Pam Spaulding's Blog, page 116

Cardinal: Catholic Church has no position on gays and lesbians openly serving in military

I wonder if there will be a public reaction or eruption by the fundie fringe, since it has spent a lot of time, energy and money trying to make DADT a moral issue. (AP):

Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl says the Roman Catholic church has no position on whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military.

On Fox News Sunday, Wuerl was asked if he opposed Congress's repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" -- a repeal that President Barack Obama signed into law last week.

He said, "That's a question that has to be worked out politically."

GOProud: No second term for Michael Steele

Gee, why would the Republicans want to lose the enormous entertainment factor? According to Steele, he has raised the profile of the party and brought the money in; I guess it isn't exactly the profile they were looking for. GOProud has called for the committee to deny Steele a second term. Here is the press release:

GOProud Urges RNC Members to Reject a Second Term for Michael Steele

 

Christopher R. Barron, Chairman of the Board – “For conservatives ,  and anyone else who cares about the future of the Republican Party, this vote should be an easy one – anyone but Michael Steele.”

 

(Washington, D.C.) – Earlier this month, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele announced he would seek a second term.  Today, Christopher R. Barron, Chairman of the GOProud Board, issued the following statement:

 

“For conservatives, and anyone else who cares about the future of the Republican Party, this vote should be an easy one – anyone but Michael Steele.

 

“Certainly this decision is an easy one for our organization.  In July, we joined with other foreign policy conservatives in calling on Chairman Steele to resign after his reckless and outrageous comments about the war in Afghanistan. 

 

“Michael Steele’s tenure as Chairman can only fairly be characterized as an unmitigated disaster.  Were it not for the hard work of outside groups, who were forced to step in to fill the void left by an ineffective RNC, success at the ballot box in November would never have occurred.

 

“We need an RNC Chair who understands that his or her role is to raise money and build party infrastructure, not to sell books, hire friends and family, and pontificate on policy.” 

Religious right scared that California youth will learn about gays in history

crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

One thing is sure about religious right groups. Just mention the word "gay" in any form regarding the schools and watch them bloviate about how children are going to be "indoctrinated into the homosexual lifestyle." Case in point:

A California senator is proposing a bill that would radically promote the lesbian, "gay," bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement in schools and wouldn't allow parents to take their children out of discussions concerning the alternate lifestyles.

State Senator Mark Leno (D) has introduced a measure that would require public school textbooks to be re-written to contain information about the LGBT movement. Under the FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful) Education Act, textbooks must highlight key LGBT figures who contributed to the history of the United States and include details about the homosexual movement.

But Penny Harrington, Concerned Women of America's (CWA) legislative director of California, says the bill mandates certain instruction in social sciences and removes safeguards from communities.

"This bill will prompt open discussion in classrooms of all ages about sexual practices, and these are conversations that most parents are going to consider inappropriate," she notes.

In other words, to merely mention the contributions of lgbts in history automatically means that children will be talking about sexual intercourse and parental guidance is needed.

Of course such notions are ridiculous. Talking about gay figures throughout history doesn't necessarily mean that there will be discussions about sexual intercourse, just like a child from a same sex household reading an essay about a family trip doesn't mean that there will be talk about sexual intercourse.

But the religious right will emphasize this false notion in a cynical attempt to appeal to ignorance and fear. Fox News has already talked about this issue of gay history and has called it as "propaganda" and "blackmail."

There is a practical reason why talking about lgbts in history is important to the upbringing of lgbt children. According to Media Matters:

The California Safe Schools Coalition surveyed California students and school administrators in 2003, 2004 and 2005 to determine whether curriculum that includes attention to LGBT people "promote[s] safer school climates." According to their research, "students who report learning about LGBT issues in school... report fewer mean rumors or lies spread about them, fewer reports of being made fun of because of their looks or the way they talk, and less LGBT bullying at school." The California Safe Schools Coalition also concluded that not only did more LGBT students feel safer at schools with LGBT issues in the curriculum, but "[m]ore straight students report feeling safe if they learned about LGBT issues." The report concluded:

Finding 1: Individual students feel safer at school when LGBT issues are included in the curriculum; this is true for LGBT students and for their straight peers.

[...]

Finding 2: School climates are safer when LGBT issues are part of the curriculum.

[...]

Finding 3: Many California school districts already include LGBT issues in the curriculum and many more are interested in doing so. [California Safe Schools Coalition, Safe Schools "LGBT Issues in the Curriculum Promotes School Safety", 2006]

In layman's terms, it's like this - when lgbt children realize that the gay community has made positive influences throughout history, they are more likely to have more self-esteem about themselves. It's pretty much the same reason why there is a Black History Month and a Women's History Month.

Personally I don't see anything wrong with it. We are a people with a rich history and have played a huge role in society which have nothing to do with bathroom encounters or sticky fumblings in open fields in the dead of night. Among our number are such historical giants as Alexander the Great, James Baldwin, Gertrude Stein, Socrates, Michelangelo, Herman Melville,  and Bayard Rustin. It's time America stop thinking that being an lgbt is an issue solely about sexual intercourse.

Senator Leno put it best:

“Most textbooks don’t include any historical information about the LGBT movement, which has great significance to both California and U.S. history,” said Senator Leno. “Our collective silence on this issue perpetuates negative stereotypes of LGBT people and leads to increased bullying of young people.” He added, “We can’t simultaneously tell youth that it’s OK to be yourself and live an honest, open life when we aren’t even teaching students about historical LGBT figures or the LGBT equal rights movement.”

Of course you can't tell that to members of the religious right. To push the fact that there is more to being an lgbt than fevered sexual encounters leading to despair, death, and disease puts a huge chink in their argument regarding the supposed "negative effects" of homosexuality.

In their world, lgbts are not people, but sideshow freaks in cages to be pitied and pointed at. Granted, the world of the religious right in no way resembles the real world, but don't count on that little detail to stop them from trying to defeat this needed bill.

 

Richard Chamberlain: lead actors are better off in the closet

I am not surprised -- the old-school closet mentality is still in effect. Things will not change unless you have brave and successful actors like Neal Patrick Harris who toss advice like this in the ash can. (The Advocate):

You were a wildly successful closeted actor during a period of time when coming out was unheard of, but the climate of acceptance has significantly changed in recent years. How do you feel about gay actors who still remain closeted as we near 2011?

"It's complicated. There's still a tremendous amount of homophobia in our culture. It's regrettable, it's stupid, it's heartless, and it's immoral, but there it is. For an actor to be working is a kind of miracle, because most actors aren't, so it's just silly for a working actor to say, "Oh, I don't care if anybody knows I'm gay" - especially if you're a leading man. Personally, I wouldn't advise a gay leading man-type actor to come out."

So is this still true because of the Hollywood image-making fantasy? Is it only possible for character actors to be out or is even that problematic? How will this change if agents and studio heads hear rationalizations like Chamberlain's in their heads?

Hat tips, Americablog, Towleroad.

On Transgender Servicemembers And DADT; On Community Activism Ahead

The DADT policy that was in effect from 1993 to (hopefully) sometime in very early 2011 only addressed the military service of lesbian, gay, and bisexual servicemembers. Transgender people's service in the military wasn't  addressed in this DADT repeal legislation -- and my take on the DADT repeal legislation is that transgender people's service shouldn't have been addressed in it.  

And why would that be? Well, the reason is that there is no federal law on the books that bars transgender people from serving in the military.

Transgender servicemembers are in the same place that lesbian, gay, and bisexual servicemembers were in 1992 (before DADT became law) -- transgender people are now only barred from military service by regulation, and not barred by federal law. President Obama could sign a memorandum tomorrow that would allow transgender people to serve openly.

But, the president won't. Frankly, the politics are not there for repeal because the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community hasn't laid the groundwork for open service for transgender servicemembers.

If the LGBT community believes transgender people should also be able to serve openly -- as I know many do believe -- then we in community must lay the groundwork for that happen.

What might that groundwork look like?

Well, we'd need to address the specific accommodation issues specific to transgender servicemembers, such as berthing in barracks and on ships, as well as in showers -- the kind of accommodation issues that really don't apply to lesbian, gay, and bisexual servicemembers. That's because non-transgender lesbian, gay, and bisexual servicemembers have genitalia that match their gender identities, but often transgender servicemembers do not have genitalia that matches their gender identities.

That said, there are near immediate areas regarding service of transgender people that the President could address by presidential prerogative prior to addressing full, open service of transgender servicemembers. Such as:

• The President could very much in the near term address the character discharge that transgender servicemembers often receive at discharge. Right now, transgender people are subject to discharges that aren't Honorable Discharges for being transgender. Those discharges -- as spelled out in the old Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's (SLDN's) Survival Guide -- include General Discharges under both honorable and dishonorable conditions. The Reenlistment Eligibility Codes/Reason for Separation Codes assigned to DD- 214 that can be used regarding Gender Identity Disorder (GID) and other conditions that fall under the transgender umbrella may indicate that the servicemember is being discharged for a "personality disorder" -- the same sort of coding that are usually given to pedophiles.

• The President could, by Presidential Perogotive, change regulations to allow the open military service of post-operative transsexual people -- which at this time isn't allowed. Allowing transsexual servicemembers who've had full genital reconstruction surgeries wouldn't require special accommodation for berthing areas or showers, and therefore should be allowed.

To have regulatory changes such as these occur, the transgender subcommunity of the LGBT community will need to work with allies both within and without the LGBT community. A significant number of transgender community members would have to join in common purpose, and fight for changes that would benefit transgender servicemembers. Transgender community members, and their LGBT intra-community and extra-community allies, would need to work a smart insider game. If that alone didn't create the desired changes, then perhaps later the effort would require both a smart insider and a smart outsider game to effect desired changes in federal regulation.

And too, the President and lobbyists would have to sell military leadership on the idea of transgender service -- much as lobbyists had to get military leadership to by into the policy change for lesbian, gay, and bisexual servicemembers.

Transgender community members would need to commit time, money, and other resources to the effort -- in significant amounts -- for a sustained period of time. I have no doubt that changing service policy for transgender servicemembers would be a long slog -- Remember, there were 17-years between DADT being passed into law and that law's repeal.

However, we are the LGBT community. We're used to long fights, and used to winning our battles over time with sustained effort.

If transgender people are ever going to be allowed to serve openly, it will take work.

And, this isn't the only issue we have for the transgender community on the national front. We still need to pass a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) into law, and we need to have the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) repealed.

It appears we have a number of years more of sustained effort on multiple community issues if our national community goals are to be accomplished.

Are our LGBT community members -- especially the T portion of the LGBT community -- preparing ourselves for the long slogs of sustained effort ahead?

This isn't the time to be an armchair activist if we want to see movement on our community's freedom, equality, and justice issues.

~~~~~

Related:

* While U.S. Fumbles On DADT, Australia & Canada Accommodate Trans Servicemembers

* What Would The Repeal Of DADT Mean For Transgender Servicemembers?

* NCTE Warns Transgender Servicemembers Regarding DADT And Coming Out Trans

* FRC's DADT Press Conference: Just Call Me "Or Something"

* What About "Transvestite Clothing" In The Military?

Durham, NC Post-Christmas Snowpocalypse

Yes, it did it again, only this time the weather gurus were hedging their bets, saying the night before that our area could receive 1"-6" inches. Nothing fell yesterday; it all came overnight.

No cars are moving in my neighborhood. Even Casey and Chloe refused to go outside for the video below, but Casey did go out for Kate a few minutes later and went under the deck then leaped around for a few.

And I hear Hotlanta's airport is screwed by the weather, which means travel chaos. If we had gone to Birmingham for the holiday, we surely would have been stuck in Atlanta.

Also, I have a few words for Time Warner Cable. We had our power go out twice and it managed to come back on. Cable went out and hasn't been on since last night. It's flipping snow! How does TWC handle snow in area where it snows all the time (I'm using my laptop's broadband card to connect to do this post).

If you're getting snow in your area, how's it going? How much, and is your area prepared to deal with it?

UPDATE: Here's the video...

Workout video for those overindulging this holiday season

Make sure to give praise and have gay old time this Christmas! Work off the turkey and stuffing to this...

Ireland gets Civil Partnerships

Great news from Ireland's Gay and Lesbian Equality Network:

The Minister for Justice and Law Reform Dermot Ahern TD today signed the Commencement Orders for the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights of Cohabitants Act 2010.

Speaking at the signing of the Commencement Orders, Kieran Rose, chair of GLEN said that "with this signing, the Minister is opening up a great and wide vista of futures, opportunities, celebrations and more secure futures for lesbian and gay couples". [snip]

The Minister also signed orders which will automatically recognise a wide range of foreign same-sex civil marriages and same-sex civil partnerships as Irish civil partnerships. Same-sex couples who are already married or are civil partners through these recognised foreign relationships will be deemed civil partners in Ireland from early January.

The new law goes into effect January 1, 2011 but most civil partnership ceremonies won't occur until April because couples planning marriages or civil partnerships must give three months notice to the Civil Registrar before having a ceremony.  Exceptions may be granted by a judge in hardship cases.

Civil partnerships were first enacted in 2004 in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the first ceremonies taking place in December, 2005.  By the beginning of 2010 over 40,000 couples had registered for civil partnerships in the UK.  

Even as Ireland is enacting its civil partnership law, OutRage!'s Equal Love campaign is challenging the UK's civil partnership law.

"By excluding same-sex couples from civil marriage, and different-sex couples from civil partnership, the UK government is discriminating on the grounds of sexual orientation, contrary to the human rights act," said Prof Robert Wintemute, professor of human rights law at Kings College London and legal adviser to the couples. [snip]

In a similar case in June this year the European court of human rights ruled that the European convention on human rights was not violated in Austria, which would not allow two men, Horst Schalk and Johan Kopf, to marry. In that case the court found that the convention did not impose an obligation on European governments to allow same-sex marriage. However Wintemute said that because civil partnerships in the UK give couples the same rights as married couples - unlike in Austria - there is no justification for the UK to withhold access to both arrangements for all.

Fingers crossed for the success of Equal Love's challenge!  In the mean time, the new civil partnership law in Ireland will allow LGBT couples living or traveling there the same vital legal protections they need to protect their families.

Details on Ireland's new law and links to the Registrar's Office can be found at Gay and Lesbian Equality Network's website.

UPDATE FROM PAM: We received a note about this video:

The signing of the Civil Partnership Commencement Orders by Dermot Ahern TD, Minister for Justice and Law Reform on Thursday 23rd December 2010 in the Clonliffe Room, Jury's Hotel, Croke Park Stadium, Jones Road, Dublin.

The signing of a Commencement Order is a rarely seen final part of the process to implement an Act which has been passed by the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), then signed into law by Uachtar?in na hEireann (President of Ireland) and finally implemented on the signing of the Commencement Order by the responsible Government Minister.

The title of the Act is 'Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010' and was first presented to D?il ?ireann (lower house of the Irish Parliament) at the First Stage on 24th June 2009 (entitled 'Civil Partnership Bill 2009'). Completed the the Fifth Stage without a vote on the 1st July 2010. Presented to Seanad ?ireann (upper house of the Irish Parliament) on the 7th July 2010. It finally passed both houses of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) on the 8th July 2010 after a vote of 48 to 4. It was signed into law by Mary McAlese, Uachtar?in na hEireann (President of Ireland), on the 19th July 2010. The signing of the Commencement Order was on 23rd December 2010, the commence date is 3rd January 2011. For a full history of the Act please see the Oireachtas.ie website.

Christmas Eve video break and open thread: health update, DADT...and doggies

We wish you all a good (and safe) holiday weekend. What's on the menu?

***

It's a chilly Christmas eve in Durham, NC, but it was warm enough this afternoon to video an update on my recovery from surgery and talk about travel and thoughts about the good news re: DADT repeal.

We spent some time outside with the dogs and recorded a holiday video for relatives that got a little wild...

See the short video with cameos by Casey and Chloe below the fold.
A holiday greeting for our peeps that got a little out of control because of the doggies. :)

Reactions to the signing of the Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010

While there is elation at today's signing, keep in mind this cautionary note from Aubrey Sarvis of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network:

"We need the media's help to let troops know they remain at risk under the law even after the President signs the bill. The Pentagon just released new guidence that made clear "Don't Ask" may still be the law for some time to come. We respectfully renew our call for Defense Secretary Robert Gates to use his authority to suspend all 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' investigations during this limbo period. Until the President signs the bill, until there is certification, and until the 60-day implementation period is over, no one should be investigated or discharged under this discriminatory law. Certification and the implementation period must be wrapped up no later than the first quarter of 2011. The bottom line: for now, gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members must remain cautiously closeted."

The President would transmit to the congressional Armed Services Committees a written certification, signed by the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stating each of the following:

o (A) That the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have considered the recommendations contained in the report and the report's proposed plan of action.

o (B) That the Department of Defense has prepared the necessary policies and regulations to exercise the discretion provided by the amendments made by subsection (f).

o (C) That the implementation of necessary policies and regulations pursuant to the discretion provided by the amendments made by subsection (f) is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.

After the President transmits written certification to the congressional Armed Services Committees, full repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" would be effective 60 days later.

Now that we have that important information out there, below the fold are reactions to today's signing...
From SLDN:

PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNS "DEFINING CIVIL RIGHTS MEASURE" ALLOWING FOR THE REPEAL OF "DON'T ASK"

"In signing this bill today, President Obama delivered on a defining civil rights measure for our country and for gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members who have been silenced for far too long. Clearly, this is President Obama's Lyndon Johnson moment in history. A measure of dignity has been restored to thousands of service members on active duty, and to over a million gay veterans who served in silence. This historic moment is about those service members and their service," said Aubrey Sarvis, Army veteran and executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

"President Obama was decisive and forceful in steering the course as he brought along critical stakeholders, including the Defense Department. Now, it's on to finishing the job at the Pentagon. Troops remain at risk under the law. We respectfully renew our call for Secretary Gates to use his authority to suspend all 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' investigations and discharges during this limbo period. Until there is certification and until the 60-day implementation period must be wrapped up no later than the first quarter of 2011."

"This victory would not have been possible without several tenacious Congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy. In the Senate we saw remarkable determination by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Chairman Carl Levin and Senators Lieberman, Mark Udall, Gillibrand, Collins and so many others," said Sarvis.

HRC:

Human Rights Campaign Statement on President Signing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Repeal into Law

WASHINGTON - Today President Obama signed legislation that will result in the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). Following the signing ceremony, HRC President Joe Solmonese made the following statement:

"Today gay and lesbian patriots serving their country in silence, and thousands more who wish to serve the country they love, can breathe a sigh of relief that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is on its way out. Soon, all service members will be able to serve with the full honesty and integrity the uniform demands. No more careers will come to an end because of an unjust law. 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' has weakened our military readiness and is now on its way to the dustbin of history."

"After 17 years of this failed and discriminatory law, a stain has been removed from our nation. This historic day would not be possible without the leadership of President Obama, Defense Secretary Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. In the U.S. House of Representatives, we are grateful to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Rep. Patrick Murphy for their dogged determination. And in the U.S. Senate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Sens. Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, Kirsten Gillibrand and Mark Udall will go down in history as champions of this national security measure. Through their leadership, they have made our nation more secure and restored honesty and integrity as core values of our military."

"It's now incumbent on the president and the Pentagon to act expeditiously so that the final nail can be put in the coffin of this unjust and discriminatory law."

Senator Mark Udall:

Udall Hails President's Signing of Bipartisan Bill to Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

The U.S. Department of Defense is now tasked with implementing the new policy in an orderly manner that does not harm troop readiness, cohesion, recruitment or retention. Udall made the following statement:

"As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I watched with pride today as the President signed his name on the law that will bring an end to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' There is more work to do, and I will continue to exercise my oversight duties to ensure that the U.S. Department of the Defense implements the repeal in a way that doesn't diminish the effectiveness of our military or the safety of our troops, especially as we continue to fight two wars. But in the meantime, Democrats and Republicans alike have sent a powerful message that never again will someone's sexual orientation preclude them from protecting our great nation."