Captain's Log

U.S. Military Veterans March on the White House

Active-duty and retired members of the United States Military from around the globe, as well as family and friends, participated in today's March on the White House, organized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. According to a press release issued earlier, SLDN said:

Service members, veterans, their families, loved ones and supporters will be marching to the White House at 2 p.m. to demand action against the DADT law passed by Congress in 1993 that makes gays and lesbians second-class citizens in the military of their own country

Seems a no-brainer to me. and my thoughts on this subject are very clear:

I'm sick and tired of politicians playing "kick the can" with the lives of gay and lesbian servicemembers, and it better stop soon. First off, the LGBTQ community is not a "can" and I for one am tired of being kicked - down the road or anywhere else.

As a former special operations officer, you bet I have an opinion on this, but I'll let others do the talking for me right now while I go punch a wall or two.

That's from an earlier article I wrote this year, and here we are - in the same place. Grrr...

Here are a few thoughts, and a few pictures, from today:

From a comment posted on SLDN's website:

Thank you everyone who is marching on Saturday. I would be there too, but I am currently deployed overseas. My partner of 4 years remains at home stateside, both of us silenced from DADT. If you're thinking about going, please do! Every person counts!

A Photo of the March:

Again, I am absolutely astounded at this travesty of justice - from a country that spouts every second that it can - that it is the "shining example of human rights."

We have men and women, braving their lives and their souls on battlefields every day - from Afghanistan, to Iraq, to their own military base. I can't say this enough, but ENOUGH already~!

From a guest editorial I wrote in the Washington Blade last year:

End the U.S. military's gay ban, because courage is what counts on the battlefield - not sexual orientation.

Thoughts from a dear friend that I had the distinct honor of lobbying Congress with to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell earlier this year. A veteran, he's the one behind the camera in most of these photos.

For many years, I have supported the mission of SLDN to end the DADT regulations that prohibit Gays and Lesbians from serving openly in the military. Today, we joined with about 350 others to march to the White House and implore President Obama to take action to end DADT and the discharge of countless men and women who have been discharged from the military simply because they are Gay or Lesbian.

The march focused on the fact that an estimated 265 men and women have been discharged under DADT since the President took the oath of office on January 20th. While Obama has promised change, he has not taken any public action to demonstrate his support for the end of DADT.

77 members of Congress have called on President Obama to lead on this issue, not to play duck-and-cover by passing the ball back to legislators. It is time for Mr. Obama to come out of the closet on this.

Again, a comment from the SLDN site:

If the President doesn't take care of the situation, I'll be leaving the military as well and I'm currently on my second enlistment. Since that's what my partner and I agreed on.

This insanity has to stop. There are men and women serving our country bravely and honorably, only to wonder if their own country will turn their back on them when we need them most.

It's time we stopped defending injustice, and started defending our freedoms - and that includes the right of every brave servicemember in the United States Military to be free to do their job.

It's time for every American to take a stand on Don't Ask, Don't Tell. NOW. I'll leave you with a quote from one of today's veterans that marched on the White House to prompt them to make a solid statement that DADT will be repealed - THIS YEAR:

I just saw a great documentary ("Shouting Fire") about our First Amendment rights of free speech and realized as I stood on Pennsylvania Avenue that, as a Gay American, I have the right and privilege to exercise my right to protest.

It was empowering to join with others in this effort and to hear their stories of changed lives as a result of discharge under DADT. I also enjoyed watching spectators watch us either in avid support, thumbs up, or seeming bewilderment. I have a sense that many citizens (both Gay and straight) don't understand this issue or simply don't care.

The day was exciting and empowering for me, and yet I came away thinking that we must do more to get our message to Congress and the White House.

DNC Fundraiser? LGBTQ to boot? Really? I Didn't Hear a Thing...

OMG. There is sooo much news to talk about~! Where do I start?

Farrah Fawcett died yesterday ~ as did lots of people, legislative "things," and stuff just plain disappeared, without a trace.

Dammit~! She was the first 'poster' that hung above my bed when I was a kid. I wish I would have kept it, as it was cool. I loved her hair, her attitude, and her smile. And when she pulled that gun in Charlie's Angels, I was all over myself. And, yeah, I did want to date her when I was 13.

And then I found G.I. Joe - posters and all. And the Sears catalog, specifically the men and boys underwear section. That's what gave me my toaster...

But I digress. We were talking about the main gay and lesbian event for Thursday, right? The Democratic National Committee fundraiser, sponsored by the LGBTQ community, now weren't we?

Call me lazy, but I wake up around 9 a.m. Eastern Time. I try to catch up with all my emails, tweets, peeps, Facebook pals, the NY Times, WaPo and several blogs. All the while slurping down a cup of coffee.

Welcome to 9 a.m., my style. Not a good time to piss me off.

Just when I got settled into a nice, yet fast-paced, groove Thursday morning, news hit from the Twitterazzi that the Senate was taking up the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill - with the Democratically-controlled Senate intent on passing the legislation before that nasty, semi-blacklisted gay and lesbian Democratic National Party fundraiser in D.C. Thursday night.

Yes, the Dems riding to our rescue. And right before the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, no less~! I'm sensing a good day...

And so, I scrambled to catch the live web-cast of the Senate meeting - only to hear them ramble on, and on, and on. They do that rather well - it may be time for them to try to learn a new trick or two.

Speaking of tricks, we still had the South Carolina (ex?) Governor, Mark Sanford, also dominating the airwaves. I just love a good old-fashioned hoedown by the Grand Old Party, especially those from the south.

Meanwhile, my husband - recuperating from surgery - was intent on getting furniture moved before he left for upstate New York to finalize his mother's (and my mother-in-law's) move to D.C. A good thing, but I had to put him off just a bit while more news was breaking.

Busy morning? Yep. But it gets better, and we're not even up to the DNC *fun*draiser yet~! More news from nowhere.

Back to reality, namely the slow-as-a-snail Senate hearing on the hate crimes bill that should have been signed into law by now. That legislation - by the way - passed the House more than 2 months ago, but not before a Republican congresswoman from North Carolina took a sawed-off shotgun and figuratively aimed it at every member of our community. Don't even get me started, not a good time of the morning to piss me off.

And so, after adjusting the Bilerico-DC calendar for some very poignant and timely news by Cathy Renna regarding the United States government finally apologizing to Dr. Frank Kameny, I thought I could take a break for a few minutes to see my husband off as he headed off on his trip that I was supposed to be on also.

Not going to happen...

Before I could see him off, we had furniture to give to one of our favorite charities. And we had to move it first. Not one of my favorite times of day to move heavy furniture, but - hey - we had a schedule to keep.

And so we did, and then ~ poof ~ off in a flash was my husband, sans me, for his own adventure. Geez, I wish I would have been in our Jetta Diesel with him (50 miles per gallon, people~!), as the news just kept getting stranger by the minute.

Then, three recently-graduated college kids and I moved some more furniture. While I stopped traffic on Connecticut Avenue in Washington D.C., helping them back the van into our loading dock. That was fun, and yes, I did give them some Powerade and refreshments afterwards.

I can't imagine what it's like to graduate college today - not knowing if you have any possible chance at a job, have $100,000 in student loans, and do not know what to do. It simply boggles my mind, as I am sure it does theirs - as well as their families - and stops me in my tracks.

BACK TO REALITY, oops there goes gravity...

We're talking DNC gay and lesbian fundraiser here people~! Stay with me! Or not.

And so, we - being the non-MSM - are covering other things. Like how to donate to several LGBTQ causes, instead of the $1,000 a plate+ dinner at that semi-blacklisted DNC non-raiser down Connecticut Avenue.

In the midst of all this chaos, organized as it was, along comes Michael Jackson and a cardiac arrest. A "cardiac" arrest? Of all things...

Don't get me wrong, I love MJ. He practically invented MTV. But then he up and went dead. And the news cycle went wild.

The news of his passing sucked the air out of the entire frikkin' room~! I'm not going to hyperlink it, as it's all over the 24/7 cable news channels. I'm usually an Olbermann and Maddow fan, but watching the train wreck on ALL of the cable channels made me want to projectile vomit.

A "live camera shot'' from a helicopter above the scene at the hospital at UCLA, awaiting a "statement" from the Jackson family? For two hours?

As several of my friends said, he was a great singer, dancer and artist - but he was also an "alleged" child molester.

I, for one, love the Jacksons - from Michael and the Jackson 5 to Janet and her Pleasure Principles. And they know how to play the media. It still amazes me, however, that the media didn't know they were being "played."

Oh, and that LGBTQDNC fundraiser? It raked in about $900K, protesters and flashbulbs were about, some very prominent faces were not, a few "promises" were made by the vice-president ~ and absolutely no news coverage was to be had.

Access v. Progress

Many things have been said, spoken and written about whether the LGBTQ community should attend the "gay" fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. this Thursday.

While President Obama's overtures - and non-overtures - to our community may be real or superficial, and his "celebration" (versus what should rightly be called a "commemoration") about the Stonewall Riots with gay and lesbian "leaders" at a reception at the White House this coming Monday are admirable, I still have my doubts. As do many.

I understand the difference between formal and informal lines of communication. I know the value of revolutions in the street, and I have participated in a few. Witness the power of the Rose Revolution in Georgia or the Green Revolution going on as we speak in Iran.

And I know that access to power doesn't make you powerful, nor a leader. I'm talking about a single reception - for a whole 10 or so minutes - with the president of the United States. And how that access, by a few hundred of our gay and lesbian leaders, is detrimental to LGBTQ progress on everything from hate crimes legislation to matters of adoption by gay and lesbian couples across the country.

Face Time Does Not Equal Progress. Oh, and for those of you going to either event - remember to have your "ticket" punched - as you're simply a photo-op. Meanwhile, I have laundry to do.

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill still hasn't been signed into law, and now is an amendment to a frikkin' Tourist Bill. Youhavegottobefukkinkiddingme.

Words matter. And this bill need to be passed, NOW. But it should have been passed months ago. As a stand-alone bill.

Symbols matter also.

Tell the gay kid that just got beaten-up, just because he "looked" gay, that he's an amendment.

Tell that to the lesbian couple that just got threatened with their lives because they dared to move into a middle-class neighborhood in Ohio, because they are tourists.

Tell that to the transgender that just got murdered in a back-alley in nowhere America, because they almost didn't make it into the hate-crimes bill.

Nowhere is Now Here.

This, of all bills, should have been passed long ago. And we're still waiting, and I'm not ready to make nice.

Yep. The video, like the Democratic National Committee and President Obama's promises, were cut at the end.

Sound familiar?

I sometimes feel like the internet was never a reality, that VHS is still battling it out with Beta, and former President Bill Clinton - our friend and ally in the White House - turned his back on the LGBTQ community for his own political expediency and signed into law both Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act.

Power versus Progress? This, from the NY Times:

Whether Mr. Obama will address the complaints at Monday's reception is unclear. One person who received the invitation said the White House was billing the event as a celebration, akin to the festive affairs the administration holds on St. Patrick's Day or Cinco de Mayo.

Oooh...and then it will be July 4th, and we'll all be Americans~! Except for those left out in the wilderness, tied to a fence, to die.

From the "gay" DNC fundraiser (watch for those flashbulbs outside) to the "reception" on Monday at the White House, let's see who is powerful and who represents progress.

I'm betting on a revolution. And I'm voting for a pink one.

Obama Signs Landmark Action to Extend Gay Rights

Breaking News: WASHINGTON, D.C.

At an unprecedented early morning briefing, White House Press Secretary Robert L. Gibbs, outlined the Obama administration's rationale behind the low-key June 17th rollout of the "Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination, and Support of the Lieberman-Baldwin Benefits Legislation," and provided information on the administration's plans for the next steps to address the broader issues of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer communities.

Media representatives were summoned for the 5:00 AM meeting. Gibbs proceeded to work damage control on the administration's handling of LGBTQ issues.

Ladies and gentlemen, announced a confident and articulate Gibbs, let me begin by thanking all of you for coming in so early. The President is concerned about the reaction to yesterday's Presidential Memorandum. There is a lot of misunderstanding and confusion related to both the form and content of yesterday's Presidential action.

Gibbs then outlined three traditional types of actions a President can issue that do not require legislation or Congressional approval. They are (in ascending order of importance) Proclamations, Presidential Memoranda, and Executive Orders.

Proclamations, said Gibbs, are just a bunch of words intended to make the citizenry happy about something. Say for example, 'National Satire Week,' - which coincidentally is June 14 through 20, 2009.

Proclamations don't really mean anything or commit the government to any course of action. They just put words into the public realm for consumption by the media. Everybody likes them.

Executive Orders are very serious administrative instruments used by a President, Gibbs explained. These are standing orders that hold sway from administration to administration, until they are countermanded by another sitting President.

"We're very careful about how we use these babies," said Gibbs ~ now swaggering behind the podium. "Executive Orders are 'end-runs,' 'Hail Mary passes,' or I guess more appropriate for this President - a three-point shot with just seconds left on the clock! Executive Orders are intended to bypass popular or even unpopular legislation. Hey look, Executive Orders can be real controversial and can hurt the popularity of a President. We're not ready to go that route. No sir."

"We decided on the Presidential Memorandum because this form of action is actually written to somebody. You know, 'To,' 'From,' 'Re,' and all that stuff. You get them all the time. They tell you to do something."

"In this case, the President sincerely wanted to make sure that no federal employee experienced the kind of humiliation that Michael Guest suffered during his tenure with the State Department," Gibbs said. "When Ambassador Guest was required to move overseas, relocation expenses for his same-sex partner were not covered. The resources traditionally extended to spouses of members of the Foreign Service were not made available to Ambassador Guest's partner."

"He did not receive benefits and was snubbed at social functions," exclaimed a highly animated Gibbs. "I don't know what you media people and the LGBTQ community want from us! We're trying to do some good here and it all has to do with relocating gays."

This reporter and others among the sleep-deprived press corps looked at one another in astonishment. Was the White House Press Secretary finally coming totally unhinged? Gibbs has had his gaffes in the past, but nothing quite as animated as this one. Just when we thought we were witnessing a meltdown, the Press Secretary regained his composure and forged ahead with a reassuring calm and steadfast voice.

Last night," Gibbs continued, Last night the President made us pull an all-nighter. Don't worry, he was there too. We knew that we needed to do something better, something that would be more acceptable to all Americans, and something that could put a better spin on things. I mean, Cheney is getting better press on this than us? I don't think so.

We worked long into the early morning hours, sipping a few beers here and there while brainstorming the issue when I think it was Rahm Emanuel who made the suggestion first. Of course it was Rahm! He's the one who always chants the mantra, 'Never let a crisis go to waste.'

Rahm noted that we were at the convergence of several critical issues. First we needed a new tool for Presidential action. Proclamations, Memoranda, and Executive Orders are all too limiting.

That is when he introduced the idea of the 'Presidential Cocktail Napkin Directive.'

"We had several such blank instruments sitting before us (OK, some had little rings on them from the bottom of our glasses, but who'd notice?) and Rahm assured us that whatever we wrote on this venerable document, if it bore the signature of the President, could become the law of the land, or something like that," Gibbs said.

Now this reporter is not usually inclined to engage in meta-journalism, but it is important to convey the reaction of the press at this point in time. Journalists were sitting on the edge of their seats. The correspondent from the New York Times froze in place, the publisher of the Washington Blade let out an audible gasp, and the editor of The Advocate nearly fell out of his seat.

Keyboard chatter halted, pencils etching their notes became immobilized, and it seemed the flashes of cameras were momentarily suspended. We all realized we were on the verge of an important, nay, a historic announcement! Not only would the President make history, but we would be part of that history!

Gibbs sensed the tension in the room. He spoke slowly with ascending volume and projection. "Rahm boiled the problem down to essentials. He told the President that the root problem was 'relocation'. If we could solve relocation, then we could solve all of our problems at once."

Gibbs announced that the break through came when Rahm convinced everyone that, "the detainees at Guantanamo and members of the LGBTQ community share something in common: Everyone just wishes they'd go away."

So in the early hours of June 18th, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the first ever Presidential Cocktail Napkin Directive: "Relocating all Gay Employees of the Federal Government, their Partners, and Friends to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base."

GITmoGay, as it is now being referred to, will offer same-sex domestic partnership benefits and all of the legal rights typically extended to married couples.

GITmoGay will also adopt the "Ask and Tell" policy that will enable members of the armed forces to serve openly in this island paradise.

And, while all of this good fortune may seem unbelievable, several highly-placed White House sources have confirmed that the President will soon issue a second Presidential Cocktail Napkin Directive, on the topic of hate crimes.

Currently, LGBTQ rights activists are expressing astonishment at the White House action.

Caught off guard by this unprecedented act of civic generosity to a disenfranchised group, many activists are expressing a sense of relief, thanks and joy. "At last we'll have a homeland of our own," is commonly heard from the leadership of the LGBTQ community.

By mid-morning, a host of developers, avant garde architects, and interior decorators were converging on the Naval Base to assess the situation and to spruce things up in advance of the arrival of the gay glitterati.

Look there's an airport, several nice beaches, lots of waterfront property, and we'll just plant some nice vines on those nasty old fences to make it all look just marvelous, said one of the entrepreneurs combing the base for opportunities.

Indeed GITmoGay will be an island paradise, and with hurricane season rapidly approaching Martha Wash has predicted the weather at GITmoGay will be 'Raining Men.'

This reporter contacted Guantanamo's base commander, Col. Nathan R. Jessep, USMC, and asked him for a comment on the idea of Gitmo going gay. The only response we received from him was, "You can't handle the truth!"

Capital Pride: Was it All About Same-Sex Marriage?

Either I must be missing something or the Washington Post sent exactly one reporter to cover Capital Pride and he stood for precisely 10 minutes on a single spot during the week of events, commemorations, parades and festivals. It's been a whirlwind of activity in our nation's capital, but here's what our hometown newspaper - and one of the largest newspapers in the country - had to say in the opening paragraph of a very short article about Capital Pride - and the article was only about same-sex marriage:

There was a sense of urgency, a sense of defiance, in the way same-sex couples held hands or pushed their children in strollers yesterday at the Capital Pride festival. Politics nearly always takes center stage at the annual event set in the shadow of the Capitol, and the couples this year had something specific on their minds.

Same-sex marriages -- the legally recognized kind.

Wow~! We held hands and pushed our kids in strollers~! That's it? What about John Berry, the highest-ranking official in the Obama administration, talking from the main stage about the pending hate-crimes bill? What about Martha Wash singing "It's Raining Men?" What about headline act RuPaul talking about the importance of mentoring to LGBTQ kids?

What is disturbing about this type of coverage from The Post is the reporter framed the article as if there was only one issue on the minds and in the hearts of the LGBTQ community.

From the events commemorating gay icon Mr. Frank Kameny to the parade and festival itself - there were many things going on. Yes, same-sex marriage was one of them - but so were many other things, causes and celebrations.

First, the politics. Here's a rough transcript of John Berry, the highest ranking LGBTQ official in the Obama administration, speaking from the main state on Sunday about the Obama administration's plans for hate crimes legislation, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Oh, and same-sex marriage.

The Obama administration hopes to secure passage of Hate Crimes this coming week and that President Obama is soon to announce an initiative pertaining to providing federal LGBT employees with benefits equivalent to those provided to their heterosexual counterparts. He also said the administration fully intends to pass an employment non-discrimination bill, repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell and overturn the Defense of Marriage Act "before the sun sets on this administration."

There was headliner RuPaul belting out her wonderful songs, but also talking about the importance of mentoring LGBTQ youth:

There was also eye candy for nearly anyone's taste, parents pushing strollers (although I did not see a lot of "defiant" parents pushing their kids through the crowds), a kid's play area, a disco area and food and vendors along Pennsylvania Avenue between the U.S. Capitol and the White House. And what gay pride wouldn't be complete without a main stage filled with dancing, singing and Martha Wash and "It's Raining Men," - this year under a perfectly blue sky.

The video cuts off Ms. Martha Wash right at the end - somewhat akin to the Washington Post article cutting out everything about Capital Pride except same-sex marriage - but you get the idea. The crowd was fun - it didn't look "urgent" or "defiant" to me - and there were lots of us queers doing lots of different things. Including talking about same-sex marriage.

And yes, there were several organizations - including D.C. For Marriage - asking for people to sign petitions, volunteer or call their congressional and state representatives.

But there was so much more than just that single issue during the events of Capital Pride, and yet the Washington Post decided to write about a single issue, instead of reporting on the diverse and empowering events of the week. You should see some of the comments on the Post "article" - the loonies are coming out of the wood-work. If this is what the Washington Post is becoming - a "rag" - then cancel my subscription now.

Capital Pride Festival - It's Time to Shake Up "The System"

From New York City to San Francisco to our nation's capital, I've been to - and in - many Pride parades and festivals across this country.

Arguably the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ movement, New York City has to lay claim to the largest parade, which they call a "March," followed by a huge street festival on the banks of the Hudson.

Each year, San Francisco and Los Angeles switch places to have their Pride events coincide with New York's - with this year San Francisco's "To Form A More Perfect Union" also happening on June 28th. Los Angeles' is holding their parade and festival this weekend, which this year is called "Power. Passion. Purpose."

Last night, in The District of Columbia, we celebrated Capital Pride in grand style with a parade snaking through the heart of the gay district in Dupont Circle. This year's theme, called "Generations of Pride: Celebrate and Remember," honored two super-heroes of the LGBTQ movement - Dr. Frank Kameny and Dr. Lilli Vincenz. As with every Pride parade (or march), it was fabulous, fun, peaceful and filled with love and acceptance.

Today, however, is the Capital Pride Festival. Situated on Pennsylvania Avenue, with a backdrop of the U.S. Capitol and down the street from the White House, D.C.'s Pride Festival offers a unique view into how it feels to be an American - as well as hitting home on how many of our federal laws discriminating against LGBTQ Americans could be fixed by the politicians in power on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Last night we celebrated our diversity in a wild (although not as wild as San Francisco, which arguably has the most splendiferous display of our community's diversity) and fun manner. Today, however, it's time to agitate and shake up the political system.

From the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill now being buried as an amendment (it should have been a "stand-alone bill - symbols matter~!), to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act struggling it's way through the halls of power to Don't Ask, Don't Tell - which apparently is not going to even be spoken about until late 2010 if you listen to some of the "leaders" of our community - today 250,000 diverse Americans will watch RuPaul sing on stage, eat burgers, have some beer, and let their kids play in the special children's area.

It's also the day we get to sign up to volunteer with a national or regional organization to fight for our civil rights. Today's the day we get to sign up for marriage equality in our nation's capital. Today's the day we get to tell congressional representatives and staffers, as well as personnel with the Obama administration (trust me, they'll be there - we're everywhere...) to get it in gear and pass federal legislation protecting all Americans.

So if you get to attend the Capital Pride festival between the U.S. Capitol and the White House, have a wonderful time. Just remember to support those sponsors and vendors by stopping by their booths and or catching their roving volunteers and make a choice to help. Sign a petition, put your name on a mailing list, find out how to volunteer, and buy something if you can from one of the vendors.

Importantly, as you gaze at the U.S. Capitol, remember that we are all fighting for the same thing - equal rights and equal protections under the laws of the United States of America. As we may be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or anywhere along that spectrum - but we are all Americans.

Breaking News: The Legality of a Referendum on Same-Sex Marriage in D.C.

This just in from informed sources regarding the legality of a voter referendum to suspend what is called "The Jury and Marriage Amendment Act of 2009."

The Act, approved by the D.C. City Council, recognizes as "valid any marriage legally entered into another jurisdiction between two persons of the same sex." The measure passed by a nearly unanimous city council vote, and Mayor Fenty signed it.

Opponents of gay marriage then introduced what is called "The Referendum Concerning the Jury and Amendment Act of 2009," asking residents of the District of Columbia to decide whether our nation's capital "will recognize as valid a marriage legally entered in another jurisdiction between 2 persons of the same sex."

According to sources, the attorney general of the District of Columbia will soon issue his "statement" on the validity of the proposed measure to negate the city's actions to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere.

And he's going to say NO. It's going to go something like this: the proposed voter-referendum, under District law, negates the Human Rights Act for the District of Columbia. And the proposed petition should be denied.

His conclusion:

As expressed in the HRA, the established public policy of the District of Columbia is to treat individuals as equals, whatever their gender, sexual orientation, or marital status may be. The Council reflected that policy in section 3(b) of the Amendment Act, in a manner consistent with well-recognized principles of comity. The effect of the proposed Referendum, however, would be to negate that action. Therefore, the proposed measure is not a proper subject for a referendum under District law, and the proposer's petition should be denied.

I'm Done Asking. It's Time to Tell. No, make that "Demand."

I'm sick and tired of "asking" for our civil rights. I am appalled at LGBTQ kids getting murdered or committing suicide because they are "queer" to their classmates. I am more than disgusted at having the "voters" decide who I can and cannot love, all the while taking our tax dollars to pay for our nation's schools, infrastructure and ever-expanding needs.

And I am livid many American politicians are comfortable with gay and lesbian servicemembers serving, and dying, for our country in silence - simply so either the Democratic or Republican incumbent gets re-elected.

Rachel Maddow, keeping the political establishment's feet to the fire, had Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) on her show recently, speaking of President Obama's ability to issue an executive order to ensure no more gay and lesbian servicemembers are kicked out of the military simply because they are gay.

I'm tired of LGBTQ issues being "kicked down the political road" while we suffer and die for "the greater good."

The world is changing, and American's attitudes are changing also. The Republicans are losing grip of more than just power, they are losing grip of public opinion and - importantly, elections. And if the Democratic leadership doesn't understand the political ground is shifting under their feet, they may also be out of a job.

It's time for the president and congressional leaders to give our servicemembers the respect they deserve, and get off the fence - as our soldiers, airmen, seamen and Marines are serving in silence - and not sitting on the frikkin' fence.

It's time for the Democratically-controlled Congress to Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, and for President "fierce advocate to repeal DADT" Obama to issue an executive stop-loss order NOW.

Otherwise our political leaders - from the president on down the political ladder - are looking, and acting, like cowards. And that is beneath contempt.

Suffering in Silence - A Personal Tale of DADT

As a former Air Force officer before Don't Ask Don't Tell was even a twinkle in the eye, I was "in" the US Military when Ronnie was king, Nancy was queen and friends and family were dying by aircraft crashes sideways in the trees and by a disease that had no name.

In all that chaos, we junior special operations flight officers - "too stupid to be scared" - once called it a blast to get paid for flying helicopters upside down. My partner, however, suffered in silence. It was one of many reasons that I left the Air Force, as I couldn't do that - to myself, nor to my partner.

Many of us think Don't Ask Don't Tell is just simply a "policy" that evolved over time. Wrong.

Before former President Clinton came into office, amidst a firestorm about gays in the military, the "ban" on gays and lesbians serving in the military was just that - a policy. Forcing Mr. Clinton to reverse the "policy," we shot ourselves in the foot and he and a Democratic Congress were complicit in enacting Don't Ask Don't Tell.

You can fool yourself into believing otherwise, but you would be wrong.

But let's break it down to a more personal level. I was a special operations helicopter pilot before most Americans even knew what GPS stood for. We flew in what was then called the "Purple Force" - basically a mixture of the best and brightest across the military spectrum.

From cute Army Rangers to US Navy Seals, I flew them - in the back of my helicopter. At the time (for you military buffs) it was initially called a "Nighthawk," but then we chopped a couple million dollars off and simply called it an Air Force Blackhawk.

Importantly, when we were running late on a low-level NVG (night vision goggle) mission, the squadron operations center would call the spouses and girlfriends to let them know we were ok, and had not crashed.

My same-sex partner, however, never got that call.

It was against military "policy" at the time, and so he had to suffer in silence, wondering if he was going to hear on the morning newscast that a helicopter or two had crashed and why I wasn't home.

That's Don't Ask Don't Tell, to me.

My partner suffering in silence, wondering if I, as well as several others, were lying dead on a desert floor or in the midst of a grouping of trees. Trust me, as I have been there and seen that - and importantly smelled burning flesh - if you think that's pretty, it is not.

There's no way to break the news about a crash of that magnitude - to anyone. As I've had to do it, to a fiancee that was two weeks away from marrying one of my best friends. The chaplain went to his parent's house, while me (as the flight safety officer) and my squadron commander had to break the news to her.

Can you imagine if it was my partner, and no one came to the door? I'm guessing NO.

What kept me awake at night sometimes was that I just couldn't deal with my partner lying awake when I was flying at 50-feet over the trees, wondering if I was safe, or just one of many lying on a desert floor. Just because we were late, and he wasn't "entitled" to a phone call telling him otherwise.

You want to know why DADT is a bad policy, and should be repealed THIS YEAR?

Think about you, tossing about in that bed, wondering if your partner survived the night.

This is not about me. It's about all our military servicemembers that suffer in silence, as well as many of their partners - lying awake wondering if their partners are going to come home. It's about not being able to be on the tarmac to say goodbye when they board that Air Force jet for a foreign land. It's about NOT getting that call, telling them that you are alright. It's about love, compassion and respect.

That's just one of the many reasons why Don't Ask Don't Tell has to end. NOW.

The Leading Edge

First off, let me state for the record that the newspaper, as we now know it, will cease to exist in the next few years. I'm thinking it's going to hit - or actually not hit - your driveway or doorstep around 2011. And I'm not the only one that believes this.

Secondly, don't shoot the messenger. As much as anyone else, I love to read the morning papers with a cup of coffee. As you flip through the pages, you find out things that you didn't even know were on the radar screen. You can't google that, and the feeling is priceless.

And finally, before I hit the "meat" of my article, the LGBTQ community typically leads - in everything from the neighborhoods we choose to live in to the way we process information to how we live our lives. That said, let's rumble.

The New York Times is about to close The Boston Globe, which it owns. The Los Angeles Times is in a fight with itself about the best way to proceed. Rocky Mountain Times? Toast. Seattle Post-Intelligencer? Poof~!

How does this relate to the gay and lesbian community? Pretty simple, as it's a dog-eat-dog world out there, but let's break it down.

Gay and lesbian 'zines across the country are in a fight with each other. It's not personal, but there's an ever dwindling advertiser base and something's got to give. Again, our community usually leads on many levels, and so this is not surprising.

What is surprising is how we don't recognize the trend away from a physical product and towards the web, and how gay and lesbian egos can sometimes get so inflated that no one is aiming - they're just grabbing darts to pop each other's balloons.

Hello~!

This concept of the physical news product being replaced by a virtual one is not new. We've seen this coming for a long time. What is surprising is how vitriolic it is becoming. At one of the defining moments of the LGBTQ movement, we're eating our young.

As the new Managing Editor for Bilerico-DC, I was wondering what I should write as my first "official" post. This is it.

And it has to do with being proud of being part of the leading edge of the Bilerico family, of how news is produced and disseminated, how the gay and lesbian community deals with the "new" information age, and whether we destroy ourselves and our community in the process. Or find a new way.

We need to stop thinking about the future of publishing and start thinking about the future of reading.

Ichigo Ichie.