Today's Date: March 29, 2024
Amerex Group Unveils Red Carter Swimwear's Revitalized Collection   •   Jamieson Wellness Publishes Inaugural Sustainability Impact Report   •   National University Receives 2024 Military Friendly® Gold Designation   •   e.l.f. Cosmetics Debuts TikTok Shop Super Brand Day   •   Anaergia Announces Delay in the Filing of Its Audited Financial Statements and Related Disclosures   •   Re:wild and Colossal Biosciences team up to leverage revolutionary technology to save critically endangered species on the brink   •   VIRGIN HOTELS CHAMPIONS INCLUSIVE TRAVEL FOR NEURODIVERSE TRAVELERS   •   YMCA of the USA Partners With Old Spice To Increase High School Graduation Among Boys And Young Men Of Color Through Mentorship   •   Equalpride Partners with TransLash Media for Trans Day of Visibility, Amplifying Voices of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts   •   Make-A-Wish and celebrity wish granters announce goal to recruit 1 million people to become "WishMakers"   •   Anaergia Announces Escrow Closing of Second Tranche of the Strategic Investment   •   Carnegie Learning Named 2024 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Educational Game and Best AI Implementation in Ed Tech   •   Chosgo K23: One of the Best Bluetooth Hearing Aids for Seniors   •   Sypher Secures Strategic Partnership with FAIA to Fuel Growth   •   Parkland Corporation Announces the Results of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders   •   Empire State Realty Trust Receives WELL Health-Safety Leadership Award; Becomes Among the First Commercial Office and Multifamil   •   Midea Group releases its first-ever ESG brand story with an unexpected VIP visit highlighting its commitment to sustainability.   •   Visit Visalia Recognizes Autism Awareness Month in April   •   Coachella Concerned That People Have Sex, Says AHF   •   Fosun Management on 2023 Annual Results: Focusing on Core Industries with Established Advantages
Bookmark and Share

Vets Cheer DADT Ruling

 New America Media, News Report, Aaron Glantz

SAN FRANCISCO - When U.S. Army Captain Anthony Woods came out to his commanders in 2008, he did so in part because candidate Sen. Barack Obama had promised that, if elected, he would scrap the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which forbids gays and lesbians serving openly.

"I felt that people needed to come out and challenge the law," Woods said.

Two years later, the Fairfield native says he's happy that a federal judge yesterday ruled the policy unconstitutional, but he's disappointed that Obama has not already dismantled it himself.

"I would have expected a lot more from a Democratic administration," he said.

"Think about the irony of the situation," he said. "We have a Republican group, the Log Cabin Republicans, bringing a lawsuit against the policy and a Democratic administration spending taxpayer dollars to defend it."

In her ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia A. Phillips wrote that "don't ask, don't tell" is unconstitutional because it violates the First and Fifth amendment rights of gays and lesbians.

It was not immediately clear whether the justice department would appeal the ruling. Groups that counsel gay and lesbian service members caution that Phillips' decision did not immediately void the policy, which remains on the books.

For months, efforts to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" have been stalled in the Senate.

"It's very disappointing," said Woods, who deployed twice as a platoon leader in Iraq before being thrown out of the Army.

"If President Obama would make just a few calls to a couple of senators, I think this policy would be history," he said.

Woods said he gets a call or Facebook message nearly every week from the soldiers he served with in Iraq, expressing disappointment that he was discharged. Among the young soldiers that serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, sexual orientation is rarely an issue.

It's mostly the older officers and retired military leaders who make it an issue, he said.

"It's not really a hot topic here," said Jeff Thompson, a Navy veteran of the Iraq war who serves as president of the Veteran-Student Alliance at San Francisco City College.

"We have openly gay veterans in our club, and it's not controversial," he said.

Thompson said he doesn't see "any uprising in the military" if "don't ask, don't tell" is thrown out.

"I served with people who were openly gay," he said. "As long they didn't try to do anything funny we were able to cohabitate very peacefully."

Mario Benfield, the commander of San Francisco's American Legion's Alexander Hamilton Post 448, the only post in the country made up entirely of gay and lesbian military veterans, said part of this change comes from the fact that the United States is one of the last countries in NATO to forbid gays and lesbians from serving openly.

"Our troops who have been deployed overseas have worked with NATO counterparts and have integrated with the soldiers of those countries, which have already resolved issues around gays and lesbians in the armed forces."

"Once it's shown that they can work with gays and lesbians in uniform, it can clear up any kind of weird feelings," he said.

Benfield, 49, called Phillips' ruling historic.

When he first joined the Alexander Hamilton Post 20 years ago, he said, its members included a World War I veteran who had been barred from serving.

"Looking back over the years at all the members who were just distraught and who have since passed away," he said, "I am ecstatic to see that finally the injustices are being resolved, that their work has not been in vain."

 


STORY TAGS: GENERAL , BLACKS , AFRICAN AMERICAN , LATINO , HISPANIC , MINORITIES , CIVIL RIGHTS , DISCRIMINATION , RACISM , DIVERSITY , RACIAL EQUALITY , BIAS , EQUALITY

Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News