All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

The law that prohibits openly gay servicemen from serving in the military may be repealed as an amendment to the 2011 Defense Department budget bill, the Washington Blade reports.

The repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) rule should be a part of the defense budget, much like the recent extension of hate crimes protections for LGBT citizens, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told the Blade. Frank is one of three openly gay members of the House.

"The House will take up and the Senate will take up 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal," Frank reportedly said. "That will again, like hate crimes, even more so, will have to be done, I believe, in the context of the defense authorization. You can't do the standalone bill. It belongs in the defense authorization."

A bill has been introduced in the House to repeal the measure, and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) may introduce a similar bill in the Senate.

DADT was enacted through a defense authorization bill in 1993, the Blade points out.

Read full post…

Voters in Washington state will decide today on a referendum that could effectively roll back legislation passed in May to extend domestic partnership rights and responsibilities to gay and lesbian couples similar to those granted married heterosexual couples.

In addition to the fierce battle over the referendum itself, there has been another bitter fight: One over whether the names of the more than 120,000 people who signed a petition to get the referendum on the ballot should be made public.

On one side of the debate is Larry Stickney, the campaign manager of Protect Marriage Washington and one of the main people who got the referendum, known as Referendum 71, on the ballot. Stickney opposes releasing the names, arguing that doing so opens signatories up to intimidation and harassment.

In an interview, Stickney said he has been hit with "numerous death threats," threatening phone calls in the middle of the night, and "obscene, vile emails" for being the public face of his cause.

"We've feared for our children's lives," he said.

Stickney characterized the people who signed the petition are "a bunch of little old ladies and nice people who go to church," and said that "obviously we want to protect them from this kind of thing."

He added that efforts to release the names amounted to a modern-day version of voter intimidation.

"This is no different than the Klan standing outside of voter booths in Alabama when blacks would dare to go vote," he said.

On the other side is Tom Lang, director of KnowThyNeighbor.org, a Web site that has published the names of signatories on similar measures in states around the country. Lang rejected the claims of intimidation – "it doesn't happen," he said – and says he is interested in starting a conversation between neighbors, coworkers and family members.

"This is about meaningful dialogue between those that are going to have their rights stripped from them and the people that are doing it," he said.

Lang said he isn't afraid to publicly back his position, noting that he puts his name and photo prominently on his Web site. Asked if he considers it cowardly to sign Referendum 71 but keep the decision to do so private, he said yes.

Read full post…

During the presidential campaign, then-Senator Barack Obama promised to end "Don't ask, don't tell" - the ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military - and promised to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 federal law defining marriage as only between a man and a woman.

CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante reports that because the president has yet to deliver on the promises he made to the gay community, gay rights advocates are concerned.

"He says all of the right things, but now it's time for him to put his money where his mouth is," said actress Cynthia Nixon.

Read full post…

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), at left, has announced, in a press release, that the Senate Armed Service Committee will hold a hearing this fall on the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Signed into law by former President Clinton, the policy forbids openly gay and lesbian personnel from serving in the military. According to the press release, an estimated 13,000 service members have been removed from duty since 1993 based on their sexual orientation.

According to a report from the Center for American Progress, 265 people have been discharged since President Obama took office.

"This policy is wrong for our national security and wrong for the moral foundation upon which our country was founded,'" Gillibrand said. "'Don't ask, don't Tell' is an unfair, outdated measure that violates the civil rights of some of our bravest, most heroic men and women. By repealing this policy, we will increase America's strength - both militarily and morally."

Gillibrand also said such measures are costly, saying that it takes $95.1 million to replace gay personnel with new recruits.

Read full post…

Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Iraq war veteran, today called for an end to the "discriminatory" policy known as "don't ask, don't tell" that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

"The policy is not working for armed services, and it hurts our national security," Murphy (pictured at left) said at a speech at Washington's National Press Club, where he appeared with gay and straight service members supporting repeal of the policy.

The event was a kickoff to the "Voices Of Honor" national tour sponsored by gay rights groups the Human Rights Campaign and Servicemembers United that features members of the military who oppose the Clinton-era compromise that allows gays to serve only if they keep their sexuality a secret. Murphy's office also helped set up a Web site called www.letthemserve.com.

"Opponents of lifting the ban argue that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly will be detrimental to unit cohesion and morale," the congressman said. "As a former officer and West Point professor, that is an insult to me and to all of the troops serving in uniform. In Iraq, my men did not care what race, color, creed or sexual orientation their fellow paratroopers were. They cared about getting the job done. We cared about serving with honor and coming home alive." (Watch Murphy's full remarks here.)

Murphy vowed to take the lead in pushing through Congress the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would overturn the policy. He noted that President Obama has vowed to sign the bill if it crosses his desk and said it is Congress' responsibility to make that happen.

The president has taken heat from gay rights groups for not pushing harder for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" or the Defense Of Marriage Act, something he promised to work toward as a candidate. Gay rights groups were particularly outraged by a brief filed by the Obama Justice Department defending DOMA that compared gay marriage to marriage between family members.

Read full post…

President Obama, who has come under harsh criticism from gay rights advocates for not yet acting on many campaign promises on gay issues, Monday afternoon said that his administration has made some progress on behalf of gay Americans and plans to do more.

"I know that many in this room don't believe that progress has come fast enough, and I understand that," Mr. Obama said at a reception for LGBT Pride Month at the White House. "It's not for me to tell you to be patient anymore than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half-century ago."

"But I say this: We have made progress," the president continued. "And we will make more. And I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises I've made, but by the promises that my administration keeps."

"We've been in office six months now," he said. "I suspect that by the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration."

Read full post…

The Obama administration's decision to file a controversial brief on behalf of the Defense Of Marriage Act appears to have been the last straw for many gay and lesbians who were once enthusiastic supporters of the administration as well as the Democratic party.

Politico reports that the National Stonewall Democrats is the latest group to pull out of a June 25 Democratic National Committee fundraiser because of the Obama administration’s defense of DOMA and lack of action on gay issues.

The group said is "incredibly disappointed" in the party for a variety of reasons, including a perceived lack of support.

"The DNC has traditionally provided materials for the many Pride parades and festivals around the country to help educate the LGBT community about why the Democratic Party is the Party for full LGBT equality," National Stonewall wrote in an e-mail, according to Politico. "This year, we were informed that we would not be receiving any materials or support for producing materials for the various nationwide Pride activities. These decisions were very disappointing."

The e-mail also cited the DOMA brief as a reason to pull out of the fundraiser.

"The members of the Board and our membership put our hopes, our dollars and our time into ensuring the election of Barack Obama because we believed that he supported us. To now have his Administration refer to our relationships in the same terms used by our long time enemies such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and James Dobson hurts on so many levels," National Stonewall wrote.

Read full post…

The gay community may turn its back on President Obama and the Democratic party if the president does not begin to follow through on some of his campaign promises to extend gay rights, some gay activists say.

"The community is at the point now where they feel like the Democratic party has turned their back on them, as if gays are some kind of political pariah," John Aravosis, a gay activist and blogger, said today on on CBSNews.com's daily politics Web show Washington Unplugged.

Mr. Obama on Wednesday signed a presidential memorandum granting some federal employee benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers. Aravosis said it was a "nice step," but did not resolve any of the issues the gay community cares about. Some are becoming increasingly worried, he said, about whether the president will actually address those issues, by urging Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) or allowing gays to openly serve in the military.

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), one of three openly gay members of Congress, said on Washington Unplugged that those particular issues are "becoming even more critical as more and more states allow same-sex couples to marry."

He also said the president has not yet done enough for the gay community.

"I think the president can and should do more and use some political capital to show some moral leadership," Polis said.

Read full post…

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama claimed "we need to fully repeal the Defense of Marriage Act," which says states are not required to recognize other states' same-sex marriages.

That was then. This week, the Obama administration is facing the ire of gay rights groups after it filed a brief in California federal court defending the Defense of Marriage Act and calling it a "valid exercise of Congress' power" that is saving taxpayers money.

The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. It doesn't prohibit same-sex marriages; instead, it says that no state "shall be required" to honor same-sex marriages taking place elsewhere or any "right or claim arising from such relationship."

Two married California men, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, sued the federal government to overturn DOMA. They claim that it violates their constitutionally-protected rights to travel, their rights to free speech, and their due process rights.

The U.S. Justice Department's brief doesn't address the morality of same-sex marriage. Instead, it makes the narrower legal argument that DOMA "merely permits each state to follow its own policy with respect to marriage" and the law "does not restrict any rights that have been recognized as fundamental." It also says that it saves money by not paying out marriage benefits under federal law, a move that "preserves scarce government resources."

Read full post…

President-elect Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that Pastor Dr. Rick Warren will give the invocation at the inauguration has set off a firestorm of criticism from liberal and gay rights activists.

Warren is the best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life and other books, as well as the pastor of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. He is known as a "new evangelical" who stresses issues like poverty and climate change alongside other traditional conservative Christian issues. He also hosted a forum at his church in August with both Mr. Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain.

His selection by Mr. Obama further cements his place as one of the nation's preeminent religious leaders and also is seen as a clear sign to reach out to evangelical and conservative voters who didn't support him in last month's election.

But it is Warren's strong opposition to abortion and particularly gay marriage which has many on the left up in arms over him being given such a prominent role in the inauguration.

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest homosexual rights organization in the U.S., sent a strident letter to Mr. Obama, urging him to reconsider and calling the invitation "a genuine blow."

Read full post…