Congressional hearings on repealing the military's ban on openly gay service members has been postponed until 2010.
As I mentioned yesterday, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission nominee Chai Feldblum had her hearing at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Clifford Stanley had a confirmation hearing at the Senate Armed Services Committee. First Clifford Stanley's...
A new Military Times poll on "don't ask, don't tell" first asks readers whether they've ever been hit on by gay service members.
The President nominated Marine General Clifford Stanley (Ret.), to serve as Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, a position that would be responsible for implementing a reversal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the Pentagon. There were high hopes that Dr. Stanley's testimony would shed light on how he would handle the change in policy, but it's clear that the following was not what Servicemembers Legal Defense Network expecting. More...
Clifford Stanley, the nominee for a key Pentagon post that will oversee "don't ask, don't tell," revealed little about his personal beliefs during a hearing as Sen. John McCain reiterated his support for the ban and several Democratic senators set the stage for repeal.
In the past I have often had to “corner” candidates by asking questions about LGBT equality at public events to get them to answer my questions. A problem with this method, besides taking the effort to end up at these events to ask the questions while being a student & working, is that this format often provides more wiggle room for equivocation and avoiding the question, and it doesn't always capture their response permanently in writing, audio, or video depending on the size and scope of the venue. In some cases this method has worked well though.
This year however I have asked all 3 candidates (although one has now dropped out) about their stances on LGBT equality in an online format, mostly in live-blog events. With these events there are a lot of questions left in advance, and a lot of questions hurled at the candidate while they are there. So they can very easily pick and choose which questions they want to answer without looking like they are really avoiding a given question intentionally. I am pleased to report that all the candidates have answered my questions on LGBT equality without being cornered.
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- News on "don't ask, don't tell":
Three former military chaplains are announcing today that they support a full repeal of the DADT. In a Q&A released by VoteVets, the three men, Charles D. Camp, Chaplain (Colonel), USA (Ret.), John F. Gundlach, CAPT, CHC, USN (Ret.), and Jerry Rhyne, Chaplain (Colonel), USAF (Ret.), also addressed implementation concerns regarding a repeal: What would be the impact of changing the current law on unit cohesion and morale? More...
 I had a chance to sit down with Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement (aka the LGBT liaison) Brian Bond at the ENC Conference on Saturday, before his keynote address before attendees. In the White House food chain Bond reports to Valerie Jarrett, the senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Bond has been in contact with me several times over the last year to set up a meeting, but given my lack of proximity to DC and my schedule, it just hasn't happened until now. More...
 Despite waking up late (the dogs didn't wake us up!), Kate and I are here at the Equality NC Conference, held at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. Attendance is robust today, with a lot of young people here. This year there is a great deal of good news to report about progress towards equality in the state:
Gains in 2009
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U.S. National News
Democratic leaders said they plan to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) in next year’s defense authorization bill.
The American Medical Association (AMA) passed a resolution calling for full repeal of DADT, saying that it “clearly has a negative impact on military healthcare, military medical providers, and our troops.”
A new study by researchers from [...]
Watch this. Now.
Blockquotes are statements released by the producers of this documentary, done in 2 parts because of YouTube size restrictions.
In May, 2009, the Maine Legislature extended marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples. As expected, opponents of equality, led by the National Organization for Marriage and the Catholic Church, petitioned to have those rights put to a vote by referendum.
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