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Please contact your local member of Congress and urge them to co-sponsor H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act. Lastly, make sure you go to letthemserve.com or become a supporter on my Facebook page to join us in the fight to overturn this shameful law.
Seriously, thanks again for all of your help. This is a top priority and we're gonna make this happen.
I think it would have been easier to sort through the chat and regular comments/questions unanswered if you had used CiL instead of the comments section. CiL's replay feature also would have allowed anybody who missed the chat to easily read it (here's an example of the replay chat: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/06/30/uncha...) instead of going through all the comments and looking for the Q&A's.
Maybe something to consider next time? : )
As for the page view issue John brought up, I'd hope that would be an issue AmBlog would concede for a special event like this.
We had a saying at West Point "Take the harder right over the easier wrong." The President doesn't want to clearly contradict US law, even though I feel that this law is fundamentally wrong and discriminatory. It shows why Congress needs to change it. We've gotten 16 congressmen and women in the first week to come on board, but we're not stopping until we get the job done. In fact, we just got an additional cosponsor today -- so we're up to 162.
This is especially frustrating since his administration is suspending the enforcement of immigration law while waiting for congress to "fix" it.
Can you give any explanation as to the two different standards being applied to these two congressionally enacted laws?
It's hard to nail down a firm timeline at the moment, but it's something I want to happen as soon as possible. The key is making sure we have the votes -- 218 -- to pass it. We're getting closer every day. Today we're at 162 and we're not going to quit until we get it done.
I know you are leaving soon, so I figured I would just write real quick and say thank you for being an ally and leader for us AND for your service to the country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvN_-ES4udk
In addition to answering questions, tell us what we can do to help you. I think you'll see that repealing DADT is a very, very important issue to our readers.
But, isn't it true that congress gave the president the authority (as part ofthe DADT legislation) to suspend DADT and therefore these objections to President Obama using this power granted to him by congress are unwarranted?
First, thank you for taking the time to be here and answer our questions, you are a TRUE friend, ally, and leader for the LGBT community. I know that you are not in the Senate, but I have a question about Senator Gillibrand’s proposal to attach an amendment that would place an 18 month moratorium on discharges in the Defense Budget. Why would she choose to create even greater inefficiency by not utilizing H.R. 1283 and simply change the wording to reflect it as a Senate Bill? This creates more inefficiency because it would require the measure to be debated twice (once for the moratorium, and second for the full repeal and inclusion of gays and lesbians,) thus wasting more taxpayer dollars. Harry Reid has also expressed that he would rather see the “moratorium” permanent, then he must also believe that H.R. 1283 should be introduced instead of a simple “moratorium.” Are you working with the Senate in order to introduce H.R. 1283’s sister bill into the Senate?
Would a temporary moratorium of DADT discharges, which I understand some Senators are considering, likely lead to eventual repeal of DADT, or would it just entrench the current discriminatory law?
Secretary Gates has suggested that the military might modify its interpretation of the DADT law to allow service members who don't "tell," but who are involuntarily outed, to remain in the military. Such a reinterpretation would not require Congressional action. What do you think of that?
Are you concerned about the mid term elections delaying any momentum of a repeal of DADT and is there sense if this is not accomplished this year, that it might have to wait.
Thanks for taking the lead on this.
Why has this administration not taken the lead on repealing DADT? Do you feel it is Obama's cautious nature, or is that he is afraid of the military leadership, or a combination of both factors?
what would be wrong with the president using this authoruty to suspend the discharges while congress works for the full repeal?
In response to the LGBT outrage directed at President Obama after the DOJ's DOMA brief (whether justified or not), many people argued that the President had too many other issues on his plate, such as health care and the economy, and that DOMA and DADT are issues that should wait until these more pressing concerns are dealt with.
Do you perceive these "bigger fish to fry" arguments being used as an attack against legislation to overturn DADT? If so, do you have any responses to those types of arguments?
Congressman Murphy should be with us for around 30 minutes. Just post your questions in the comments and he'll respond there.
Is it true, at least in part, that a fundamentalist-christian belief system in the military hierarchy fuels resistance to a DADT repeal?
Thank you for your leadership on repealing DADT. I know the Stonewall Democrats are organizing a letter of appreciation and raising money for your reelection due to your actions. (www.stonewalldemocrats.org/thankyoupatrickmurphy and http://www.actblue.com/page/fightingalongsidemu...).
Have your actions drawn mostly positive responses like those from Stonewall or have you received negative pushback from constituents or other groups?
In response to the LGBT outrage directed at President Obama after the DOJ's DOMA brief (whether justified or not), many people argued that the President had too many other issues on his plate, such as health care and the economy, and that DOMA and DADT are issues that should wait until these more pressing concerns are dealt with.
Do you perceive these "bigger fish to fry" arguments being used as an attack against legislation to overturn DADT? If so, do you have any responses to those types of arguments?
Yes, it's my understanding that Senator Kennedy has been the main senator working on this issue in the past so they are waiting to see if he wants young leaders like Sen. Gillibrand to officially take over. I know she's been working it on her end and her and I agree that it's past time to repeal this discriminatory law.
You mentioned there were over an hundred co-sponsors to your bill, how many more have added their names?
And are there any actions that you might feel are counter-productive?
I also have a website, www.letthemserve.com, where people can sign a petition I'll take to other members of Congress, share stories of how DADT has affected them, and sign up for email updates/local events.
The most important thing is telling your family and friends to contact their representative- we're trying to hit 218 to ensure that we have the votes.
Assuming your legislation (H.R. 1283) passes to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in the armed forces, do you think both service members and the public at large will have a better understanding as to the rules the military sets forth regarding personal relationships?
But I do think that it's important for people to know that paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division in Baghdad or Afghanistan care more about whether you can fire an M-4 assault rifle than what your orientation is. The question with them is can you do your job and come home alive.
"You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight."
I have signed the petition at LetThemServe.com. I am in touch with my Representative. I keep my friends abreast of your work on this. What else can I, and other everyday citizens, do to support the effort to repeal DADT?
Are you familiar with the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA)? You currently are not a co-sponsor of the legislation that will give equal immigration rights to LGBT Americans. Are you willing to co-sponsor the UAFA?
Thank you for all of your work on the repeal of DADT.
"In some cases service personnel are deployed to combat zones despite claiming to be gay; what is the government's justification in maintaining DADT when we know a regulation has often been applied to enforce deployment of supposedly openly gay soldiers for no better reason than to prevent allegedly straight soldiers from claiming they are gay to AVOID deployment?"
http://www.palmcenter.org/node/296
http://www.americablog.com/2009/05/saturday-mor...
Unfortunately, we still haven't progressed all that far since the late 80s...yet.
We, the LGBT community, have three poster children, Air Force Major Margaret Witt, Lt Col Fehrenbach, and Lt Dan Choi, as relevant and poignant examples of why this unfair policy should be overturned. It is not only their exemplary service that serves as an example, but the very idea on 9-11 intelligence that was not translated that read “Tomorrow is zero hour” until after we had been attacked. Lt Dan Choi is an Arabic translators, who with his skills employed might have prevented 9-11, and he is being discharged.
Why, do you believe, our President is unwilling to issue a “Stop Loss” order stopping the ridiculous discharges of our LGBT troops?
I believe President Obama signaled to both the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that change is coming and it's my job to act with a sense of urgency to overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell via legislation.
The Obama Administration claims it has no greater responsibility than to keep our nation safe. Why is the administration, and Democrats, not willing to more forcefully frame the argument as one of National Security?
No. The cost to our government to date for discharges under DADT, according to the Palm Center, is $1.3 billion. This is the argument I make with a lot of fiscally conservative members, besides the overarching arguments of national security and equality.
Have the three openly gay representatives of the House co-sponsored your bill? It would be nice to see them overtly commenting about it and helping it to move forward.
I like your Kelly green tie! ;-)
Thanks! I like this tie too. I had lunch today with an Irish-American US Army general, so I wanted him to feel comfortable even though it isn't "Army" green.
Since LGBT Americans cannot sponsor their foreign born partners for residency in the US, there has been discussions in some LGBT forms about gaining citizenship/residency in the US by joining the military. If DADT is repealed, can non-Americans gain US citizenship my joining the military?
I actually served with a soldier who was discharged under DADT soon after we graduated Air Assault training with the 101st Airborne Division. He was one of the only 34% who passed and to let him go just because he is gay and not for any type of misconduct still burns me up.