Lt. Dan Choi, a man with a huge stake in the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" battle currently raging asks a simple question, of the President, of the Pentagon, of the Gay organizations that have endorse the compromise:
So, when do the military discharges end?
Lt Dan Choi says:
"My question still remains, and I've yet to find anyone who signed off on yesterday’s compromise able to give me a direct answer to, “when exactly will the discharges stop?" said Lt. Dan Choi, an openly gay Iraq war veteran and Lieutenant in the United States Army. “Until the President signs the papers that fully and immediately end the firing of patriotic, gay and lesbian service members, then there is no cause for celebration and no reason to trumpet mission accomplished for a job not yet done.
I explained in my diary yesterday how I felt this "compromise" plan is toothless. Because it lacks any guarantees of relief from discrimination or discharges, it stands to be a better political cover for the Democrats that they've "done something" than that they've actually provided any help to our LGB service members. My empathy for their situation drives my advocacy, I speak, because they cannot.
GetEQUAL's response tactic focuses the question, the issue, the attention, squarely back at the problem: they are kicking out good soldiers and for no good reason.
And it focuses the attention right back where it belongs: when will is stop? No one can or will say.
I was actually approached by a politician's communication staff. I was asked my opinion on the LGBT community's reaction to Monday's development, and how the pol might weigh in. (Can you believe it?) I advised the pol to be careful about aligning their message with the happy talk coming out of Human Rights Campaign. I told them, the LGBT community was at best split, and there were significant portions of the community that were not at all happy with the gutted "compromise" bill.
I think this "compromise" and the people who line up behind endorsing it, are missing a major zeitgeist that is driving much of the LGBT rights community: The Agenda Is Full Equality Now.
This compromise delivers neither "full equality" nor anything "now." Lt Choi recognizes that, and he's directly people's attention to the harsh reality of it.
And there is a rejection and a frustration with those who tell our community to be patient, be reasonable. A poll was released yesterday that show 80% public support for repealing DADT. Exactly when do we reach critical mass? Exactly how many Americans must be onboard before politicians actually stand up for us? Is it 90? Is it 99? Tell us, we'll go convince the holdouts.
It may be the best we can get. For the record I'm not going Jane Hamscher "kill the bill." The reality is we're screwed either way now.
But I think the record should show, it sucks. It's weak tea. It's not a gift to the LGBT, but rather the very, very least our leaders could manage to deliver. So don't call it a win. At best, it's a draw in the stand-off between bigotry and equality.
Many in the community are not happy and should it pass, will see little cause for celebrating. It is a patronizing half-measure that should embarrass the United States in 2010 in its timidity and tepidness. Many are cognizant of this reality when it comes to power ceding its grip on the status quo: "Wait" has always meant never. Many are horrified at the prospect that the Pentagon, the same institution that has been witch-hunting gays for 100 years, is now being trusted, with no oversight or check, to act in the good faith of the LGBT community. Many are aware that 17 years ago, we also took what was peddled as a "compromise" on this issue, and look how great that turned out.
This compromise speaks to how lowly America thinks of LGBT community that we are expected to be grateful for this compromise when no one will answer this simple question: When will discharges stop?
It's a sad day that it's taken at face value there even should be a "compromise" on a civil rights issue.
It's sad that America, Congress, the Democratic Party, Robert Gates and Barack Obama, and many Kossacks and friends of our community think that a "compromise" is necessary. There was nothing wrong with Representative Patrick Murphy's original bill, it was fair, reasonable and popular. All it lacked was support from the White House and an aggressive push from the LGBT community's progressive allies to get the votes. It was mostly just the LGBT community that fought for this alone. The only reason a compromise was created was to bring George W. Bush's Obama's Secretary of Defense on board, and even still, his passive-aggressive response has been more hinderance than help.
It tells us a lot about how people view LGBT people think it's a crumb we should be celebrating.
Would Martin Luther King, Jr. have celebrated the repeal, but indefinite continuation of the Jim Crow laws? I doubt it.
Would MLK have celebrated the repeal of the bus segregation, if a deal had been made that they voted to repeal them, but they'd stay in place "for now" and the indefinite future? They were definitely getting rid of them, but first, they'd have to study for a couple of years how white people would feel about the black people sitting up front with them? Would he have considered that a win do you think?
I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."
—Martin Luther King Jr., Letter From A Birmingham Jail
Get Equal has a request:
Join Lt. Dan Choi and Cpl. Evelyn Thomas, along with thousands of other GetEQUAL members, to hold the President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, and our LGBT organizations accountable to enact repeal this year and to issue an Executive Order to end military discharges immediately.
Sign the petition here.
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Breaking News: OpenLeft is reporting Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska is a yes vote. A surprise, really, as he'd staked himself as an unmovable "no" just a week ago. The story is here.
The developments of Monday haven't released the pressure valve. President Obama was heckled again last night at another Barbara Boxer fundraiser on the issue of DADT.
New York Times has noticed President Obama's lack of substantive support on the repeal, and is calling him out:
Mr. Gates made it clear on Tuesday that he supports the agreement only because it allows more time for the study, and he carries significant weight on Capitol Hill. Despite his assent, however, it is not clear that both chambers have the votes to pass the amendment. President Obama needs to step in now to persuade wavering lawmakers to support the deal.
Update: I wrote before looking over the Rec List. Apparently, the reporting is the whip count has been met. Remembering Prop 8, Maine's Question 1, New York's marriage equality vote, I'm am prepared to breath a sigh of relief when it actually transpires, but it's good news. I take nothing for granted.
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Here is today's letter to the President, it's from Former Corporal Juan C. Perezortiz, United States Marine Corps. It perfectly illustrates, how he was identified as gay, and watched his evaluations drop from from the 4.9 out of 5 average he'd carried for three years to a 1.0. This measure, even under the best case scenarios, even if should ever transpire into full law, will do nothing to help him, absent the non-discrimination language that was stricken from Patrick Murphy's original bill. Men and women like Perezortiz, will still be vulnerable to their careers being ruined, not because of anything related to their job performance, but simply because those in charge are free to express their bigotry on the path other's careers will take.
Even if this passes, Perezortiz could be writing the same letter in 2015, or 2020.
May 26, 2010
President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
As an 18-year-old, first generation immigrant from Mexico and a newly sworn in American citizen, military service seemed the best way to repay my fellow citizens for giving my family and me a shot at a better life.
I enlisted in the Marine Corps as an Aircraft Ordnance Man. USMC Boot Camp was physically and mentally challenging, but it didn’t compare to the persecution I would encounter later in the Marines.
As a new PFC in an Aircraft Ordnance (AO) Shop in California, I developed a reputation for being a hard worker, always looking for extra duties and opportunities to expand my skills. As a result, my work ethic and excellent evaluations, I was promoted to an E3, a lance corporal. These were my best days in the military. Unfortunately, they were short numbered. With the arrival of a new gunnery sergeant, my career in the Marines soon became a struggle to survive.
The gunnery sergeant enjoyed socializing with the junior Marines in the shop, frequently taking them out drinking and to the strip clubs. I was expected to participate. I tried to be a team player so I would not be singled out. The shop soon became the squadron’s “frat pad.” Most conversation revolved around girls and hookups, often described by my comrades as “bitches and hoes.”
This behavior, beyond being tolerated, was often sponsored and enjoyed by my superiors. “Gunny” usually joined in, bragging about cheating on his wife. This environment was repulsive and contradictory to the core values of the Marine Corps: honor, courage, commitment — values I tried to live by. I was miserable, but felt powerless to do anything about it.
I still went out drinking with the guys, but tried to avoid going to strip bars or swapping stories about sexual experiences. But then Gunny became suspicious. He told me he suspected I was a “faggot” and that we should see what the rest of the guys thought about it.
Everything changed that day. My evaluation scores began to drop dramatically — from the 4.9 out of 5 average I had for three years to a 1.0. After obtaining copies of my evaluations, I learned that my direct supervisors’ scores had been crossed out and lowered by the gunnery sergeant. I had never failed at anything in life before and I was not going to let anyone tell me I was not a good Marine.
My only way out, I believed, was to transfer out of my unit. At first my requests were repeatedly denied. Eventually though, after numerous letters of recommendations from other military officers, I was transferred.
I was promoted and, when I left my new unit, I had numerous letters of recommendation. The detachment’s commanding officer wrote accolades such as, “You are a Marine with exceptional core values… a great asset to the Armed Services” and “You are a Marine of great caliber and will go far in your military career.”
Unfortunately, I was required to return to my former training squadron just months before my six year contract was up. I was back under Gunny’s command. Those last few months were a living nightmare. I constantly dreaded going to work and was afraid for my physical safety.
With the support of friends, I managed to serve eight years. I love the Marines and, under different command circumstances, I would have continued my service. In three weeks, I’ll graduate from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in structural engineering. With the your help and with open service in place at the Pentagon, I’d signup and serve my country again.
Mr. President, thank you for supporting repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I hope that, with your leadership, no other service member will have to go through the persecution I endured in order to serve our country.
Respectfully,
Former Corporal Juan C. Perezortiz
United States Marine Corps
To raise awareness to the need for Presidential leadership, DADT repeal activists have launched “Stories from the Frontlines:Letters to President Barack Obama.”The new media campaign launched in partnership with Servicemember's Legal Defense Network,is intended to underscore the urgent need for congressional action and presidential leadership at this critical point in the fight to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).
Participating blogs: 365 Gay, The Advocate, AfterElton, AmericaBlog , Ameriqueer, AKAWilliam, The Bilerico Project, BoxTurtleBulletin, BrandFabulousness, The Daily Kos, David In Manhattan, David Mixner, Fired Up Missouri, GoodAsYou, HRCBackStory, Kenneth In The 212, Lez Get Real, LGBTPOV, Michael in Norfolk, Mike Gets Real, Mile High Gay Guy, Open Left, Page One Q, Pam's House Blend, RepealNow, SayenCroWolf, Seattle PI Stepforward, Signorile's The Gist, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Queer Times, Towleroad, We Give A Damn.
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CALL TO ACTION! (Pick one or all.)
Fate of repeal will be decided in the month of May. As time grows short, repeal advocates have multiple strategies are in place. One thing they all share is a need to hear from the public the time is now. Now is the time for LGBT allies to get off the fence and call for equality for their fellow Americans.
• Contact the White House: The Servicemember's Legal Defnese Network has put out an action item: Not Another Year. They are asking people to call the White House and tell our Commander in Chief to call for repeal in 2010, repeal can't wait until 2011. The moment is now. They say: "Our Congressional allies are not giving up. SLDN isn't giving up. Tell President Obama not to give up either. Call the White House today. (202) 456-1414"
• Contact your Senators: Tell them to support adding repeal to the Senate Defense Spending Budget: these Senators are most key: Bill Nelson, Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh, Jim Webb, Robert Byrd and Scott Brown. But call them all. Show them there's a grassroots movement to vote now. SLDN contact tool here.
• Contact your House Representatives: Tell them to support Representative Patrick Murphy's plan to offer DADT repeal legislation as a floor amendment to the military bill. SLDN contact tool here.
• Contact Nancy Pelosi: Tell her to use her authority as Speaker of the House to bring DADT repeal up for a vote in the House. (202) 225-0100
• Contact Senate Armed Services Committee Chairmain Carl Levin (D-MI) and tell him Military Budget Attachment is the way to go. His office in Washington can be reached at: (202) 224-6221
• Become a citizen co-sponsor of repeal at Senator Udall's site.
Who's Voting how? Adam Bink At Open Left has a whip count here.
He's reporting Scott Brown and a "no" (give him hell MA progressives) and Bill Nelson as a definite "yes" (a solidifying of his position leaning).