in the military, today many see it as a liability." Obama recently spoke out telling the gay publication the Advocate that he favors the repeal of the 1993 policy. What's behind this imbalance? Why are more women getting snagged and punished?

Photo courtesy of Showtime

US Military: Gays Worse Than Criminals?

LibertySugar — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:00:26 -0700

Barack Obama just told the gay publication the Advocate that he favors the repeal of the 1993 policy, Don't Ask, Don't Tell. He also said as president he would work to pass antidiscrimination workplace laws and grant those in same-sex civil unions federal marriage benefits. However, when selecting his joint chiefs of staff, he will not require that they share his position on the policy.

Don't ask, don't tell prohibits gay military personnel from disclosing their sexual orientation because anyone that "demonstrates a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion."

While the military does not accept openly gay recruits, it is increasingly making exceptions for those with criminal records. Ex-cons are not allowed to enlist, unless they receive a moral waiver. To find out how many more ex-criminals the military is taking, read more.

Since 2004, the amount of criminal waivers issued has tripled! The rate of army recruits with waivers is now 13 percent.

If the army is changing its traditional admission standards to accept those with a criminal past, it seems it is past time to accept courageous Americans of all sexual orientations. Is there any justification for this discrimination? Why is the US requiring those in the military to keep their sexual orientation a secret, or risk losing their careers?

Source

Don't Ask, Do Investigate: Stewart Blasts Army For Firing Gays

TresSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:30:39 -0700

I always thought the Army's don't-ask-don't-tell policy was really a turn-your-head policy. But no! It's more: let's investigate any rumors of gayness infiltrating the ranks. Lt. Dan Choi - West Point grad and Arabic translator who's served in Iraq - is the target of such an investigation. Allah knows Arabic translators aren't valuable in the Army!

Watch Jon Stewart hilariously take on the fallacy of the Army's logic with John Oliver on last night's episode of The Daily Show.

"What Is His Deal?"

Tres Community — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

This post comes from Group Therapy in our TrèsSugar Community. Feel free to add your advice in the comments!

My friend (let’s call her Laura) recently introduced me to a good male friend of hers (let’s call him Mark) at a Halloween party. Mark and I had a good time talking to each other and he emailed my friend a day later to tell her that he thought I was really nice. He then found me on Facebook and asked me out for the following weekend, to which I said yes.

We texted a few times and flirted a little bit. However, when the weekend came he got sick (I was sick too so I didn’t mind that we weren’t going to meet, although I didn’t tell him that). But now it’s been a week and I haven’t heard anything from him, no texts, no nothing. I think this is a little strange since he was the one who initially pursued me. Plus he’s friends with my friend so I didn’t think he would just ditch our plans. There is such a thing as politeness and I’m a little surprised that he hasn’t called me to let me know that he’s still sick, or busy, or whatever. So, I don’t know what to do if and when he calls. Should I go out with him? He’s already demonstrated that he can’t keep me in the loop.

There's lots of fun stuff going on in our community - join it, check it out, share your posts or advice in the great groups and maybe we'll feature it here on TrèsSugar!