Six years ago I made the unpopular decision to sue the United States Military and George Bush's Department of Defense over the failed Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy. As the Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) at the time, I wasn't making any friends in GOP circles or with liberals who felt they should lead on this matter. That year, Republicans controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress, and there was zero chance for legislative repeal of the ban. Progress could only be made in the courts. So LCR took the lead, represented by the global law firm White & Case, in filing Log Cabin Republicans v. the United States of America.
A few things have changed since filing the case in 2004. George Bush is no longer president. Colin Powell, once a leading opponent, now supports gays and lesbians serving openly in our military. Democrats, not Republicans, control both chambers of Congress. And, after 20 years as a registered Republican, I've joined a growing number of Americans who now identify as independent -- supporting candidates of either party who put our country and good public policy ahead of politics and partisan gridlock.
One thing has not changed. Our country's bravest gay and lesbian Americans -- symbolized by lead plaintiff Alexander Nicholson -- who wake up each day making the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom are still required to lie about their basic identity in order to serve. I was at the White House on June 29, 2009 when President Obama repeated his campaign promise to end DADT under his watch. He deserves great credit for that commitment. But, our commander-in-chief has yet to provide the bold leadership required to end the policy. In fact, his own Justice Department continues to appeal the ruling that would have halted dismissal of America's military heroes.
President Obama needs to lead. Actions speak louder than words.
The President needs to end the disturbing level of confusion about the policy's status and future. He can immediately end discharges. He can personally lobby Senators. And, he can take respected former Solicitor General Ted Olson's advice and instruct the Justice Department to stop appealing the federal judge's decision. The majority of the American people are on his side. A bipartisan majority of the United States House of Representatives has voted for repeal. A bipartisan majority of the United States Senate is ready to vote for repeal in an up or down vote. The President's own Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen has testified before Congress for repeal. And, a highly respected federal judge, after listening to the evidence at trial, has ruled that DADT violates the United States Constitution.
The lawsuit we filed in 2004 never should have been necessary. When the case was filed, Attorney Marty Meekins who helped inspire the lawsuit said, "this case is fundamentally about correcting a misguided government policy based on prejudice towards gay and lesbian Americans. A decade of experience with the policy demonstrates that it actually weakens our national defense." Meekins' statements still hold true. At a time when our nation is fighting a global war against terrorism our elected officials have allowed a discriminatory policy to cause the discharge of more than ten thousand loyal, highly trained and capable military personnel. The experience of our allies in the war on terror, including Great Britain, Israel, and Australia, proves that many of the most successful and most modernized militaries already include gays and lesbians who serve openly.
Despite the intense criticism from the far left and far right, and for all my doubts leading up to the filing of the lawsuit, I never regretted that decision after reading the letters of support that poured in afterward. One said, "I am a soldier in the US Army, and I love to serve my country. I would also like to live my life as the person I am, not the person I pretend to be." The soldier ended his letter saying "it will take a lot of time for anything to happen, but I hope and pray that it does. Thank you for your support of us, who cannot use our own voices."
Mr. President and members of Congress from both political parties, your attention to this matter is long overdue. Now is the time to give voice to these brave soldiers.
Patrick Guerriero, former Massachusetts State Representative and Mayor of Melrose, is Executive Director of the Gill Action Fund, a bipartisan political advocacy group with offices in Washington, DC and Denver, Colorado.
As his hero Reagan did, by executive order. Was that the real intent of Log Cabin Repubs?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_ask,_don%27t_tell
The policy [DADT] was introduced as a compromise measure in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton who campaigned on the promise to allow all citizens to serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation.
At the time, per Reagan's Defense Directive 1332.14, it was military policy that "homosexuality is incompatible with military service" and persons who engaged in homosexual acts or stated that they are homosexual or bisexual were discharged.
I will never join or support the Log Cabin Republicans because consevatism doesn't work and has been disastrous for America.
However, I will never disrespect or dismiss this organization again.
Your orgaization has shown far more courage and leadership than our feckless "fierce advocate".
Thank you and the Log Cabin Republicans for filing the DADT suit and thanks also to Judge Virginia Phillips for her decision.
No thanks to President Obama and the U.S. Department of Justice for their quixotic appeal.
P.S. Don't think for a minute that the Party of No as a whole appreciates the Log Cabin Republican's efforts. They still hate you just as they hate all gay people.
Gay and gay supportive people should vote against the Republican Party on Election Day.
Or as planed and modern eugenics makes way for a hastened evolution of humanity into these fallen angels and victims of innocence:
http://www.google.com/images?oe=utf-8&q=depleted+uranium+baby+images&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=VEzCTIb9AsGBlAeinZkQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQsAQwAA
So here's the irony: when we hippies heard that someone wanted to get married and join the military, we said "man, he's straight!"
Hey what tipped you off ?
That they said they didn't like that you filed suit against them ?
Or that every rep bagger politician in history have demonized all gays and your way of life as an abomination before God FOREVER?
Please don't come here pounding your chest about a victory that has been waged on your behalf by Democrats for a long time even when it was unpopular with the general public and was a net vote loser for them and the outcome of the repeal of DADT was not in doubt just the timing of when YOUR party would finally stop promoting what terrible people gays are and decide that you are actually people like the resat of us .
Just like Ken Melhman who knows if you yourself even used this against Democrats to get the very people that want to keep the perception going that you are all child molesters and wierdos that are a danger to society at large .
You my friend have for lack of a better term have been " SleepIng With The Enemy " .
You get no credit with me !
This guy should just go and lead some of his fellow REPUBLICANS. The nerve of this person to complain that Obama hasn't done enough.
The Senate republicans are the problem here. The deomcratic party has passed the repeal through the house and the senate. And this guy thinks its Obama's job to finish it, and then get brutally attacked by the totallity of the entire republican/fax news universe for it.
Classic crap from a republican. The house vote on DADT was 5 republicans for, the rest against, SO bipartisan. Go talk to you own party, and lead them.
Military could greatly benefit from employing gays and lesbians. One of those area would be terror suspects interrogation. The waterboarding would be more preferable to some fundamentalist.
The fact that he likes to hang with people that have an ongoing national campaign to demonize his people and his way of life calling it an abomination before god (kind of the strongest words the religious can use) is something that is more than curious and usually done for reasons of profit , consideration or convenience rather than the pureness of just the right thing to do .