| christian grantham | |||
| Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD. | |||
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April 08, 2005
On the battlefield, soldiers talk openly about their families back home, and the military makes provisions to keep them in touch with their family support network and those they love. Gay and lesbian soldiers serving in the U.S. armed services are asked to sacrifice and suppress this network, not talk about their families with other soldiers, leave the family photos behind, and defend their country alone in silence.
Sgt. Robert Stout, 23, says he has not encountered trouble from fellow soldiers and would like to stay if not for the policy that permits gay men and women to serve only if they keep their sexual orientation a secret.''I know a ton of gay men that would be more than willing to stay in the Army if they could just be open,'' Stout said. ''But if we have to stay here and hide our lives all the time, it's just not worth it.''
Stout, of Utica, Ohio, was awarded the Purple Heart after a grenade sent pieces of shrapnel into his arm, face and legs while he was operating a machine gun on an armored Humvee last May.
[Gay GI who got Purple Heart wants to serve openly - Chicago Sun Times - 04-08-05]
When I hear the Pentagon tell Congress about shortcomings in recruitment and the FBI tell Congress the agency's translation work load is critically under staffed, I have to wonder why discrimination against gays and lesbians in the War on Terror is a higher priority than fighting the real enemy.
filed under: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
February 24, 2005
Here is an opportunity for the Republican controlled Congress and the President of the United States to demonstrate that America's national security is more important than discriminatory political agendas.
Congressional lawmakers today announced legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the military's ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel. The Military Readiness Enhancement Act is scheduled to be introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) on March 2nd. The proposal is already supported by a bi-partisan coalition of Congressional representatives, including Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) among others.Announcement of the bill follows release of a new Government Accounting Office (GAO) report analyzing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The GAO report conservatively estimates the gay ban has cost at least $191 million since its inception in 1993. The report's financial estimate, however, includes only costs associated with recruiting and training enlistees to replace those discharged under the ban. The GAO analysis does not include costs associated with discharging officers or the nearly 800 specialists with critical skills who have been fired because of their sexual orientation. Administrative costs associated with discharges are also not included in the GAO analysis.
[Congress Announces Legislation to Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' - SLDN - 02-24-05]
filed under: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
February 24, 2005
Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) must be very proud. According to Santorum, and a few right-wing Republicans, the "ultimate homeland security" is defending our nation from gays and lesbians, not terrorists. The policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell seems to be keeping that priority alive and well in America.
More than 300 foreign language specialists considered critical in the war on terrorism have been forced out of the military in the past decade because of their sexual orientation, according to the first government study to assess both the warfighting and financial impact of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prohibits openly gay servicemen.These soldiers had "some skills in an important foreign language such as Arabic, Farsi, and Korean," according to a report by the Government Accountability Office to be published next month. At least 54 of the 322 language specialists spoke Arabic -- more than twice as many as previous estimates. At the same time, more than 400 additional soldiers discharged under the policy had what the Pentagon considers "critical occupations," including Navy code-breakers, Army intelligence specialists and interrogators, Air Force air traffic controllers, and Marine Corps counterintelligence specialists.
[Gays' ouster seen leaving gap in military - Boston Globe - 02-24-05]
Chuck Pennacchio has an idea on how to help change the Republican Party: stand up for better principles and the priorities of Pennsylvania voters.
filed under: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
February 17, 2005
In March 2004, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) warned Sen, Orin Hatch (R-UT) that a significant backlog of untranslated intercepts threatened national security (page 1, 2). CIA Chief George Tenet's testimony before the 9-11 Commission confirmed the volume of untranslated terrorist intercepts were posing a significant security threat to the United States. Despite these facts, and an expressed lack of qualified linguists, the United States government discharged gay lingusits under Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
A year later, the CIA and FBI, again, warned of a "lack of data" on the potential terrorist threat to the Homeland.
In his first public appearance since becoming CIA director in September, Porter J. Goss used the annual worldwide threat hearing to issue the prediction, while another federal official said the FBI knows little about al Qaeda sleeper cells such as the September 11 terrorists."It may be only a matter of time before al Qaeda or another group attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons," Mr. Goss told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III testified that he is "very concerned" about the lack of data on a network of al Qaeda "sleeper" cells in the United States.
"Finding them is a top priority for the FBI, but it is also one of the most difficult challenges," he said.
"Because of al Qaeda's directed efforts this year to infiltrate covert operatives into the U.S., I am also very concerned with the growing body of sensitive reporting that continues to show al Qaeda's clear intention to obtain and ultimately use some form of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear or high-energy explosives material in its attacks against America," Mr. Mueller added.
[Goss fears WMD attack in U.S. 'a matter of time' - Washington Times - 02-17-05]
Given these concerns, why is the political agenda of discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans taking priority over tracking down these terrorists? Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a clear danger to the national security interests of the United States of America.
Ironically, a banner that appears on the Washington Times Story above takes visitors to a U.S. Army website soliciting Arabic linguists.
filed under: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
February 12, 2005
Isn't it ironic that the United States Armed Services embrace Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) during peacetime, when presumably the threat of homosexuality to unit cohesion matters the least, and reject DADT in wartime, when the supposed threat of homosexuality to unit cohesion matters the most?
The number of gay and lesbian soldiers discharged under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy has dropped by almost half since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and are at the lowest levels since the Department of Defense began keeping such figures in 1997.Significant declines have occurred in every branch of the armed forces, according to the statistics released Friday by the Defense Department. The Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy discharged fewer gay and lesbian soldiers in 2004 than in any year since the Pentagon began tallying the number of its "homosexual separations" eight years ago. The Army's discharges represented the lowest number of discharges in five years.
[Statistics show a near 50% drop in military discharges of homosexuals - Detriot News - 02-12-05]
Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, like many of his stumped military colleagues, is having a difficult time explaining why discharges under DADT continue their steep decline since September 11, 2001.
"Obviously, it's a very controversial issue," said Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, a spokesman for the personnel office in the Army, which, in relation to the total size of each of the services, had the highest proportion of gays departing last year. "I just got the figures and I don't know why" they fell.
[Statistics show a near 50% drop in military discharges of homosexuals - Detriot News - 02-12-05]
It must be hard admitting that the argument of "unit cohesion" as a reason to exclude gays and lesbians from serving completely breaks down in wartime. I bet it's not as hard as admitting that sexual orientation is the last thing on the minds of professional soldiers on the front lines of war.
filed under: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
February 08, 2005
The White House says Clinton era "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) has nothing to do with the issues the Supreme Court decided in Lawrence v. Texas which ruled sodomy laws unconstitutional. DADT, however, says if a person does not abstain from sodomy, then they will be terminated from serving their country. What else is DADT about? Don't ask the White House unless you want to get caught in a divisively mindless loop of broken reason threatening our national security.
The Bush administration on Monday asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Pentagon's 11-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy.The government said last year's landmark Supreme Court ruling that overturned state laws making gay sex a crime does not undercut the military's policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve as long as they abstain from homosexual activity and don't reveal their sexual orientation.
[White House wants gay-policy suit tossed - AP - 02-07-05]
filed under: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
January 07, 2005
Today's Washington Post says it all. The United States Armed Services would rather endure troop shortages than to join its allies and allow gays and lesbians to serve their country. The tiring argument of troop cohesion as an excuse for excluding gay service members defies the fact that American soldiers are doing an amazing job within a "coalition of the willing" that includes gays from other countries.
Under current policy, a reservist is not to serve on active duty for more than 24 months, although those months can be split among multiple deployments that occur over a period of years.The change under consideration, the Army official said, would essentially make a reservist eligible for an unlimited number of call-ups but stipulate that no single mobilization would last more than 24 consecutive months. The official said the Army would attempt to use such expanded authority sparingly to avoid alienating soldiers.
[Reservists May Face Longer Tours of Duty - Washington Post - 01-07-05]
In Response, the Human Rights Campaign reiterated their call for a repeal to the Clinton-era "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. My only question is where is the language of the proposed repeal, and who have they asked to push for the repeal? If a call for a repeal is left at a press release to avoid embarrassing a lack of conviction among Democrats, how can this be considered lobbying?
The Human Rights Campaign today renewed its call to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, in light of a report in today's Washington Post stating that Army officials are considering changing Pentagon policy to allow for longer and more frequent call-ups of some reservists to meet the demands of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Any policy that keeps patriotic Americans from serving during wartime is bad for the nation," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is deeply hurtful to gay and lesbian service members and their families, and is costing the nation valuable service members."
[HRC RENEWS CALL FOR REPEAL OF ‘DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL,’ AS PENTAGON PONDERS TROOP SHORTAGE - HRC - 01-07-05]
also read my March 31, 2004 post "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Threatens National Security
filed under: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
March 31, 2004
Concerns over the volume of untranslated terrorist intercepts are posing a significant security threat to the United States, according to CIA Chief George Tenet's recent testimony before the 9-11 Commission. Those concerns are echoed in a March 2 letter (page 1, 2) to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, from ranking committee member Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
As both Tenet and Sen. Leahy note, the federal government has a significant backlog of untranslated intercepts. Linguists are a front-line asset the federal government is finding in short supply. Despite the security threat and the need for qualified linguists, the federal government continues to make a person's sexual orientation a bigger threat to America.
According to a December 2003 article in the Washington post, the Department of Defense had discharged 37 linguists from the Defense Language Institute for being gay under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The threat of homosexuals apparently is so great that even untranslated terrorist chatter takes a back seat to the federal government's purge of gays attempting to serve their country.
When it comes to the government's need for bodies in the line of fire, however, DADT discharges drop under stop-loss orders in time of war. Presumably the threat posed by homosexuals "in the foxhole" disappears in the reality of war, but as the military trains and prepares for war, irrational fears of homosexuals consume the military elite.
In a March 24, 2004 report by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Conduct Unbecoming: The 10th Annual Report on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," discharges plummeted last year due to war in Iraq. In the emerging theater of information warfare, the federal government has to begin asking itself whether DADT is harming our effort to muster our country's strengths or whether it is playing to politics that are ultimately harming our country.
It is very important to remember that DADT was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton. Gay Democrats should take note of lessons learned and not allow the 2004 party front-runner John Kerry to waffle on this important national security issue.
The unfairness of DADT not only affects those few people prohibited from serving their country, it affects all Americans. If the 9-11 Commission is to focus on one solution to prevent another 9-11, it will be for our country to use all our resources and set politics aside to protect our country.
It is time to repeal DADT and make sure our country is served by people willing to defend our country from the real enemy.
filed under: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
