Franklin Kameny, Age 85, Witnesses History

Yesterday, President Obama made good on his promise to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the US military.  It was not easy and the President deserves a great deal of credit for his persistence and tenacity in making this hateful policy history.  It was a landmark day for civil rights in this country.  And on hand to witness it, along with hundreds of servicemembers and activists was an 85 year old man that not many people took note of....Franklin Kameny.

If you don't know his name, you should as Kameny is one of the true founding fathers of the gay rights movement.  After being dishonorably discharged from the Army for being gay in the 1950s, he fought and argued his case all the way to the Supreme Court making his the first civil rights claim based on sexual orientation.  After losing, Kameny didn't give up. He staged some of the first protests and pickets for gay rights way back in the early 1960s.  Wearing his trademark white shirt and tie, Kameny's daring attempts to bring the discrimination against gays and lesbians to the nation's attention was bold given the times he was living in, when homosexuality was a crime in many states and homosexuals considered mentally deficient deviants.

There were surprisingly few mentions of Kameny's presence in national articles today about the signing ceremony.  But only one, Washington's nightlife mag MetroWeekly, actually got a quote from him and it was a good one: "I didn't think I'd live to see it." Frankly, I doubted it myself at times this year.  But finally "it's done," as Obama said slapping the table as he put down his presidential pen.  And now that we can fight and die equally for our country, you can bet the chorus of voices who will want to live and love equally will continue to grow.  How wonderful would it be for Franklin Kameny to see marriage equality in his lifetime?

Military Report Says "Little Risk" In Having Gays In Military

The long-awaited report from the US military about whether they can handle the idea of gays serving openly in the armed forces is being released this afternoon.  After months of surveys and analysis, it comes to the shocking conclusion that repealing the 17-year old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy would cause little risk to the military's ability to carry out it's mission.

The report comes out, as it were, officially this afternoon but the Washington Post is reporting it's findings that gays in the military are not an issue with roughly 94% of those surveyed. Hopefully, this internal study will put an end to all the excuses that have drawn out the repeal of this unfortunate policy since President Obama stated his intent to end it more than a year ago.  It's now up to Congress to vote on it quickly before the end of the current session and the end of their democratic majority.

I've always found this whole debate over the issue incredibly frustrating since gays and lesbians have been an integral part of the US military for decades.  Their role in WWII is especially well-documented in the remarkable non-fiction book "Coming Out Under Fire" by Allan Berube. So it's about time they are allowed to serve openly and honestly in the noblest of missions; defending our freedoms.  

President Obama Will Not Get His Day In Court

Back in April, Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo chained themselves to the fence of the White House in protest of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy (which by the way has still not been repealed).  Last month, as they prepared for their trial on charges of unlawful conduct, they subpoeaned a powerhouse witness...President Obama himself.  These two soliders stated they were merely following their Commander-In-Chief's orders from last fall to pressure him on the repeal of DADT, a statement Obama made in speaking about his intention to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.


This legal manuever was a clever, headline grabbing ploy but, this morning, it appears the President is off the hook.  The trial, which was supposed to start today, has been cancelled. AmericaBlog reports that everyone was in court this morning, Choi, Pietrangelo and all the officers and Secret Service involved in their arrest.  But for reasons that are currently unclear, the prosecutor dismissed the charges.  Clearly, they were wary of the trial becoming a showcase for Choi and Pietrangelo's crusade to keep the issue of DADT in the public consciousness.  


At the end of the court appearance, Choi asked the judge if the "stay away" order from the White House was no longer valid.  The prosecutor's answer was yes.  So you can bet Choi and others will be back at the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue soon, demanding their right to serve openly and proudly in the armed forces.