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 -by Tommy News Last year, I wrote to President Obama in May and suggested that he issue a proclamation for LGBT Pride month similar to those that President Clinton had issued, but that were rescinded by George W. Bush as “unnecessary”. President Obama did, and he included every single point I suggested in my request and more in that Proclamation. The president has issued another LGBT Pride Month Proclamation for this June. Here it is. Happy LGBT Pride Month to everyone! THE WHITE HOUSE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2010 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION As Americans, it is our birthright that all people are created equal and deserve the same rights, privileges, and opportunities. Since our earliest days of independence, our Nation has striven to fulfill that promise. An important chapter in our great, unfinished story is the movement for fairness and equality on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This month, as we recognize the immeasurable contributions of LGBT Americans, we renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists. LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the fabric of our national life. From business leaders and professors to athletes and first responders, LGBT individuals have achieved success and prominence in every discipline. They are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our friends and neighbors. Across my Administration, openly LGBT employees are serving at every level. Thanks to those who came before us — the brave men and women who marched, stood up to injustice, and brought change through acts of compassion or defiance — we have made enormous progress and continue to strive for a more perfect union. My Administration has advanced our journey by signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which strengthens Federal protections against crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation. We renewed the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides life-saving medical services and support to Americans living with HIV/AIDS, and finally eliminated the HIV entry ban. I also signed a Presidential Memorandum directing hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds to give LGBT patients the compassion and security they deserve in their time of need, including the ability to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions. In other areas, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a series of proposals to ensure core housing programs are open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. HUD also announced the first-ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services has created a National Resource Center for LGBT Elders. Much work remains to fulfill our Nation’s promise of equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. That is why we must give committed gay couples the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. We must protect the rights of LGBT families by securing their adoption rights, ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal benefits. We must create safer schools so all our children may learn in a supportive environment. I am also committed to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” so patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our military, and I am working with the Congress and our military leadership to accomplish that goal. As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much to our Nation, let us remember that if one of us is unable to realize full equality, we all fall short of our founding principles. Our Nation draws its strength from our diversity, with each of us contributing to the greater whole. By affirming these rights and values, each American benefits from the further advancement of liberty and justice for all. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2010 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and everywhere it exists. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth. BARACK OBAMA More Here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-pride-month
Artist Jane Sibbery sums up the this week’s mood with recent news of Lt. Dan Choi’s and Captian James Pietrangelo’s hunger fast for immediate full repeal of “Don’t Ask. Don’t Tell.” Let this video serve as a prayer for Lt. Choi and Capt. Pietrangelo as they follow their convictions to expose injustice of the political process. Dan and Jim you are loved.
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-by Tommy News The U.S. House and the Senate Armed Services Committee Voted Thursday to Allow Repeal of the failed and discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Law. According to The New York Times, The House voted Thursday to let the Defense Department repeal the ban on gay and bisexual people from serving openly in the military, a major step toward dismantling the 1993 law widely known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, who sponsored the repeal measure, said the ban did not “reflect the best values of our country.” The provision would allow military commanders to repeal the ban. The repeal would permit gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time. It was adopted as an amendment to the annual Pentagon policy bill, which the House is expected to vote on Friday. The repeal would be allowed 60 days after a Pentagon report is completed on the ramifications of allowing openly gay service members, and military leaders certify that it would not be disruptive. The report is due by Dec. 1. The House vote was 234 to 194, with 229 Democrats and 5 Republicans in favor, after an emotionally charged debate. Opposed were 168 Republicans and 26 Democrats. Victory! This historic vote is a major victory for the LGBT community, and for the entire nation in our sruggle for equality. The Times article continues, “On Memorial Day, America will come together and honor all who served our nation in uniform,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a floor speech, noting the symbolic timing of the debate. “I urge my colleagues to vote for the repeal of this discriminatory policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and make America more American.” Separately on Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved a similar measure allowing the repeal. The vote, in a closed session, was 16 to 12, with one Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, in favor of the repeal, and one Democrat, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, in opposition. Like the House amendment, the Senate measure, which is expected to come up for a vote soon, would allow Pentagon leaders to revoke the ban 60 days after the military study group completes its report and President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, certify that it would not hamper military readiness and effectiveness or “unit cohesion.” Mr. Obama and Mr. Gates favor repealing the ban, as does Admiral Mullen, who, in testimony before the Armed Services Committee in February, called for a repeal. In a statement, Mr. Obama said he was “pleased” by the votes. Lets hope that ENDA is next! Happy Memorial Day Weekend and Happy Pride Month To Everyone! We have much To celebrate! Read the New York Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/politics/28tell.html
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Congratulatons! Partlty as a result of our efforts, The White House and The Congress are hammering out a legislative deal to finally end the failed and discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell military policy. According to The New York Times, President Obama, the Pentagon and leading lawmakers reached agreement Monday on legislative language and a time frame for repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, clearing the way for Congress to take up the measure as soon as this week. Related More Politics News House Democratic leaders were meeting Monday night and considering taking up the measure as soon as Thursday. But even if the measure passes, the policy cannot not change until after Dec. 1, when the Pentagon completes a review of its readiness to deal with the changes. Mr. Obama, his defense secretary and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff would also be required to certify that repeal would not harm readiness. Read the Article Here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/us/politics/25tell.html?th&emc=th However, the compromise is not acceptable. We must immediately demand that the following four provisions be included in the language of the repeal bill: We must demand full equality. The repeal language should include: From Dan Fotou: Hi All, As most of you know by now DADT repeal language will very likely be inserted into the Defense Appropriations Bill in both the House and Senate with the President’s backing. Sounds good, right, except, the repeal language is far from equal and removes any accountability to the people, among other things. I’ve recently hung up with David Fleck and Alan Bounville and we believe TAKING ACTION TODAY AND EVERYDAY THIS WEEK is paramount if we want to see a full repeal with specific timeline implementation, non-discrimination and stop-loss language included. Please see specific information below. TIMELINE: Rep. Patrick Murphy, who introduced the Bill in the House and met with Administration officials yesterday, has until Senators Lieberman and Levin: Timeline is currently unknown when language needs to be included, but expect within the week CALL TO ACTION – WHAT TO DO ASAP: SWARM – CALL, EMAIL, FAX THE BELOW NOW DEMANDING THE FOLLOWING THREE PROVISIONS BE INCLUDED IN THE REPEAL LANGUAGE: House Member – Patrick Murphy – Pennsylvania Washington Office Bristol Office Doylestown Office Senator – Joe Lieberman – Connecticut Email: http://lieberman.senate.gov/index.cfm/contact/email-me-about-an-issue Washington DC Office Connecticut Office Senator – Carl Levin – Committee Chairman – Michigan Sen. Levin has seven district offices, click here for the listing:http://levin.senate.gov/contact/offices.html President Obama – www.whitehouse.gov HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN (HRC) HRC Front Desk: 202-628-4160 Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) PH: 202-328-3244 or 202-328-FAIR Servicemembers United (SU) PLEASE NOTE WHEN SPEAKING TO SLDN, SU and HRC: I set up a Facebook Event Page called “SAY NO TO DADT REPEAL COMPROMISE” and have invited those who are on my friends list. Please send me a friend request if you are not on my friends list or look for the event on David Fleck’s or Alan Bounville’s Facebook page. PLEASE FORWARD TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE SWARM. A little background from the Advocate: “LGBT groups met with officials at the White House while legislative affairs representatives from the White House and the Department of Defense met with the House and Senate leadership offices on Capitol Hill along with those of Rep. Patrick Murphy and Sens. Carl Levin and Joseph Lieberman.” What we now know is that the repeal language will do several things that are EXTREMELY UNFAVORABLE for our LGBT servicemembers. It will: Thanks. In solidarity, – The time to act is now! Take Further Action Here: Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Action Page http://www.sldn.org/action
Out4Immigration is an all grassroots organization and our letter writing campaign is now in its 64th week. Recently, we saw Congressman John Sarbanes co-sponsor UAFA and a few weeks ago, the Democrats in the Senate leadership unveiled a framework for comprehensive immigration reform, and UAFA’s language was included. We must continue to keep this issue out front and make sure UAFA’s language is included in any bill that moves forward. Our efforts have gained us a LOT of co-sponsors in both the House (23) and Senate (5), and This week, we are focusing on five more members of the House – Let’s finally hit our goal of 500 signatures! Click the link below to send an e-mail to all of these members of Congress, and please also forward this on to as many family and friends, and share on Facebook, Twitter, etc… We need as many people to sign this each week as possible, and the change.org link makes doing this quick and easy! We are also working on getting UAFA-supportive resolutions passed by city councils all around the country, and getting State, County and City elected officials to send letters to members of Congress urging them to support UAFA. Please contact Tom at [email protected] – if you can help (it’s very easy!!). http://www.change.org/petitions/view/ask_rep_boccieri_braley_kaptur_markey_nye_to_support_inclusive_comprehensive_immigration_reform http://tinyurl.com/UAFA-Week64 If you have not participated in our campaign before, please do so. Once you are done with that, you can also take part in previous week’s campaign here: http://www.change.org/my_change/search?content_type=Actions&global_keyword=lgbt+immigration+Rights Thank you! The five representative that we are writing to this week are: Congressman John Boccieri (D-OH-16) Congressman Bruce Braley (D-IA-1) Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9) Congresswoman Betsy Markey (D-CO-4) Congressman Glenn Nye (D-VA-2) http://www.change.org/my_change/search?content_type=Actions&global_keyword=lgbt+immigration+Rights
-by Tommy News Key votes are expected this week in Congress on the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. We must act now with a strong grassroots effort to turn these votes in favor of repeal of the failed and discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. Lawmakers are deeply divided on this issue, and we must help to sway and whip these votes in favor of repeal by letting our Congressmen, Senators, and President Obama know that we want repeal of DADT now. If they fail to act now and wait until after the November Elections, when seats may be lost to the Republican obstructionists, passing repeal will be much more difficult. The time to act is now. The time for repeal is now. According to The Washington Post, The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to vote by the end of the week on an amendment to the annual defense spending bill that would end “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” which Congress passed in 1993. The House is expected to vote on a similar measure this week, and Nancy Pelosi has told gay advocacy groups that she will allow a floor vote if there is enough support in favor of a repeal. We must make that support happen. Those on the other side of the debate are pressing Congress to maintain the status quo. Read the article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/23/AR2010052303880.html For repeal to succeed, it is critical that we make our collective voices heard, now. I urge you to call, fax, email, and send postal mail to your Congress member, two US Senators, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and President Obama today. Contact information: Call The White House 202-456-1111 and email President Obama using the contact form at www.whitehouse.gov Information from The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network: The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1283, S. 3065) The Military Readiness Enhancement Act would repeal the federal law banning military service by openly lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The bill would replace this ban with new provisions prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the armed forces. Current regulations regarding the personal conduct of military members would remain unchanged as long as they are written and enforced in a sexual orientation neutral manner. Persons previously discharged on the basis of sexual orientation would be eligible to apply to rejoin the military. The Military Readiness Enhancement Act would not create a right to benefits for same-sex partners or spouses, because under current federal law such benefits would violate the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would strengthen military readiness, retention and recruitment across the board. Repeal would enable the military to attract and retain critical personnel. More than 13,500 service members have been discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” since 1993, and strong evidence suggests that countless others have made the choice not to join the military or have left military service at the end of their commitments rather than serve under this discriminatory law. According to a 2005 GAO report, almost 800 persons discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” had skills deemed “mission critical” by the military. Discharging linguists, doctors, nurses, mechanics, infantrymen and intelligence analysts for no other reason than because of their sexual orientation weakens readiness and undermines unit cohesion. Allowing all qualified Americans to serve regardless of sexual orientation will make every branch of our military stronger. Repeal will also save millions of taxpayer dollars every year. According to the GAO report, it has cost more than $200 million to replace service members fired under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” GAO admits that this is an incomplete estimate; the true cost is even higher. Repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” reflects American values. Polling shows that at least 75 percent of Americans support allowing gays to serve openly in our nation’s military. And Americans care deeply about treating our service members and veterans with the respect and thanks they deserve, not as second class citizens. It is estimated that more than 65,000 gay Americans serve in the military now, and that our country is home to more than 1,000,000 gay veterans. More: Sign Howard Dean’s Letter to President Obama Calling for Repeal of DADT This Year and Call From: “Gov. Howard Dean, Democracy for America” Dear Mr. President We would like to share this open letter to President Obama from Gov. Howard Dean, calling on the President to follow through on his promise to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” this year. Will you add your name in support of Gov. Dean’s letter to President Obama? Just click here to join Gov. Dean, the Courage Campaign and Democracy for America. DEADLINE: Tuesday, 5 p.m.: http://dfa2.convio.net/site/R?i=8Zd7OG3p1Rh_Iu6eakuiDg.. Arshad Hasan, Executive Director Dear Mr. President, When you delivered your State of the Union address in January, you eloquently spoke the following words to Congress and the nation: “We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we are all created equal, that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it…” “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It’s the right thing to do.” However, as you know, Secretary Gates sent a letter to House Armed Services Chair Ike Skelton on April 30 which appears to indefinitely delay the possibility of moving forward with the repeal of DADT until the Pentagon completes a review of the policy. In his response, Aubrey Sarvis, Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said: “As a result of the Commander in Chief’s decision to defer to Secretary Gates’ wishes and timeline, gay service members will continue to be treated as second class citizens, and any sense of fairness may well have been delayed for yet another year, perhaps for another decade.” While I understand the need to research how repealing DADT will affect members of the military, the law can still be repealed with an implementation timeline this year. The time to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is now. I urge you to take immediate action to insure that Congress includes the repeal of DADT — with an implementation timeline — in the Defense Authorization bill currently under consideration. I am sharing this open letter with my friends in Democracy for America and the Courage Campaign communities, thousands of whom will join me in signing a petition asking you to take leadership to repeal DADT this year. You can read the petition — and Americans can sign on to it — here: www.DemocracyforAmerica.com/DontWaitDontDelay One of our nation’s most precious and fundamental values is the guarantee of equal rights for every American. Gay and lesbian Americans have demonstrated their courage and given their lives in service to our country since our nation’s military was founded. Now it’s time to allow them to say who they are. On behalf of Courage Campaign and Democracy for America members, thank you for your consideration of this critical national security issue. - Howard Gov. Howard Dean, MD The time to act is now! Take Further Action Here: Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Action Page http://www.sldn.org/action
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