Don't Ask, Don't Tell--Gone, Not a Day Too Soon

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com
September 20, 2011

Another pernicious piece of discrimination and bigotry has gone under the wheels of progress, and not a day too soon.

How legislators can twist themselves and our country into illogical contortions of ignorance that blatantly violate constitutional rights with such laws as DADT, is beyond me.

But not really given so many other shameful statutes such as the DOM act that is supposed to protect straight marriage. Protect from what? DODT protect troops from what? Is sexual orientation a form of disease?
(photo: Col. Grete Cammermeyer)

DODT was a piece of legislation but it was also symbolic of how socially diseased our conservative branch of culture is, how much our much balled Christian democracy can violate all spiritual decency and secular fairness.

I am repeatedly amazed at how much supposedly cognizant, rational, 21st century legislators can be so ignorant of their own irrational, undemocratic thinking that is based on primitive, revengeful, wrathful Biblical scripture which violates modern standards of respect.

DADT crushed constitutional guarantees of equality, heaped dishonor on honorable citizens, violated bonds of brotherhood in the military--all because of bizarre Biblical ancient phrases that have no relevance in modern society.

The repeal of DADT offers a glimmer of hope that secular, truly democratic, fully constitutional thinking can trump the homophobic distortions of right-wing primitive fundamentalist thinking.

Republican Candidates -- Are they not ashamed?

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com
July,12, 2011

Leading Republican candidates can't wait to broadcast their bigotry against gay Americans. Incredibly, in public statements they are shamelessly lining up to promote discrimination as part of their conservative platforms.

What kind of humanistic, religious, American leadership can they possibly offer when they advocate overt abuse of human rights with their in-humanistic, un-Christian, anti-American rhetoric.--against gay marriage and in favor of Don't Ask Don't Tell and in favor of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

It is more than shameful. It is fascism in disguise to deliberately advocate scorn, denial, derision, contempt against those who do not think as they do. This is demagoguery in its vilest from. Their blatant homophobic assertions attempt to discredit same-sex sexual orientation as a natural phenomenon, despite countless scientific studies to the contrary. They prefer to blindly follow religious mythology on this issue and express sincere 'belief' in that vague source.

Such vile propagandizing campaigning will certainly work against them. Times are changing. Fundamentalist right wing bullying of LGBT Americans will not pass. The next generation is far more accepting of gay people and gay marriage--perhaps because they are listening to their consciences--and our Constitution--more than outdated (and mistranslated) scriptures and dogmas.

Quotes:

-Rick Santorum has joined Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann in signing an anti-gay marriage pledge. Also supports constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He is opposed to all forms of government recognition for gay and lesbian couples.

The pledge, titled 'The Marriage Vow: A Declaration of Dependence Upon Marriage and Family' was introduced by the Iowa-based Christian conservative group The Family Leader. It asks 2012 candidates to vigorously oppose marriage equality, be faithful to their own spouse, vow to protect women and children from pornography and reject Sharia law. The group will not endorse any candidate that does not sign the pledge.

-Michelle Bachman's husband runs a clinic that practices reparative therapy that tries to cure gay people of their homosexuality. Bachman supports constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

-Tim Pawlenty has spoken against gay marriage and said deference should be shown to the military on DADT. Supports constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

-Newt Gingrich said the adoption of same-sex marriage in New York showed the nation is "drifting toward a terrible muddle." He also said both the Army and the Marines overwhelmingly opposed changing [DADT]. And as president I would listen to the commanders. Supports constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

-Mitt Romney: has called for support of federal marriage amendment but would not ban civil unions. DADT: I believe that DADT should have been kept in place until conflict (Iraq/Afghanistan) was over.

-Gary Johnson has spoken out in favor of gay rights issues, supporting civil unions: is among the field's most gay-friendly candidates; believes government should not intervene unnecessarily in the private lives of individual citizens and supports civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.

-Jon Huntsman supported civil unions as Utah's governor; would respect the decision of states that legalized same-sex marriage and not seek to override those laws with a federal ban.

-Ron Paul is the most libertarian; not necessarily opposed to a Constitutional amendment. His Libertarian ideology would say the question is irrelevant. Marriage, like any contract, is left to individuals, straight or gay.

-Herman Cain is a fierce opponent of same sex marriage or civil unions, asking his supporters to stand behind him and protect the sanctity of the institution of marriage. When pressed on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), he said he would never have overturned it.

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-Survey: 85 percent of Staunch Conservatives and 72 percent of Main Street Republicans oppose the right of gays and lesbians to marry.

-Republican strategist Steve Schmidt said, “The Republican Party is shrinking. One of the reasons it is shrinking is because there are large demographics in this country that view the party as intolerant or not relevant to them...

-Survey by Pew: 70 percent of those between 18 and 34 support gay marriage. Other studies show favor of gay marriage.

-Survey: RK Research confirms youth hostility toward the Republican Party’s position on gay marriage in its study of college students and the Republican Party. The surveyed students, when asked to rate the Republican party on 25 issues, gave the party a score of 3.8 (1-worst, 10-best) on gay rights, dead last of the 25 issues.

Opposing DODT Repeal is a Moral Evil

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com

Don't ask don't tell has finally gone down, another act of stupidity repealed by Congress today. After 17 years of blatant prejudice and discrimination the motion to remove the military rule was approved by 65 senators with 31 opposing.

What's remarkable and unnerving is that 31 of the nation's elected leaders voted against the repeal, openly continuing to agree to egregious discrimination against homosexual military personnel in particular and LGBT people in general. Such a bigoted position is essentially an insupportable abhorrent position.

That any modern legislator could hold this unjust, unconstitutional, hateful and narrow-minded view of human nature is immoral and frightening. Yet there they are, in our capitol making speeches and decisions that effect America's social welfare (medical care, taxation, banking/finance, education, criminal justice…) while holding distinct prejudicial views that not all citizens are equal.

Given these crucial and essential matters that effect the daily lives of 350 million people, how is it right that a full third of the US Senate can hold office with such odious prejudices against any minority group of Americans?

It is now well beyond simple science that human sexual orientation is a deeply inherent trait that forms in the psyche virtually from birth and inevitably becomes manifest in the second decade of a person's life. In countless research studies homosexuality has been shown to have biological, genetic and social components that lift it far beyond simplistic religious, political or cultural opinions and personal points of view. Way beyond 'choice'.

But with a dismissive wave of a hand toward such studied research, a politician can ignore all these in-depth analyses and all the personal testimonies of LGBT people who felt they were gay at a very young age. Such a callous attitude is a moral evil, a violation of oath to defend the constitution, a spiritually violent act, a step into ignorance and blindness. Nothing less than a social evil.

This prejudice is commonly sourced in the religious background of each senator who claws his way into Congress. Manipulating money, people and media to get elected into a position of power, a successful member is revealed for what he is when it comes to voting on the core issue of human rights.

"Human rights are international norms that help to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses." Are those 31 Senators listening to this? Obviously not, and they should be fired from their jobs.

Gaining Rights vs Being Privileged--Gays and Obama

Westhampton, MA - October 11, 2009
Richard Ammon - GlobalGayz.com

Last night President Obama gave a speech at a Human Rights Campaign fund-raising dinner in DC. This is remarkable in itself since no other president has ever given specific attention to a gay organization in a public forum. The press were there and captured his speech on paper and tape and video and YouTube. (Also see the controversial graffiti incident that followed.)

His attendance at this event, the night before a mass LGBT-rights rally in the city on National Coming Out Day, was partly motivated by the disgruntled noise LGBT leaders have made over the past few months in response to DADT, DOMA and gay marriage issues. His speech was an effort to assuage the aggravation felt in our community, by some, that he was not moving fast enough to rid these discriminatory statutes from our country.

The arguments against these laws are clearly justified—but the timing is not. The ‘homosexual agenda’ for equality has taken giant steps in the past five years, especially given how recently we banged down the doors at Stonewall and given how far backward we were treated as citizens (and still are in many places).

Hardly a month goes by that I don’t read of an important two-step forward and one backward across the fifty states. From the egregious Prop 8 in CA last November to the startling marriage decision in Iowa and quiet passage in New Hampshire a few months ago. We are making remarkable progress with our campaigns, money and high-school coming out (and middle-school as well. (See this NYT Cover story) Last week the House approved the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd hate crimes bill (attached to an obscenely bloated defense bill). The bill is also named for James Byrd Jr., a black man killed in a race-based attack in Texas the same year.

But for some that’s not enough. We seem to want it all, now: Obama should have eliminated DADT by now and pushed to change DOMA to include gay marriage!

To my mind this smacks of privilege and entitlement. We have collected some genuine goodies and we want more, now, and this president should let us move to the head of the line to get them.

This does not sit well with my queer mind.

The other night I went to a benefit dinner for a local marine sergeant here in rural Massachusetts who came home from Afghanistan with one leg, a shattered spine, fractured arm and a thousand bits of shrapnel under his skin. If you ask me who I want to see taken care of first, the sergeant or a lesbian spouse, the choice is hardly that. I want our young people taken out of harm’s way before I want to get married. I don’t want any more coffins hidden from TV cameras to help sanitize these horrid wars that Bush-Cheney started for delusional reasons.

I am willing to let these broken and dead soldiers take the front of the line before I can say ‘I Do’ or before queers get to serve openly in the military - much as they deserve to. (How ironic that we want to destroy DADT that sends people out of the service and out of harm’s way and instead insist that gay personnel be allowed to go into harm’s way with the possibility of coming home in a body bag! Is that some form of queer patriotic suicide?)

Not to mention the worst economic cramps for decades. I’d rather have my unemployed neighbor father-of-three get a job than me get married this year.

Have we lost our sense of place and proportion? Gay marriage will happen. DADT will fall. Lobbying works—for better or worse. Military leaders are being leaned on to re-evaluate the policy. They are softening. The public and even straight recruits are changing their minds.

We need to see the change that’s happening before our eyes, in the courts, in state legislatures and stop vilifying a president who is clearly on our side of the issues and wants to see justice and equality in the military and among partnerships.

Get in line for change. Send messages to the Pentagon and Congress. Makes phone calls. Support HRC - or not. Lean forward but don’t jump the queue.

Also see: DOMA Repeal Gains 100th Sponsor

Gays in the military: we are here and queer - get over it!

Westhampton, MA - July 12, 2009
Richard Ammon, GlobalGayz.com

US Secretary of Defense Gates said yesterday one possible modification to "Don't Ask Don't Tell" might be to consider the circumstances under which a service member is 'outed' in determining whether or not he or she must leave the military.

Gates offered as an example, "When we're given information from someone with vengeance in mind or blackmail, somebody who has been jilted. If somebody is outed by a third party, does that force us to take action?" he said. "That's the kind of thing we're looking at - seeing if there's a more humane way to apply the law until it gets changed."

For chrissake when will we grow up!? Parsing a blatantly vicious and discriminatory policy does nothing to change it. You can't partially suture up a gaping wound that bleeding. Highly skilled service people are being ripped from their careers this minute and they deserve better than a bigoted prejudicial reason for their discharge.

Dan Choi, a native of California and an Army Lieutenant (photo right), was dismissed from his commission last week. This is a immoral crime and an offense to all manner of integrity. It makes a mockery of our posturing about democratic rule of law and freedom and liberty.

What do Israel, Denmark, Holland, France, UK and other EU countries, who let gays serve in the military, know that we don't? Probably the simple truth that it doesn't matter. Sexual orientation is not an issue in the armed services of any country. Competence and loyalty matter most.

Unbelievable for modern progressive times, the top brass and congress absurdly let freakish religious homophobia influence military decision making. What next--chariots of fire instead of humvees?!

There are rare intelligent exceptions, however, as one fortunate "outed" gay soldier wrote, "They could have kicked me out when someone told. But my commanders weighed loss to the service against the benefit of me staying. They gave me a chance and I gave them everything I had. I served with pride not prejudice."

This fine testimony gives the hypocritical lie to the DADT policy: thousands of LGB (T?) people are serving (secretly) in the armed forces at this very moment--from high ranking Navy Admirals to new Air Force recruits. Is unit cohesion disturbed? Is 'homosexual recruiting' going on? Are the showers a risky place? Is there sneaky activity in the bunks at night? Are gay personnel flirting with battalion leaders?

How ridiculous even to ask. What sensible volunteer military person is going to risk their career and reputation on inappropriate behavior--gay or straight. The hysterical knee-jerk homophobic thought that went into making the DADT policy, based on ignorant stereotypical thinking, is far removed from reality. Gay men and women officers have as much integrity and self-respect and self-discipline as any straight officer to conduct their professional and personal lives in a proper manner. Gay and lesbian recruits are no different: they are in the service to serve not to cruise.

And I must add, from my personal experience across several decades of observing humanity, that, far from the typical straight presumption that we gay men are out to seduce every child, boy and man--I find that 98% of other males on this planet are decidedly NOT appealing to my eye and do not merit a second look. It's no different in military life. Do straight congressmen find every woman attractive? Again, it's ridiculous to ask. So wake up to the truth about gays and reflect it in military policy.

Call President Obama and Secretary Gates and let them know how you feel on the issue. The time for positive change is NOW.

Pentagon Communications Office: 703-428-0711

White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111