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Sat 10 Oct, 2009 08:22 pm
US President Barack Obama has said he will end the ban on gay people serving openly in the US military.
He said he would repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that allows gay people to serve in the military if they do not reveal their sexual orientation.
Mr Obama was speaking to America's largest gay group - the Human Rights Campaign - in Washington.
He had been criticised by some in the gay community for the lack of action on gay marriage and the military issue.
A big gay rights protest march is planned in Washington for Sunday.
Disquiet
Mr Obama was addressing thousands of gay and lesbian people at a fundraising dinner in the US capital.
Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach
Barack Obama
Letting down gay supporters?
He said the US had made progress on gay rights and would make more.
On the military issue he said the US could not afford to lose those people who had much needed skills for fighting.
"We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve the country," Mr Obama said.
"We should be celebrating their willingness to step forward and show such courage."
Mr Obama did not give a timetable for repeal of the policy, passed by Congress in 1993, under which thousands of service members have been discharged.
The US president has repeatedly pledged to tackle issues important to the gay community.
But he has faced criticism for what many in the gay community see as lack of action on his promises.
Mr Obama asked the audience to trust his administration.
"I appreciate that many of you don't believe progress has come fast enough. Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach," he said.
One issue causing disquiet among the US gay community is the issue of gay marriage, the BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani in Los Angeles says.
Mr Obama has been criticised for not delivering on his promise to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which limits how local and federal bodies can recognise gay partnerships and determine benefits.
In his speech, Mr Obama did call on Congress to repeal the act and he also called for a law that would extend benefits to domestic partners.
In many places in America, gay people enjoy a high profile, economic and political clout, our correspondent says.
@edgarblythe,
edgarblythe wrote:[...]
He said he would repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that allows gay people to serve in the military if they do not reveal their sexual orientation. [...]
I say, good on him. After all, if these folks are willing to die for their country (and do so), does it matter if they're gay or not, and everyone knows it?
@edgarblythe,
open gaze on the military
Obama has a boatload of more important things to deal with, don't expect any action anytime soon.
@hawkeye10,
I dunno. This seems like a pretty easy one to take care of.
@ebrown p,
Quote:The military's top uniformed officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, said in July that he is beginning to work with his staff on how a repeal would be implemented. But he advised, with two wars ongoing, that the decision not be hurried.
"When I talk about looking at this in the future, we have a force that's under extraordinary stress, and it's a force that, you know, should this occur, I think we need to implement in a way that is -- that recognizes the challenges and the stress that we're under right now," said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "But, if it does occur, when it does occur, you know, I'll certainly lead it and carry it out."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said he is looking for ways to make the policy "more humane," including letting people serve who may have been outed because of vengeance or a jilted lover.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/27/gay.military/index.html
Given that the military brass does not want to deal with this right now, getting the votes might be more difficult than you think. The Brass has its hands full with two wars that have nearly broken the force, this is no time to be running a social engineering program.
When you can't do everything, you must prioritize. In the military gay rights losses to war fighting....duh
@hawkeye10,
no one is talking, but there is no doubt in my mind that there is a deal to enact this change, probably towards the end of next year.
Not soon enough for the militant gays rights crowd, but they will get over it.
@hawkeye10,
My brother is about as brassy as military brass can be and he's been hoping this would happen for a long time. He's seen too many good people leave the service (especially interpreters, which are desperately needed) because they are gay.
@boomerang,
What used to happen with Interpreters is that they would join the Army, first thing get a $100,000 language education at the Presidio of Monterey, and then claim homosexuality so as to get booted. They then would go sell their services on the job market. This slowed down a lot when the Army caught on, now most people need to be in the Army a few years before they get the free education.
My wife is a 1sg, so I know that especially women, use homosexuality as a get out of the Army free card card when they decide they don't want to do it anymore. Given how stressed the force is the Army is interested is closing the gate, but the problem is that this is a huge change, and the Army can't do it right now.
How exactly do they plan to open them?
Most of the folks who would vote against the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell would be the first in line to offer up gays in the military if it was a choice between sending their own children to war or openly allowing gays voluntarily into the military.
One of my coworkers told me about the dinner. She is ex-air-force and a lesbian. She came out openly after term was up. She didn't want to live closeted anymore. She said she actually sat fairly close to the stage and said that reactions were warm to the speech by the audience.
Told me that the Matthew Sheppard Bill had made it through the house of representatives, and was headed to the Senate next. It's a bill that would nationalize hate crime standards for prosecution to include offenses that targeted gays or the gay community.
T
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@Diest TKO,
You can listen to the speech here if you didn't see it live:
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/rights/143206/video:_obama%27s_speech_to_lgbt_community_at_hrc_dinner/
For the most part, it was just words, no actions. There won't be any movement on any of the initiatives he mentioned until well after the health care bill is passed. He needs all the political capital he can muster for that.
@Butrflynet,
that's what I don't get.... you'd think these haters would want as many gays in the military as possible to use as human sand bags the way they did blacks back in the past....assholes...
@tsarstepan,
tsarstepan wrote:
It's about bloody time!
Sure is...if it happens.
There's a lot of homophobia there to deal with.
@dlowan,
I'm pretty sure Obama could just order the military to suspend administrative actions under DADT until further. Before DADT, only a Presidential order kept homosexuals out of the military.
@engineer,
not without making life difficult for the officer corps, and they have more than enough problems to deal with already.
@hawkeye10,
Seriously, what do you expect to happen? Why do you expect it to be so difficult? I'm asking earnestly, not sarcastically.
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