Gays May Win “Most Effective Activist” Award When It Comes to Obama

Obama and his administration have been, to most liberal ways of thinking, on fire lately. DADT is over. Deportations are being more carefully reviewed. To a lot of liberal voters, he’s looking more and more like the man they elected back in 2008. What’s behind his sudden reprise? Kerry Eleveld thinks it’s because someone finally got angry at him— namely, the gays. Eleveld says that the motivating factor for Obama to maintain the progressive principles that won our support in 2008 is being goaded by the activism of the progressive community. When he’s faced with the anger of people like the National Council of La Raza, as Eleveld’s article explains, he’s motivated to do something like work towards suspending the deportation of immigrants who ‘pose no threat to personal safety.’ Which is an interesting proposition — in terms of the 2012 election, it’s hard to say whether the progressive bloc will be Obama’s best bet for re-election. But most interesting of all is that Eleveld feels like the queer community were the pioneers of the old-is-new-again Obama administration — that our activism over the past year has led to the repeal of DADT, but also to a culture of demanding change, and therefore getting it.

Maybe it’s because we were tired of paying the same taxes and not being able to pursue our happiness with equal fervor. Maybe it’s because for decades we had been told by Democrats, “Elect us and we’ll help you,” yet we had only seen discriminatory measures like “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act enacted into law. Maybe it’s because once your intelligence has been insulted flagrantly enough and your humanity denigrated deeply enough, you’ve got nothing left to lose. Whatever it was, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans had had enough.

Activists like Dan Choi, GetEQUAL and Queer Rising have incited controversy and debate, with their daring and demanding planned actions around DADT and marriage equality standing in stark contrast with the more patient and cooperative approach espoused by organizations like HRC. As Eleveld notes, plenty of people, queer ones included, felt like alienating Obama and his administration with angry protests when he remained the closest thing we had to a supporter was a bad idea. But if Eleveld is right, then not only did it work, but it’s provided a model for others to demand change as well. Months ago, Dan Choi and other gay veterans made headlines by handcuffing themselves to the White House fence in an act of civil disobedience intended to result in arrest. Eleveld points out the group of environmental activists who flew themselves into DC to be arrested in an “elaborate protest” outside the White House back in August; in the end, roughly 1,252 arrests were made. Is it because of a trend of openly expressing politicized anger with tactics that recall the protests of the 60s and 70s begun back in 2010 by gay veterans? It’s possible, and it’s honestly flattering to think so. It would be nice for the blood, sweat and tears shed by generations of gay activists, from the Mattachine Society to Stonewall to the angels of Laramie to finally get credit for something. But what Eleveld identifies it as is “the  beginning of dawn — the start of a new era fulfilling the promise of America for the GLBT movement.” The end of DADT is an unquestionably good thing, and it’s hard not to feel at least encouraged by the DoJ’s refusal to defend DOMA, and it’s probably impossible to ever know for certain what motivated the upper levels of government to make those changes. But it also doesn’t feel like quite the whole picture to paint Obama as a stereotypically reticent politician who’s turned out to be unwilling to fulfill his promises to our community. Back in June, Obama’s administration released a helpful infographicof what he’s been able to achieve for the gay community. A selection:

A National Resource Center for gay and lesbian elders. Ensuring that trans people can have accurate passports. An Institute of Medicine study on LGBT health. Clarified that the Family and Medical Leave Act includes LGBT families. Ended the ban on people with HIV/AIDS entering the country, and proposed more funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and education, as well as bullying and suicide prevention. Put millions of dollars of federal funds towards supporting homeless LGBT youth. 

It’s true that two things — the end of DADT and some major work against DOMA — happened later on, and after a certain amount of protesting was ratcheted up. But does it follow that he would have copped out on following through with them otherwise? We’ll never know for sure, but Obama’s track record doesn’t necessarily imply a distaste for dealing with queer issues. If anything, it seems like he’s been really willing to engage with issues that actually affect the day-to-day needs of our community, whereas while the principle obviously matters, DADT and DOMA only affect part of our population. Did planned protests outside the White House single-handedly end DADT? It’s possible. But do they account for Obama’s entire track record with the gay community? No. Everyone’s relationship to the current President will shift as the election creeps closer; already some of the people who helped him get elected are joining those protesting his administration’s decisions. Obama’s top youth lieutenant from 2008 was among those arrested this August while protesting an oil pipeline he has the authority to approve or veto, Eleveld reports. Protests and demands for our needs to be recognized, for DOMA to finally end, won’t go away. And there’s no reason they should — it’s unquestionably our due. Will it change Obama’s decisions as president? We have a year to find out.

Dan Choi Beaten at Moscow Pride Parade

Dan Choi was among the 18 or more individuals arrested in at a Moscow pride parade this weekend. The group was attacked by neo-Nazis and police and taken to a nearby police station where the Russian protesters were held overnight while the foreigners were released. Among the arrestees were Chicago activist, Andy Thayer, French founder of the International Day against Homophobia, Louis Georges-Tin, and Russian organizer, Anna Komarova, who was being held for questioning about the event.

Choi wrote an open letter to Hilary Clinton, asking her to condemn the violence in Russia. “You have been a longtime friend of the LGBT community. We need your help. Please reaffirm the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Russia and around the world.” The U.S. Department of State has responded by releasing a statement from spokesman Mark Toner.

Concern about Freedom of Assembly in Russia

We note with concern that in Moscow on Saturday, May 28, a peaceable demonstration of Russians advocating for the rights of gays and lesbians, joined by international supporters, was forcefully disrupted by counter-protesters, and that Russian security forces then detained people from both groups, including American citizens. Some protestors were seriously injured according to media reports.

Freedom of assembly is a fundamental right all members of the OSCE committed to, including in the Moscow declaration and as recently as the Astana summit. As nationwide legislative elections approach, constraints on the ability of Russian citizens peacefully to gather and express their views will be closely watched in evaluating the integrity of the electoral process.  We call on Russian authorities to work with municipal officials to find better ways to safeguard these fundamental freedoms.

But not everyone is satisfied. Via Twitter, Choi pointed out that the statement left out bisexual and trans* Russians. John Aravosis from AmericaBlog has spelled out exactly what’s wrong with the statement, namely that they seem to believe that the police were protecting the protesters from the neo-Nazis despite video footage that shows the police going after peaceful demonstrators and grabbing their pamphlets. While Clinton has still made no comment on the incident, Aravosis says he does appreciate that the State Department has said something.

LGBT rights in Russia are in some ways more progressive than in the U.S., with gays allowed to serve openly in the military and men who have had sex with men allowed to give blood. However, these rights are largely nominal. Public opinion polls show that around 40 percent of Russians support the re-criminalization of homosexual acts and, if this incident is any indication, anti-gay sentiment runs high.

You can sign Dan Choi’s open letter at AmericaBlog.

DADT Superstar Dan Choi Breaks Down as DADT Repeal Bill Runs Its Final Lap

A few weeks ago we talked about the Village Voice’s profile of Dan Choi as an activist burning the candle at every possible end; now we’re reading their update, where they report that Choi has recently “for lack of a better term, “lost it” and is taking time off while he seeks professional help through the Veterans Administration.

This is sad news, and we are sad about it. There is not much more to say than that. Choi is someone we’ve been following for a long time, and someone who’s stood up to be a leader at a time when the gay community has been let down by every other leadership figure. He isn’t perfect – he’s criticized for being overly harsh, his approaches have become increasingly uncompromising, and some have accused him of misogyny. But we’re not perfect either, and we’re angry and confused and he expresses our anger and confusion in a really honest way, and we want things to be good for him.

We want things to be good for all of us, and that can’t happen if the people fighting for us are worn down and pushed to the point of ‘losing it’ by the thing they are fighting. It’s ironic that Choi credits his breakdown to his time spent serving our country – the thing he is legally prohibited from doing, and has been working so hard to continue doing. Here’s his statement, as related to Pam and Autumn of Pam’s House Blend:

I did not initially want to publicize this but I now realize it is critical for our community to know several things: veterans gay or straight carry human burdens, Activists share similar burdens, no activist should be portrayed as super human, and the failures of government and national lobbying carry consequences far beyond the careers and reputations of corporate leaders, elected officials, High powered lobbyists, or political elites. They ruin lives. My breakdown was a result of a cumulative array of stressors but there is no doubt that the composite betrayals felt on Thursday, by elected leaders and gay organizations as well as many who have exploited my name for their marketing purposes have added to the result. I am certain my experience is not an isolated incident within the gay veteran community.

It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that Choi’s announcement is coinciding with the final chance for  a DADT repeal in the Senate this year; a vote on Lieberman’s stand-alone bill will take place at some point today.

The chances of ending the military’s ban on open service by gay and lesbian soldiers improved significantly on Tuesday when House Democratic leaders said they would introduce a fast-track repeal bill and quickly send it on to the Senate. Once the House bill is approved, the onus will be on Senate leaders to act swiftly, and on a handful of moderate Republicans to fulfill their promise to bring long-denied justice to the military’s ranks.

Choi hasn’t tweeted for the past five days, even though this is the most real news on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell we’ve had all year. His last tweet, though, seems particularly appropriate to the situation at hand. We wish him good luck and good health.

Zero Percent Of Kids With Lesbian Parents Report Abuse, Gay Moms FTW

LESBIAN MOMS:

Zero per cent of families with lesbian parents report incidents of physical or sexual abuse, according to the recently released results of the 24-year-long USA National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study.

The study, which follows planned lesbian families with children conceived by donor insemination in the 1980s, asked 78 adolescents whether they had ever been abused and (if so) the type of abuse, what they identified as their sexual orientation, and about their sexual history.

There were no reports of sexual or physical violence by a parent or other caregiver, and only one report of verbal abuse. In contrast, 26 per cent of American adolescents report parent or caregiver physical abuse and 8.3 per cent report sexual abuse. According to the authors of the study,

A key finding in the current study was that none of the NLLFS adolescents reported physical or sexual abuse by a parent or other caregiver. This finding contradicts the notion, offered in opposition to parenting by gay and lesbian people, that same-sex parents are likely to abuse their offspring sexually.

It’s possible to argue that this is too small a sample size to be meaningful; it’s also possible to argue that rates of child abuse and child sexual abuse are out of control, and that it’s statistically pretty unlikely to find any group of 78 children in America where not one has ever been abused.

The NLLFS also looked at the sexual orientation of the adolescents in question and found that while zero per cent of the girls and 5.4 per cent of the boys rated themselves as predominantly-to-exclusively gay on the Kinsey scale, 18.9 per cent of the girls and 2.7 per cent of the boys fell into the bisexual spectrum. Additionally, girls were more likely to have engaged in same-sex behaviour, regardless of their reported orientation, than girls without lesbian parents. (@feministing)

SKYPE:

A gay couple in Texas got married over Skype and became the first couple to be married over the Internet. There is, of course, a YouTube video (below).

Mark Reed and Dante Karl flew to Washington, D.C. for a marriage license and then returned to Texas, where they were married by an officiant over Skype. In an interview with the Dallas Voice, Reed said, “The reason we wanted to do it this way is because we wanted to have a wedding here in Dallas with our family and friends. It was very important that all of our family came. It was the first time they actually met, even though we’ve been together 10 years. If we had to go to D.C., there’s no way we could have had the people there who we wanted to be there.” (@dallasvoice)

DAN CHOI:

Remembrance Day (Canada) and Veteran’s Day (US) were yesterday. Did you wear a poppy? You should have. In an article in the Huffington Post, Dan Choi writes,

“Since joining the ranks of gay veterans, I have publicly called this war a battle for equality, integrity, and many other powerful platitudes that resonate well throughout the airspace of a media war-zone. But at the heart of my struggle to end unjust discrimination in the military, these bold moral principles become mere words; the motivation to keep fighting in this war resembles the motivation we realized in Iraq. We did not fight for apple pie, the Constitution, or purple mountains’ majesty. We fought for each other.

As we fight to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” we know that this fight can easily be more painful than physical combat, as the people we fought to protect subject us to the harsh bigotry of popularity polls and the soft bigotry of political inaction. […] The only treatment that can heal the wounds of betrayal and hatred is a recommitment to fight for each other, to stand up for each other, to love one another.”

I MET AUTOSTRADDLERS AND I LIKED IT:

Remember that time Autostraddle told you how to make gay friends and meet girls? It’s still International Meet an Autostraddler Week and you can still meet queer girls and talk about Tegan and Sara and Bruce Springsteen and a poetry reading that’s happening tomorrow and when you started reading Autostraddle and how everything is less awkward and way more awesome than you thought it’d be. Even if you think you’re awkward in public. Especially if you think you’re awkward in public. Everyone you’re meeting? They’re from the Internet too! Seriously, go. Rachel did last night and so did Laneia I think and they both give it two thumbs up.

Dan Choi is People

The Village Voice published a feature on Dan Choi called “Bad Lieutenant.” Have you read it. I suggest perhaps doing so.

I’ll wait.

It has things like this in it (this follows a paragraph about grindr):

Choi is unapologetic. He says he resents it when anyone, especially those in the gay-rights movement, discourages him from exploring—well, sexually—his newly revealed homosexuality.

“I think our movement hits on so many nerves,” he says, “not just for reasons of anti-discrimination and all the platitudes of the civil rights movement. I believe that it’s also because it has elements of sexual liberation. And it shows people that through what we’re trying to do, they can be fully respectful of themselves, without accepting the shame society wants to throw upon them.”

Okay. Did you read it? Did it give you feelings? Were they conflicted and confused? Here were my top three feelings immediately after finishing it.

1. Why did they call it “bad lieutenant,” what are they trying to say

2. Why are they obsessed with Grindr, they seem more into it than Dan Choi is

3. I want to hug Dan Choi and possibly give him some Xanax. I don’t know.

The point of this article was, ostensibly, to show the “real” side of Dan Choi that isn’t just about chaining himself to the White House gate and marching in parades. I am not ultimately sure whether that goal was achieved. Not because The Village Voice wrote a shoddy profile, although I stand by my earlier point w/r/t Grindr, but because I think that’s becoming an increasingly difficult thing to do – separate Dan Choi from Dan Choi’s politics, from “the movement.” In other words, this piece actually placed a strong emphasis on the link between the ‘real’ Dan Choi and the Dan Choi who chains himself to the White House gate and marches in parades. I am not sure whether Choi himself can separate the two for sure anymore.

And that says something about us, I think, about the rest of us.

Like it or not, Choi has always been something of a canary in a coal mine for the gay community; when he was first out, optimistic and full of ideas, so were we. Having just launched this website and still optimistic about ambiguously scheduled counter-protests, we met Choi at one of his first post-discharge appearances, only a few days after he came out on The Rachel Maddow Show.

Obama was in the White House and for the first time in a long time, things felt possible. When he started getting angry, frustrated with the slow pace of progress, so did we – we felt like we had the puzzle pieces, a Democratic House and Senate and a president who was willing to say “gay, lesbian and bisexual” on national television, but they weren’t falling into place. We were unemployed and tired of reading about hate crimes in the newspaper and starting to feel very done with waiting. Now, if this article is any indication, Dan Choi’s frustration and anger has turned into an obsession with change, an obsession with the movement – and I think this is worth our attention, because it may well be our future too.

Choi does come across as human, and flawed, in this piece. He swears a lot, doesn’t speak with his parents, potentially charges too much for speaking appearances, and Jesus God yes he does use Grindr. He also comes across as wedded to his cause in a kind of worrying way. Maybe, it is intimated, this is why he’s gone so much farther recently – why his increasingly harsh criticism of the White House and things like his hunger strike a few months ago have been driving other activists away, with people like Jake Goodman of Queer Rising and Nonnie Ouch of the Texas Tech GSA saying that they’ve “lost respect” for him.

Regardless, there is a tangible sense of the pressure rising, of something coming to a head in “the movement” which is never defined but constantly referenced. I felt, honestly, a kind of fear reading it, but also sadness – both for Choi himself. I’m not sure which was worse, the extent to which his life has been given over to this struggle or the extent to which he doesn’t even seem to be fully aware of it. For instance, the fact that he’s homeless and living off the couches of activist friends seems to barely occasion a shrug.

Choi says he lives out of a couple of bags and, being used to “falling asleep wherever you have to” in the military, he doesn’t seem to mind the nomadic life. “I’m in a relationship with the movement,” he says. “And in any relationship, sometimes you have to sleep on the couch. And sometimes, even with the movement, the couch is literally a couch.”

I lost count of the number of times “the movement” was mentioned. It’s a flawed comparison in a lot of ways, but what I thought of most was the feminist movement of the 60s and 70s – that will always be what “the movement” evokes for me, that and the civil rights movement. I thought a lot about both of those things reading this. About how much people in those movements had to give up before they saw any kind of change. How people gave their whole lives over to this, like nuns entering a convent of justice and rage. I thought of the height of both those movements, the point at which they reached a kind of fever pitch where people decided that anything was better than the way things were, and were willing to give up anything for change. And how much change we’re still waiting on, even after those sacrifices.

I don’t know anything, really. It’s hard to discern anything really about Choi, let alone the gay rights movement in America, from a six-page article.

But I am increasingly getting the sense that Choi has reached that point where he’s willing to give up a lot, maybe everything, for change.

And that the rest of us might not be far behind: Obama’s ratings in the gay community are at the lowest they’ve ever been, and many are saying they’d rather not vote than vote Democrat. I’m wondering how far we are as a group from that fever pitch of anger and refusal to wait any longer that brings things to a boil – that point that is the most painful but also the most powerful in terms of changing the world.

I’m not saying Choi’s brand of activism is “the right one,” but I will say that it doesn’t seem to be coming out of nowhere. I think there’s an increasing sense that asking nicely just isn’t working, and that no one seems to be giving us what we want so it’s time we demand what we need. There’s a reason Choi is the poster boy of “the movement,” and a reason the Village Voice wanted to talk to him – he loved America wholeheartedly enough to offer his life for her defense, and as the Voice wisely observes, “when Choi first came out, he could ‘never have imagined criticizing the commander in chief.’ Now he does it routinely.”

“Don’t do ANYTHING, Obama!” he railed. “Just keep on doing what you’re doing, which is JACK SHIT. Don’t appeal the decision. Don’t add one more thing to your plate—your heavy-ass plate.”

If you’ve been following Dan Choi’s career as an activist like we have, your takeaway from this piece is probably something like “What happened to him? How did he get so angry that he’s yelling at people in parking lots? What made him so obsessed that this is all he can think about?” At least, that would be your first takeaway. After that would come more difficult questions.

Like, “What would it take to make me that angry? What would make me yell about Jesus in a parking lot or chain myself to government property?” Because really, what would it take? Six kids killing themselves in the space of a few weeks? A dozen kids? The government fighting in court to keep DADT alive while tweeting that they oppose it? Prop 8 winning in the Supreme Court? More highly publicized bashings and murders of gay and trans people? Or worse, completely unpublicized bashings and murders of gay and trans people?

I’m just saying, it might be worth thinking about. Dan Choi certainly is.

DADT Injunction Still Stands, Gays Can Enlist – But Don’t Get Too Comfortable

Today we woke up to find that the fragile non-enforcement of DADT ferociously defended by judge Virginia Phillips is still in place. For now. Mostly. I don’t understand why this is even still an issue, I want to scream from my eyeballs. From The New York Times:

A federal district judge in California said Monday that she is inclined to deny the government’s request to allow the Pentagon to enforce its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay and bisexual members of the military while her injunction against it is being appealed. “My tentative ruling is to deny the application for a stay,” Judge Virginia A. Phillips said at a hearing on the government’s request, according to Reuters. She is expected to issue a ruling to that effect on Tuesday. The Obama administration has defended the law, arguing that change should come from Congress, not the courts; last week the Department of Justice gave notice that if the request for a stay was denied or not resolved by Monday at noon, it intended to appeal to the Ninth Circuit “to allow the orderly litigation of the stay request before that court.”

(@nytimes)

Even more tellingly/importantly, the Associated Press is reporting that the order has come down from high-level military officials that recruiting stations can no longer turn away applicants who are gay, which we theorize means that they foresee this injunction standing for at least the foreseeable future and thus are grudgingly abiding by it. They don’t necessarily see it standing forever, though.

…Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith has announced that “top-level” guidance has been issued to recruiting commands telling them that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy prohibiting openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military has been suspended, at least for now.

But recruiters have also been told to tell possible LGBT recruits that the moratorium could be re-instated at any time.

(@dallasvoice)

Pretty much every reputable source is advising soldiers to stay in the closet for the time being, as this is unlikely to be the final solution to the clusterfuck that is Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and out soldiers will probably still face consequences in the future. Dan Choi, however, is holding them to their word.

If he is indeed allowed to re-enlist (and I’m not sure he will be, it’s possible that his insubordination/civil disobedience will still be enough to bar him besides his homosexuality) it will at least provide a very public way to track the reality vs. the theoretical status of DADT – that is, when Choi is eventually re-discharged, we’ll all have a barometer for the abject failure of the government to handle this situation. Because lest you forget, the government IS trying to make sure this fails. Today a lawyer with the Clinton administration (which was responsible for DADT in the first place) stated that he thinks Obama should argue against Phillips’ injunction BUT simultaneously argue to federal courts that the original DADT law in 1993 was unconstitutional.

“I would like, at the right time with the right military process being worked, to see the government actually switch its position,” said Walter Dellinger, who served as acting solicitor general under President Bill Clinton. “The president, in his capacity as commander in chief, can make his own judgment that [don’t ask] is not necessary. … He doesn’t have to give judicial deference to the political branches.”

Will the President take that advice? Only time will tell, but right now the betting money says that time will tell us “no.” There’s no way to foresee how this fight will develop, but if past performance is any indication, the people who will eventually be responsible for ending DADT will be individuals working their power to the best of their ability in defiance of the administration, and this presidency will have passed on one more opportunity to effect radical change.

Harry Reid Says He’ll Repeal DADT & Give Dan Choi’s West Point Ring Back. Like Soon-ish.

DAN CHOI:

As you may have heard by now, Dan Choi made a bold gesture over the weekend to make sure that repealing DADT was on everyone’s minds at Netroots Nation. Refusing to sit back and let the repeal progress (or not) in the Department of Defense’s hands, Choi has written a letter to Senator Harry Reid and had it delivered to him along with his West Point ring in order to remind Reid of his commitment to ending DADT. At Netroots Nation in front of a liberal crowd of humans, Reid told Choi he’s gonna give the back to him when DADT is repealed. Which he’s gonna do, really soon.

Oh, gays. We’re always just trying to get our rings back and have them mean something.

ACLU Comic

The full text of the letter can be read here, courtesy of Pam’s House Blend:

July 24, 2010

The Honorable Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader:

Dear Harry:

My West Point ring has always symbolized an irrevocable promise: my commitment to serving America and my duty to defend freedom and justice. Today, with my discharge from the army for telling the truth, the ring takes on a new meaning, serving as a symbol for the enduring pain of broken promises.

America was founded on the principles of inalienable rights, equality, and the promise of justice for all. But today, Americans remain segregated from that promise. Fired from our jobs, discriminated in the military, denied equal access to our own integrity and acknowledgement of our families, we cannot conclude that our country has manifested its own promise, over 230 years later.

You have also made personal promises to me that the senate would repeal military discrimination before the end of 2009. Indeed, you sent a letter to President Obama and Secretary Gates, claiming that was the most you could do to save my career. You promised to lead on repeal of discrimination. I believed your promise because you are the most powerful senator in America. Truly, no one can do more. The false hope of your promise has been made real to me today with another letter: the letter terminating my military service.

But I present this ring to you, symbolizing my promise as a fellow citizen: my service continues.

I promise I will hold you accountable to your obligations to lead in the effort to end discrimination, both in the workplace and in the military. My promise is not merely written on a piece of paper or words alone, but in the hearts of every lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender American fired from their jobs because of broken promises from those who purport to be our friends. History will judge us and conclude that the greatest obstacles to justice were not the loud rants of bigots, but the quiet fears of those unwilling to stand firm in the fulfillment of their commitments. I refuse to allow my friends register themselves in history as obstacles to justice.

I commit to you my renewed pledge and continued service. To you and all those “friends” who manipulate, deceive and exploit our community, I will serve as a reminder of the consequences we all pay when allegiance to political careers takes higher priority than allegiance to America’s promise.

Sincerely,
Lt. Dan Choi
US Army, Discharged under DADT

The letter that Harry Reid has addressed to President Obama can be read over at Pam’s House Blend, along with Dan Choi’s discharge paper. His letter coincides with the recent action by GetEqual calling on Harry Reid to use his power in the Senate to push for a repeal of DADT, video of which is available courtesy of Feministing:

It’s unclear as to how or how much this will influence Reid and other decisionmakers on the issue, but it’s certainly a strong statement and an inspiring action on Choi’s part.

Dan Choi has made some media visits since his discharge last week,  also appearing on The Rachel Maddow Show, where this whole she-bang got started:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Kathy Griffin spoke about the issue on The Joy Behar Show but mostly just talked about herself:

DADT: Dan Choi Discharged Today Because He’s Gay

Lt. Dan Choi has officially been discharged from the U.S. military under the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. He got the news of his fate this morning via phone call from his old commander. (Yeah, we thought that had already happened, too, apparently he was just on hold, being investigated, and could appeal his release.) (@newsweek)

Earlier this morning he got the call. It was from his commander at the 1/69 Infantry Regiment of the New York Army National Guard, and it was bad news. Choi had also just learned from another source that a letter had been received some time ago, with confirmed receipt by his father in Orange County, Calif., officially declaring him kicked out of the Army. “But my dad and I are not on speaking terms,” says Choi, who had not been informed of the letter by his family.

Here is the official reason for discharge, from a letter addressed to Choi from General Patrick Murphy:

“Based on the approved board findings that 1LT Choi did publicly admit, on more than one occasion, in person and through the media, that he is a homosexual, such conduct being in violation of [military and National Guard regulation], I direct 1LY Choi be discharged from the New York Army National Guard with an Honorable characterization of service.”

Choi says he might spend more time in California now, reconciling with his parents. He and his father are currently not on speaking terms. “I haven’t done a lot to hold my parents’ hands through all of this. My inclination right now is to go home.”

His activism won’t stop any time soon. While the discharge is probably painful, Choi said “a piece of paper doesn’t define my worth or honor.” And he might even keep using his uniform in protests, even though it is illegal to do so after discharge. His response was: “I still own it.”

Dan has become the leading activist in the U.S. fighting for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. This all started over a year ago, in March 2009 when he came out on Rachel Maddow‘s show. That sparked an investigation into his conduct, and he was relieved of active duty. We noticed some changes in Dan even last year as he became more entrenched in activism, which Riese mentioned in her essay about gay marriage in Maine from November:

When we interviewed Dan Choi again at the National Equality March in October, I said to Alex & Brooke afterwards that he seemed much angrier than when we’d first met him, right after he’d come out on the Rachel Maddow show and was at the anti-equality counter-rally in NYC.

A few weeks after the NEM, Brooke ran into Dan at a Gay & Lesbian Task Force event in Florida. He actually asked her, out of the blue, if he seemed angrier now, because this was something he was noticing about himself. He told her that he felt angrier.

And I get it now. This is what happens when you’re out there being an activist every day or even just absorbing the news.

Dan was put back on Active Duty in February of 2009:

“Apparently, Lt. Choi’s commander has always been in full support of him, and even after Lt. Choi came out on The Rachel Maddow Show, his commander did not press for his discharge. The military did eventually serve Lt. Choi a discharge notification – essentially firing him from his job, but he was allowed to fight this at trial, and as it currently stands, the discharge has not been finalized. Given the current state of how DADT is in such flux, and also, in my opinion, the prominence and celebrity of Lt. Choi, his discharge might never be fully enforced.”

Since that time, Dan has become increasingly active in political demonstrations.

Dan now works with GetEqual to overturn DADT and has been arrested at protests around the country, including at the White House.

Here’s a look at the evolution of Dan Choi, via YouTube Video:

+

May 2009
Dan Choi with Rachel Maddow on the day his DADT investigation began,
with clips of when he first came out on her show

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May 2009
At a counter-protest in support of gay marriage in New York City:

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October 2009
At the National Equality March:

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March 2010
Dan Choi handcuffs himself to the White House fence:

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May 2010
Dan Choi being awesome on the bullhorn at a rally:

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July 20, 2010
Dan Choi was arrested at a GetEqual protest of Sen. Harry Reid’s
lack of action on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act:

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How the DADT Survey Breaks All the Research Methodology Rules, Has Issues, Is Useless

So you’ve read the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell survey (which can be downloaded here), and you’ve felt vaguely negative about it but didn’t have the words to explain why. It’s alright; I felt the same way! Luckily, I had a great Research Methods teacher (holler Professor Kiter-Edwards) and a text book by one Earl Babbie that is honestly one of the most enjoyable text books I’ve ever had to read.

We’re going to focus on a few of the biggest problems going on with the survey because we’re smart people, obviously, but we don’t want to be showoffs.

Full disclaimer: I’m only 3/4 of the way through my degree in sociology, which means that I’m ignorant of a full quarter of the information that I should know. Maybe you know more than me. If you do: spread the wealth! Let’s talk about what works and what doesn’t.

Issue Number One:

WTF is the research question?

Surveys can be done for three main reasons: exploration, description, or explanation. If you’re exploring, you’re saying “we’re not really sure what’s going on so we’re going to find out some stuff so that we’re not bumbling fools.” If you’re describing, you’re asking what. And if you’re explaining, your research question is going to be about why. According to Geoff Morrell, pentagon spokesman extraordinaire, they are “not playing games here, we’re trying to figure out what the attitudes of our force are, what the potential problems are with repeal.” In other words, they’re exploring.

Exploratory research is usually done with subjects that no one knows anything about. If you want to know how many times a year the average person eats Nutella or if aliens might exist, you would do exploratory research. The problem with this approach to the DADT problem is that exploratory research doesn’t really provide any answers. It’s meant to act as a primary indication of how things might be and to be a stepping stone for further research, but the issue here is that the military seems to be viewing it as comprehensive.

What’s most problematic is that there doesn’t appear to be any sense of direction. Are they planning on using this information to stage more in-depth research about why people feel the way they feel, or are they just going to throw out the House’s bill if enough people say that they wouldn’t want a gay tent-mate?

The survey asks how people feel about gay shower buddies and lesbian neighbors but neglects to ask why people feel the way they do. This isn’t a survey flaw as much as it is an indication of the general attitude of the country. To probe into why people are homophobic would be to admit that there’s nothing wrong with gay people and that’s something that the government’s not ready to do.

It’s important to point out that while we’re all quick to find fault with the survey, it could help us in the end. If the results are supportive, it just might mean that all that exploration was worthwhile. In defense of the idea that gays serving openly in the army ain’t no thang, I’d like to present you with a choice quotation from the beacon of truth, “Given its fundamental nature, exploratory research often concludes that a perceived problem does not actually exist.” Bam, roasted.

Glaring Issue Number Two:

Validity and reliability

Let’s talk about validity and reliability and the difference between the two. Validity means that the results accurately describe what is being studied, while reliability means that the measures used will give consistent results in different populations and at different times. To illustrate:

Are you still with me? Great! Now let’s talk about the types of validity. Did you know that this is on the first page of results that you get when typing “face validity” into Google images?

Anyway, face validity means that the instrument used (which in this case is the survey) makes sense to the population to whom it is given. What does this mean to you? Another vocab word that I’m going to throw at you is content validity, which means that the survey is a good measure of the concept being studied. Keep these two guys in mind because we’re going to come back to them when we get to survey design.

My major complaint in this department is with reliability. One of the ways to guarantee reliable responses is to used established measures — instruments that have already been used. I know it sounds old fashioned and conservative to want them to use a tried and true method, but seriously can I get a Guttman scale up in here?

A Guttman scale is a series of questions that works on the idea that if you identify positively with items that come later on the list, you should logically be copacetic with those that came before. One of the most famous examples of a Guttman scale is the Bogardus social distance scale, which goes like this:

Please place a check by all the statement with which you agree:
[ ] It is alright for people to immigrate to this country.
[ ] It is alright for people to immigrate to this state.
[ ] It is alright for people to immigrate to this city.
[ ] It is alright for people to immigrate and live on this street.
[ ] It is alright for people to immigrate and live next door.

Guttman scales are great because they help researchers compiling the data to quickly find the relevant data. If someone says that they’re comfortable with immigrants living on their street but uncomfortable with immigrants living in their state, you know that they’re either not paying attention, not making sense, or insane — you can throw their response to this question out. Another perk is that they’re straightforward and don’t leave a lot of room for interpretation for the researcher.

Por ejemplo, here’s a question from the actual survey:

But what do those answers mean? If someone says they’re going to take no action, does it mean that they’re down with gays or that they’re just too afraid to do something? Maybe they discuss how they expect others to behave with every new service member or always shower by himself. If they talk to a mentor, does that mean that they’re simple struggling with accepting their new gay comrade and trying to work to accept them or does it mean that they’re trying to pray away the gay together? The only thing we really learn from these answers is who is a tattletale, who keeps to herself, and who’s bossy.

This survey could have had a similar scale that went something like:

[ ] It is alright for gays and lesbians to serve in the military
[ ] It is alright for gays and lesbian to serve in my branch
[ ] It is alright for gays and lesbians to serve in my division
[ ] It is alright for gays and lesbians to share my tent or room
[ ] …

But instead we have all this nonsense about talking to chaplains if you have to poo near a man who you think might be gay jumbled up with other questions about fulfilling a mission during combat. My head is going to explode, so let’s just move along to the next section, shall we?

So Shiny It’s Blinding Us Issue(s) Number Three:

Survey construction

There’s a lot going on here so let’s look at it little bits at a time.

+ Choose appropriate questions

Know what one the most unclear type of survey question is? Close-ended questions. Wanna take a stab at what type of question appears most often on the survey? If you guessed close-ended questions, you’re already better at social research than most of the people at Westat, that research firm that’s being paid $4.5 million to conduct the survey.

Close-ended questions are items that already have a group of answers that you have to choose from. Besides forcing the researcher to decide what the data means (like we saw in the bathroom question), close-ended questions are often difficult to word so that the options are exhaustive and mutually exclusive. The exhaustion issue is taken care of in some questions with the addition of a “something else” option along with a box to fill in, but mutual exclusivity doesn’t appear to be at the top of their list of important things. They’re a big fan of the “check-up-to-three”-style of response, which isn’t necessarily a fallacy but does reduce the reliability of the survey.

+ Respondents must be willing to answer

In the U.S., we tend to be bigger fans of rationality, which is often equated with being moderate. If someone feels like they might be in a minority when selecting a response, they may choose fitting in over honesty. Intern Emily wondered exactly how the survey was being administered, which is a totally valid concern. The pressure to remain in the majority might be even stronger if you’re filling out a survey while others are around.

+ Questions should be relevant

Beside giving me titles for all these headings, Mr. Babbie says “when attitudes are requested on a topic that few respondents have thought about or really care about, the results are not likely to be useful.” This goes back to the question of how much troops really care if they’re serving with gays and lesbians. If you’re in a combat zone, how often are you thinking about whether the girl next to you likes girls or boys. If the answer is a lot, and you’re a guy, please stop watching bad porn and get your head in the game. You’re at war.

+ Short items are best

There are a lot of things that this survey is, but short is not one of them. Just for fun, let’s say that there’s nothing wrong with the questions, the survey’s just too lengthy. Potential respondents might be daunted by the 32 page document and decide not to take it at all. Here’s an idea, how about about combining these three questions into one question with three parts?:

+ Avoid biased items

Remember five minutes ago when we discussed validity? It’s time to use your knowledge of face validity to look at the language used.

What a bad idea. If you haven’t yet, just read this study and take a moment to think about how you might think people would respond differently to words like “assistance to poor” and “welfare,” or “dealing with drug addiction” and “rehab.” As far as biased language goes, there’s also the issue of wording used that suggests that queerness is something that must be tolerated, which Riese talked about a few days ago. It’s worth nothing that according to the Riddle homophobia scale, another famous sociological scale, the survey’s attitude toward gays and lesbians falls under the “homophobic” category.

And so there you have it. I feel happy that I’ve put my college education to good use before even graduating, which I hear is rare these days. So what happens now? Towleroad has a great round-up of some of the reactions to the survey, including the Pentagon defending it, and Nate Silver of fivethirtyeight.com saying that that “parts of it are completely useless.”

Let’s end on this note from Rob Smith, a gay Iraq War Veteran, mocking the survey:

“The way some of the survey questions are structured is enough to make one think that its creators are as obsessed with gay sexuality as those who practice it regularly. In fact, the survey really hit the nail on the head with the whole shower thing. I wasn’t able to shower for the first three weeks of my tour in Iraq, and what do you think I was looking forward to the most when I finally got the opportunity to take one? Was it perhaps the opportunity to remove the thick film of gruel that encased my skin no matter how many times I wiped myself down with the wet naps provided with our meals? If you thought that, you were wrong. It was obviously the opportunity to sneak a peek at other soldiers in the showers, soldiers who were equally if not more as disgusting as me at that point. Sexy, right? I sure thought so, but imagine my SHOCK that there were private showers! In Iraq! It was almost enough to make me want to give my two weeks’ notice right then and there.”

Equality California wants you to petition Defense Secretary Robert Gates, requesting that a more fair, unbiased survey be given to servicemen and women. EC’s Government Affairs Director, Mario Guerrero, had this to say:

The survey is insulting, one-sided, and designed to illicit a negative response.

As a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, I know the effects of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell all too well. My sexual orientation was not an issue for over six years until I was outed. The military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy prevented me from joining my fellow marines in Bagdad. Unfortunately, they were not able to rely on my training and experience.

Time is of the essence. The Senate could vote on the repeal as early as this week. And a federal court challenge starts today, brought by Log Cabin Republicans.

It’s not really a petition so much as it’s a form letter, which means all you have to do is fill in some fields and hit send. Pass it on, little queerios!

Gay Activists Hunger Strike for DADT Repeal – Good Idea/Bad Idea?

DON’T ASK DON’T TELL:

We’re all still processing the news on the DADT repeal, and the White House’s maybe more encouraging stance. There are plenty of people who feel like this gesture on Obama’s part isn’t enough; as Autumn at Pam’s House Blend says, “This compromise worked out by the White House, members of Congress, and Gay Inc., doesn’t actually guarantee that lesbian, gay, and bisexual people will ever be able to openly serve in the U.S. Military. Instead, it gives we in the LGBT community a promise of process to repeal of DADT without a guarantee it actually will ever result in LGB servicemembers being able to serve openly. “ Clearly Lt. Dan Choi doesn’t feel very good about this either.

A new statement from Dan Choi announces his intent to hunger strike.

“Immediately following congressional mark-ups on the National Defense Authorization Act 2011, Captain James Pietrangelo and I will commence a fast in pursuit of Equality and Dignity. We have three demands of President Barack Obama –

Demand #1: End the Comprehensive Working Group “Study,” which insults the dignity of all Americans.
Demand #2: End “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” discharges forever.
Demand #3: Replace all discriminatory regulations in the military with a comprehensive non-discrimination policy.”

Queerty thinks it won’t end well:

“We love ourselves some civil disobedience, but from the evidence this week about how the DADT is (unceremoniously) moving forward, either Choi and Pietrangelo are going to die trying, or their hunger strike will end prematurely, and long before gays can actually serve openly in the military.”

Wikipedia has a look at the history of the hunger strike and the fate of hunger strikes including those of the Tibetian Freedom Fighters , Cuban Dissidents, Turkish Political Prisoners, Guantánamo Bay prisoners and our bro Gandhi. Hunger striking was also engaged as a tactic for suffragettes in the early 20th century in British and American prisons. Slate’s 2004 piece Hunger Striking 101 describes from a scientific standpoint how long persons can survive without food.

The ladies at Sisters Talk have declared Dan’s decision an Epic Fail:

Seriously? This is a slap in the face to millions of Americans who – due to the current economic climate – are starving through no fault of their own. Two gay men who have homes and jobs and the ability to purchase food are willingly starving themselves because they oppose the current DADT compromise. Let’s ponder that for a moment.

How is this move supposed to make Americans sympathetic to the gay community’s cause when too many people are personally associated with people who are homeless and struggling to feed themselves and their children? This move wreaks of gay privilege because if anyone can CHOOSE to starve themselves it must mean they’re not that hard up economically. The same person who can choose to starve himself can also choose to eat whenever he wants.

We consulted our Radical Lesbian Correspondent, Up Popped a Fox, who wrote a fantastic article about her time with The Lesbian Avengers for Autostraddle last year, for her thoughts on the matter:

I think hunger strikes tend to be grand gestures that are largely ineffective in actually bringing about desired change. Civil disobedience that creates visibility and brings people’s attention to an issue is admirable. Hunger strikes take the issue into zealot territory for most people.

We’ve been fans of Dan Choi from the get-go and recently wrote a significantly long piece about his recent activism. But what do you think? Is this getting OOC?

Regardless of the future of this hunger strike, there’s still a vote that has to take place on the issue, and there’s honestly no telling what the results of the DoD’s ten-month review will be. Although the White House’s support of this compromise was probably a good move, tensions are still running high; more acts of civil disobedience are rumored to be planned, and Obama already seems pretty annoyed. Anyways, you can hear Choi’s feelings here, and form your own opinion.

Also, in addition to John McCain’s bizarre obsession with maintaining DADT, we have more idiots on the other side this week coming from The Family Research Council. The FRC (in case you forgot) is a group of “humans” who do “studies,” collect money, make shit up and talk crazy. Now they’re saying that the End Of DADT Means More Gay Rape In The Military. EEK! Well, there you have it. Read the article and you’ll see that they aren’t even using good science to make this point. So.

KAGAN:

Elena Kagan has just received support by the former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first ever lady to serve on the SCOTUS. (@velvet park)

INDIA:

A new bill being introduced in India will prevent gay and lesbian couples in India from bearing children with a surrogate mother.“…though homosexuality has been decriminalised in India, it has not been made legal. Till gay and lesbian couples get legal status in India, they can’t avail surrogacy,” Dr Sharma said.” (@timesofindia)

VETERAN:

Laura Rae Bush served the US military for 24 years, but because she was born a biological male her local VFW chapter won’t let her attend meetings unless she’s wearing slacks. “For what it’s worth, the VFW doesn’t have an official dress code, but the post’s Commander Joseph Brady says he can make the demand since he’s in charge, which means forcing Bush to dress in pants, not skirts, to attend post events. Though “no one had questions for Bush during the meeting when he made the announcement, nor raised concerns, some members approached the post commander later. They found the news and the way in which Bush chose to present it jarring.” (@queerty)

White House Compromises on DADT: ‘Cause Everyone Loves Meeting Halfway

DON’T ASK DON’T TELL:

People have some pretty strong feelings about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and I don’t know that “compromise” was really what anyone was looking for. But it looks like that’s what we’re getting – today the White House agreed to support an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell this year, but the repeal will only go into effect after the Department of Defense has completed its 10-month “review” of what a repeal would mean for the armed forces. Depending on how you look at it, this is either everyone getting what they want or no one getting what they want. It’s clear how Lt. Dan Choi feels:

What this decision means is that while Obama is in fact very definitively moving towards a DADT repeal – documents that signify the death of the policy may be signed as early as next week – things will not actually be any different for gay servicemembers for a long time, for as long as it takes for the DoD to ruminate on the issue. In fact, this is more or less the opposite of what Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has argued for – that discharges of queers be suspended while we figure out whether they are, you know, constitutional. It’s a frustrating kind of paradox that while the President has apparently thrown his full backing behind a repeal and agrees that firing soldiers for being gay is stupid, soldiers are still getting fired for being gay. Honestly, Lt. Choi is 100% correct – DADT is not dead, not in a way that has any meaning for the people it affects.

At the same time, though, this is not a surprise. While it would be great for Obama to have signed off on this today, and presented Lt. Choi with a rainbow medal and sent everyone back to the front, this move is pretty much in line with everything the government has indicated about its position. As Defense Secretary Gates and Obama himself have said, the DoD “review” is about how to have a DADT repeal happen, not necessarily whether it should happen or not. So while Obama wants to take this opportunity to prove to everyone how serious he is about making this happen, he’s going to defer to the military to figure out the best way to approach it, and they’re pretty insistent that they need the next 10 months to figure that out. This would perhaps be easier to swallow if they were a little more transparent about what they were analyzing, but maybe that’s too much to hope for. Obama has said that he’s “committed to getting this done both soon and right,” and it appears he’s asking us to sacrifice a little on “soon” for the sake of “right.”

Regardless of whether you feel this is a meaningful step towards a DADT repeal or not, we should be able to agree that it’s a meaningful step for gay activism of all stripes. The decision today was reached after meeting with Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Servicemembers United, and the Human Rights Campaign. A lot of people have worked hard and sacrificed more for this campaign than most of us can imagine – while a “compromise” probably wasn’t the goal they were working towards, this is one of the most identifiable moments of an institution really being made to hear our voices, and while we may not be willing to call this a victory, we shouldn’t call it a defeat either.

For a more in-depth analysis, reactions and responses from gay organizations, and a chance to look at the actual documents and communications involved, check out the posts at Queerty, Joe My God, and Pam’s House Blend.

CONSTANCE MCMILLEN:

School district denies steering lesbian teen to sham prom: “A rural Mississippi school district sued by a lesbian teen who wanted to bring a female date to the prom denies that it steered Contance McMillen to a sham prom while her classmates partied elsewhere.” (@usa today)

YOU LIKE US, YOU KINDA LIKE US:

Gallup reports: Over 50% of Americans support the “moral acceptability” of gay & lesbian relationships! Isn’t that so kind! Apparently this is the first time it’s crossed the “symbolic 50% threshhold.” Also, the lowest percentage ever thing our relations are “morally wrong” (that’d be 43%) (@gallup)

AIDS:

Denial of gay rights adds to risk of Aids:The denial of human rights of all kinds has a very negative effect on the Aids response. Men who have sex with men are at risk of HIV transmission in all regions of the world, including Africa. (@guardian)

HARVEY MILK DAY:

Harvey Milk remembered on Castro Street on day in his honor: About 200 people were on Castro Street last weekend for the dedication of a plaque honoring Harvey Milk. It read: “Harvey Milk/ Forceful advocate for the rights of all/ ‘Burst down those closet doors/ once and for all/ and stand up and start to fight.’” (@sfpublicpress)

Gates Advises Against Immediate DADT Repeal, Dan Choi Isn’t Impressed

DADT:

from SlapUpsidetheHead.com

The flurry of activism of all shapes, sizes and colors surrounding DADT might have gotten your hopes up that legislators and military officials are feeling the pressure, and that maybe the nebulous timeline surrounding its appeal (or even the process of looking into its potential appeal) might speed up a little. Well, Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants you to settle down right now with all that optimism: he says the plan to review and research before making a decision on DADT is unchanged.

“…his letter to members of Congress Friday immediately angered gay rights advocates who fear the administration isn’t moving fast enough to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military… “Our military must be afforded the opportunity to inform us of their concerns, insights and suggestions if we are to carry out this change successfully,” Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote…”

There are a few things going on here. One the one hand, there’s nothing wrong with letting people share their “concerns, insights, and suggestions;” for instance, I have many concerns and suggestions re: Robert Gates that I wish someone would let me share with him. On the other hand, given the recent demonstrations and agitation by gay veterans, it’s really hard to read this as anything other than a direct rebuttal – telling Lt. Dan Choi and others to simmer down because the feelings of straight service members are more important. And ultimately, much as we all love sharing feelings, is it really necessary or even ethical to make this decision on a straw poll of how other people feel about it? When it comes to issues of equal rights for minorities, referendums are just inherently unfair. Maine proved that; Prop 8 proved that. Why is this a thing we’re doing? Someone explain this to me? (@csmonitor)

In the meantime, Nancy Pelosi has suggested a remarkable thing: that until this gets sorted out, we stop discharging GLBT servicemembers. How crazy!

“We all look forward to the report on the review of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy by the Defense Department,” Pelosi said Friday evening in a statement. “In the meantime, the Administration should immediately place a moratorium on dismissals under this policy until the review has been completed and Congress has acted.” (@thehill)

And the obvious question, of course, is where Obama stands. Kind of unsurprisingly, he doesn’t give us a lot to work with one way or another. I feel like the main vibe I’m getting from him is “exasperated.” In an exclusive with the Advocate, the White House has said

“The President’s commitment to repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” is unequivocal. This is not a question of if, but how. That’s why we’ve said that the implementation of any congressional repeal will be delayed until the DOD study of how best to implement that repeal is completed. The President is committed to getting this done both soon and right.”

(@theadvocate)

All this occurs in the context of the huge DADT protest in Washington yesterday, attended by Dan Choi and GetEQUAL protesters, in which six more people were arrested after chaining themselves to the White House fence. (Choi was not among them, having abided by his order to stay away from the property.)

Howard Dean made a surprise appearance!

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More coverage of the protest available at Pam’s House Blend, Queerty, and Joe My God.

Last but not least, our friends at Wingspan Pictures made this Don’t Ask Don’t Tell testimonial video lest we forget what this debate is actually about – the fact that there are people who are putting their lives on the line for all of us, and the country they protect doesn’t even want to know about their families:

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IMMIGRATION:

A draft of an immigration reform bill floating around Congress right now would allow GLBT people to sponsor their same-sex partners for residency. “On page 22 of the 26-page document, which could serve as a blueprint for the legislation, the proposal states, “It will eliminate discrimination in the immigration laws by permitting permanent partners of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain lawful permanent resident status.” (@theadvocate)

BOIES/OLSON:

Our boys done good! David Boies and Ted Olson of Prop 8 trial fame have been included in the TIME Magazine Top 100 list, along with such luminaries as Lady Gaga. (@thebilericoproject)

LESBIAN SCHOOLTEACHER:

It appears that administrators at the Catholic school where Lisa Reimer teaches have always known she was gay, but it was only after parents complained that they fired her for violating the “values” that the school upholds. (@vancouversun)

Is There a “Right Way” to be a Gay Activist? On Dan Choi, Obama’s Alliance & Civil Disobedience

Yesterday Lt. Dan Choi and five other veterans, including his previous co-civil disobeyer Lt. Jim Pietrangelo and blogger and Transgender Chair of DOD Fed Globe’s Board of Directors Autumn Sandeen, chained themselves to the White House fence and were subsequently arrested. Their actions were in connection with the group of protesters from GetEqual who heckled President Obama during his speech at a fundraiser for Senator Barbara Boxer, criticizing him for a lack of action towards repealing “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”

There are so many issues at stake here! Are Obama and his administration allies of the queer community? What’s the best way to pressure them to effect change? And what changes should we be working for – what are our priorities? What if we have different priorities? What if we have different ideas about how to make them realities? What if everyone has a lot of really strong feelings? Luckily, Autostraddle has never been one to shy away from feelings just because they were numerous or complicated. Let the processing begin!

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Dan Choi & Gay Activists Scream So Loud

The White House Called the Police On Them

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To a certain extent, this is an escalation of the debate that began when Choi and Pietrangelo first chained themselves to government property almost exactly a month ago. At that point, it was a radical act of civil disobedience that contrasted wildly with the relatively more sedate HRC rally that was happening simultaneously. Depending on how you looked at it, it was an unapologetic demonstration of the difference between rhetoric and action or a childish upstaging of a legitimate political organization. This week’s incidents have pushed many to pick a side in that debate, to take a position on the “right” way to effect change. Was heckling the President a step too far? Or a step that was inevitable if we’re ever actually going to make serious gains towards equality?

Obama’s reaction to the GetEqual protesters in the crowd – which was necessarily unstudied and unprepared – was to call himself an ally, and ask “why you have to holler, because we already hear you.” The Obama administration has been criticized for evasive and suspiciously vague language surrounding the DADT repeal, but this seems pretty unequivocal. It’s no small thing to have a president who announces himself as an ally; it’s no small thing to be heard. He was frustrated, and understandably so – the protest had an unmistakable Joe Wilson feel, and he’s got to be wondering who’s next in line to shout at him like he’s a subpar minor league hockey player while he’s trying to run the country. Because even if no one actually yelled “You lie!”, isn’t that more or less what was being said? Obama really has committed himself to ending DADT and extended himself to our community more than any other president in American history. At this point, isn’t calling his stance into question tantamount to calling him a liar?

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Are all Obama’s promises out the window once we’re gone?

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At the same time, though, Obama’s not the only one who’s frustrated. And the frustration of watching powerful people who don’t care about you as a person quibble over your rights as a citizen might trump the irritation of demanding constituents. Immediately after the GetEqual protest (and apparently while chained to a fence? I know, we’re impressed too) Choi tweeted: “Why holler?” WHY? Your SILENCE and refusal to repeal DADT… is outrageous moral [dereliction.] Now, we are lesbians on the internet, and we know a thing or two about decoding an enraged tweet. Choi’s incredulity is clear: how could anyone not get why this is a big deal? How could anyone be asking “What’s all the fuss about?”

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Dan Choi: Living His Activist Life as an Army of One

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Choi doesn’t have a background in organizing, in agitating, in negotiation or campaigns for visibility. Choi was trained by the US military to use the tools at hand to get a job done as quickly and efficiently as possible.

I think, when we consider what kinds of political action are “appropriate,” it’s important to consider the actual real people involved. In this case, remember that Choi is not an activist in the traditional sense. Choi doesn’t have a background in organizing, in agitating, in negotiation or campaigns for visibility. Choi was trained by the US military to use the tools at hand to get a job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. And maybe more importantly than that, Choi is a victim of a grossly unfair policy that deprived him of a job he loves and a chance to help a country he’s devoted to. He and the five other veterans who chained themselves to the White House fence are hurt and angry at a government that denies their full humanity when all they wanted to do was serve it to the best of their ability. Of course he’s going to feel like he needs to “holler” at someone. Nothing else he or anyone else has done has worked, and I suspect he’s beginning to feel like he’s at the end of his rope.

Lt. Dan Choi probably isn’t trying to bring all of gay America into a new era of equality and peace by firing off angry tweets while getting arrested in our nation’s capital; he’s trying to get someone to pay attention so he can finally be treated like an actual f*cking military serviceman. It’s true that he was un-discharged a few months ago, but hundreds of others haven’t been, and it’s hard to be satisfied with what feels at best like placation and at worst an attempt to shut him up. Choi wants more than to be handed his job back with an “Oops, sorry bro, our bad”; he wants to be apologized to, he wants the indignities he’s suffered to be addressed. Really, is that an unreasonable thing to ask?

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We Said Silence to Everyone; Dan Choi Said, “I’m Still Talking”

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When I think about DADT as an actual issue, it only affects me in the most theoretical of ways – to me, it means another modicum of dignity and respect granted to me and people like me, it means one small step for gaykind towards somewhere over the rainbow. To Dan Choi and other servicemen and women discharged under DADT, it means their livelihood, it means their community, it means validation of what they do.

Comparisons to the Tea Partiers or to Joe Wilson are understandable, but perhaps ultimately unfair — their attention-grabbing campaigns aren’t based around concrete issues so much as a general resentment of the administration and of Obama personally, as well as a healthy dose of tacit racism. It’s worth asking ourselves what the difference is between just yelling at Obama and yelling about a very specific issue that’s emblematic of systematic discrimination — one that’s deeply personal for the hundreds of queers discharged every year.  Even if I personally would rather Lt. Choi had comported himself differently, I’d feel like kind of a dick lecturing him about it under the circumstances.

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Are We Fifty Years Ago?

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I really, truly don’t want to be one of those people who presents the LGBT movement for equality as “the new civil rights movement,” but I’m going to talk about this for one second because I think the lessons we can learn from the heroes of that movement are virtually infinite.

Most of the people we now understand to be the best and brightest stars of American history were vilified as violent criminals.

It’s much easier for us now to use that word, heroes, and to talk excitedly about the Black Panthers and for Shepard Fairey to make a wall mural of Angela Davis that’s bigger than my house. But at the time, most of the people we now understand to be the best and brightest stars of American history were vilified as violent criminals whose risky agitation was a liability to the movement, and even people within the movement were sometimes in great conflict on the right way to go about things. The followers of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were diametrically opposed on the issue of nonviolent resistance to the Black Panthers, who despised James Baldwin, who disapproved of the Nation of Islam, whose one-time spokesman Malcolm X was talked about in the press as basically no better than a violent felon at large. But you know, even with wildly different ideas about the basic concepts of social change, those people managed to accomplish an incredible amount.

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Everyone We Love, We Need You Now

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I’d argue that without any one of them, we’d see a radically different (and worse) America than we have today. Cohesive movements are a beautiful thing, but they’re not always realistic. I don’t think any of us can prove the “right” way to go about making our future, because there is no one right way. There’s only the way you know, the way that calls to you.

There’s no need to panic that if we’re not all on board with the same plan, the big gay Ship of Change is going to sink. There’s never been a social movement where everyone was with the same program in the history of human society. That’s okay. Maybe it’s even good.

This means we can all relax a little and focus on our own personal acts of saving the world – whether it’s organizing a Day of Silence, spray-painting a rainbow onto your local homophobe’s car, giving money to the HRC, chaining yourself outside your ex’s house until she gives you your plaid shirt back – you know, whatever you feel is necessary to make the world safer for the gays. And we can trust that others are doing their work too, that we’re lurching forward one day at a time, that the future is bright.
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Gay Activists ‘Holler’, Obama Talks Back, Dan Choi Gets the Handcuffs

DADT PROTEST DAY:
President Obama is not impressed with the gay rights protesters who repeatedly interrupted his speech last night at a fundraiser for Senator Barbara Boxer, as seen in this video:

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(You can see a shorter version of the speech over at Mediaite.) Obama said:

“When you’ve got an ally like Barbara Boxer and you’ve got an ally like me who are standing for the same thing, then you don’t know exactly why you have to holler because we already hear you,” Obama said to the protesters. “It would make more sense to holler that at the people who oppose it.”

In addition to that, Dan Choi consequentially  and five other vets chained themselves to the White House fence, one month after Choi and his comrade were arrested for a similar DADT protest. These were a few of the feelings Dan Choi had last night while he was chained to the White House fence (and the GetEQUAL protesters stormed Obama’s speech in Los Angeles) (no word yet on how he was able to tweet while handcuffed to a fence– kids these days!):

But not everyone is impressed with the protesters. We follow HuffPo contributor Ryan Davis on Twitter, and his feelings about the incident are quite the opposite of Dan’s:

Is it our duty to put pressure on the president until he follows through on his promise and repeals Don’t Ask Don’t Tell? Or are we failing to understand difference between being heard and passing legislation?

We gays/lesbians/bis/queermos have always had this idea that the way we present ourselves is an important factor in gaining equality — the more people who know us personally and are familiar with us, the more ground we gain. The more we’re able to convince people that our families are like theirs, the easier it will be to get legal validation.

Where do the actions of these protesters fit? How are they impacting our public image? Are they showing America that we won’t put up with being sidelined, or are they setting us backward by playing into negative stereotypes?

MORE DADT:
The Air Force reversed a decision it made to not expel Lt. Robin R. Chaurasiya under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, even though she admitted to being a lesbian. The ruling originally said Chaurasiya shouldn’t be discharged because she was trying to use the policy to get out of the armed forces. But after she spoke out against DADT and told her story, the Air Force wants to discharge her. (@latimes)

ARKANSAS:
An Arkansas judge has overturned the state’s ban on adoption by gay or unmarried people. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said in a two-page ruling that people in “non-marital relationships” are forced to choose between becoming an adoptive parent and sustaining that relationship. (@ap)

WEIR:
Johnny Weir said cute things at an Equality California event. His remarks could be construed to be about just the gay community, but he might also be talking about liberals.

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DEATH INVESTIGATION:
Two men are being held in the death of Srinivas Ramchandra Siras, an Indian professor who was originally thought to have killed himself after he was caught on tape having sex with another man. Siras, who hailed from Maharashtra and taught Marathi, was placed under suspension by AMU Vice Chancellor P K Abdul Aziz on charges of homosexuality at his house inside the campus after a sting operation by a television channel which exposed him having sexual relations with a rickshaw puller. (@ndtv)

DIVORCE:
Gays might have a hard time finding a place to get divorced, says the Associated Press. Gay and lesbian couples who turn to the courts when they break up are getting mixed results across the nation. A Pennsylvania judge last month refused to divorce two women who married in Massachusetts, while New York grants such divorces even though the state doesn’t allow same-sex marriage. A Texas judge recently allowed a gay couple to get divorced, but the Texas attorney general is appealing that ruling. The new hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. (@ap)

Potential Justice Elena Kagan Supports Gay Rights, Has Short Hair. Ruh Roh

ELENA KAGAN:
On Friday we told you about some of the possible candidates for retiring Supreme Court Justice Stevens’ spot, one of whom is present Solicitor General (Obama appointee) Elena Kagan. There are now a few posts up speculating about Kagan’s sexual orientation – we are not sure whether to be excited that a potential lesbian feminist might be nominated for a Supreme Court position, or annoyed that 3.5 seconds after a woman might maybe attain political power someone starts getting into her personal life and/or declares her a huge dyke.

Oh also, Elena Kagan is Jewish, which seems to really upset some people/Nazis. That’s not all; she was raised in New York City. Sarah Palin will have a field day with this one ’cause like there’s actually not even a Main Street in New York City. But there is a Gay Street. Just saying.

Anyhow, here’s the thing: if Elena Kagan really does get nominated, chances are there is going to be a serious stakeout to uncover Kagan’s sexuality and because she is Jewish, as aforementioned, Kagan can’t hide from the political-paps in the Scientology Castle. But chances are the whole debacle will remind us why so many politicians stay closeted.

Anyhow. Elena Kagan was confirmed as the first Solicitor General of the US in March of 2009 and formerly was a superstar dean of Harvard Law School and Charles Hamilton Houston Professor of Law at Harvard University. She also served as Associate White House Counsel with Bill Clinton. It was actually speculated that Kagan might take the spot that went to Sonya Sotomayor last year, but she wasn’t, so now is her time to bring that pro gay-marriage and anti-DADT spirit right on up there yeah?

POPE:
In the latest installment of the Pope Benedict Being Pretty Okay With Child Abuse saga, Gawker finds that the Pope slash the Church apparently does have the power to dismiss clerics almost immediately, and just never felt like it was that important in the case of confessed pedophiles. In 2006, Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia was excommunicated in an incredible 48 hours after ordaining four priests who were already married. In contrast, Revered Steven Kiesle of California plead no contest to tying up and molesting two young boys in 1978, but he wasn’t removed from his office until 1987, even though he himself asked to be in 1981. Really classy, Ratzinger. (@gawker)

In related news, famous British atheist Richard Dawkins has announced that he hopes to have the Pope arrested on human rights charges the next time he visits England, employing the same tactics used to arrest the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998. (@joemygod)

LGBT INDIAN S.R. SIRAS MYSTERIOUS DEATH:
The tragic death of Aligarh Muslim University professor S. R. Siras isn’t being ignored by his students, colleagues or other LGBT Indians. “A statement by a coalition of NGOs working for gay rights and others said: “We, as concerned citizens — and for many of us, as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Indians ourselves — express our shock, outrage and deep sadness at the loss of a teacher, a loyal member of the AMU community, a gay man, and a kind, gentle soul”. They have demanded an impartial investigation into his mysterious death – Siras was found dead alone in his home with blood coming from his mouth, and at the time it was ruled a suicide. (@hindustantimes)

GAY EMPLOYERS:
Add this to the nearly infinite list of Problems Facing Gay Small Business Owners: should you be out to your employees? If so, when? “It might just be easier for people to mention that they’re gay instead of waiting for someone to quit if that’s going to be a real problem for them.” (@thebilericoproject)

DAN CHOI:
Our boy Dan Choi (that rhymed!) gave a really inspiring talk at Texas A&M, and also looked really good. He spoke, of course, about DADT and compared his experience as a closeted gay man in the military to the oppressed and unsafe existence of Shia Muslims in Iraq: “See, they were discriminated against throughout their entire existence. They were called heretics. They were called less than, and worse than infidels. They were going to go to hell because of who they are and what they believe about themselves. It was so rampant, that discrimination, that some of the Shia leaders, these Ayatollahs and these tribal leaders, informed and trained their people. They say, ‘I know you’re Shia and we’re proud of who we are but if its ever a condition where you are threatened with your life or you might lose your job, or for the sake of political expediency, when it is comfortable for you, you can lie about who you are… So while we were here preaching about democracy, transparency, equal rights for all groups in Iraq, whether you’re Shia or Sunni, I couldn’t help but feel like such a hypocrite because I was hiding something deep down inside myself. I could talk about democracy and transparency and being proud of who you are, but I was hiding.” He took some questions at the end! Here’s a video! (@pamshouseblend)

CYNDI LAUPER:
Just after the launch of her Give A Damn campaign (you may remember it as the time Anna Paquin came out), Cyndi Lauper is also opening a center for LGBT youth in Harlem. (@huffpo)

BENEFITS:
“Protestors chanting slogans and carrying signs marched in Hollywood to demand equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples” (@mercurynews)

MCCAIN:
In an interview with the Arizona Star on DADT, McCain gives a confusing soundbyte about “not talking” to gays and lesbians. It’s being quoted as his opinion that GLBTs don’t need to be consulted about DADT, but the way he phrases it I feel like it could also just mean he, um, doesn’t want to talk to us. Thoughts? “…I visit with the troops all the time. I go to Iraq, I go to Afghanistan, I run into them everywhere. And of course, I don’t seek out someone who is gay. Why would I? These are all men and women who are serving. Why should I, that would be nuts. I go up to men and women and say thanks for serving. I say thank you for serving, you are great Americans, God bless you.” (@theadvocate)

Judge Rules: Miss. School Violated Lesbian’s Rights, But Won’t Force Prom

Constance with her family and girlfriend

THE ART OF LOSING YOUR PROM IS NOT HARD TO MASTER:
The Judge made his ruling in the case of Constance McMillen and both sides are satisfied with the verdict.

A Mississippi school district violated a lesbian student’s rights by banning her from bringing her girlfriend to the prom, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, but he stopped short of forcing the district to hold the event.

U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson denied an American Civil Liberties Union request for a preliminary injunction that would have forced the Itawamba County school district to sponsor the April 2 prom and allow Constance McMillen to escort her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

Davidson did say he will hold a trial on the issue later, but he did not set a date and any ruling would likely come too late to force the district to hold the prom when it was originally scheduled.

Davidson’s order says the district violated McMillen’s constitutional rights by denying her request to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo, and ACLU Mississippi legal director Kristy Bennett called that a victory.

She said Davidson’s order allows McMillen to amend her petition within 30 days, meaning she could sue for damages because she couldn’t get the prom reinstated.

The article also mentions that Constance has kept her 16-year-old girlfriend out of the spotlight at the girl’s parents request. We hope she gets to go to the private prom so that she can be in our prom gallery and be as cute as these kids:

DAN CHOI:
Dan Choi did an interview with Newsweek following his arrest and short stint in jail for handcuffing himself to the White House fence. I continue to be impressed by him every time he talks. He also calls out the HRC and Joe Solmonese:

Why now? Because you get tired of talking. [Over the past two years] I’ve done 50 live interviews, a hundred other interviews, how much more talk am I expected to produce? When I heard Kathy Griffin was going to be a spokeswoman for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, I wondered about that. I have great respect for her as an advocate. But if [the Human Rights Campaign] thinks that having a rally at Freedom Plaza with a comedienne is the right approach, I have to wonder. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is not a joking matter to me. To be at Freedom Plaza and not at the White House or Congress? Who are they trying to influence? I felt like they were just trying to speak to themselves. If that’s the best the lobbying groups and HRC can do, then I don’t know how these powerful groups are supposed to represent our community. Kathy Griffin and [HRC president] Joe Solmonese said they would march with me to the White House but didn’t. I feel so betrayed by them. (@newsweek)

PROP 8:
Judge Vaughn Walker, of Prop 8 trial fame, has ruled that Prop 8 opponents must release their internal memos and emails to the lawyers fighting to uphold the ban on gay marriage. The ruling could prolong the trial even more. Judge Walker postponed closing arguments because he wanted to go through the evidence. The defense lawyers now have until April 12 to submit new evidence for consideration, so it will probably be a few more months before we get this trial resolved. (@ap)

MARRIAGE:
Let California Ring, a group led by the Equality California Institute, took a comprehensive look at research on same-sex marriage campaigns and just released a report on their findings. Download the report, it’s worth a read. It mostly talks about what strategies are most effective in winning people over for marriage equality. It says some stuff we already knew (such as, personal conversation about your life and being gay is the most effective way to change minds or being out isn’t quite enough), and some stuff we didn’t know (it recommends talking about “fairness” instead of “equality” because more people are down with that).

If you want, you can also give EQCAI some feedback with this form, or you can join them at one of the roundtables they’re having (one is online on Thursday).

MALAWI:
A judge has ruled that there will be a trial in the case of two men arrested for “gross indecency” after they got engaged in Malawi. They have now spent almost three months in custody in what is being seen as a test case for gay rights in Malawi. The judge said a full trial would proceed in April. Homosexual acts carry a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. (@bbcnews)

ADOPTION:
The city commission of West Palm Beach has voted to overturn Florida’s ban on gay adoption. (@palmbeachpost)

Dan Choi Arrested at White House after HRC Rally, Upstages Kathy Griffin

Today a rally was held in Washington DC by the Human Rights Campaign to urge the White House to take immediate action against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Kathy Griffin was speaking at the event because she is famous and thinks gay people are funny. She gave a speech, made some apparently kinda off-color jokes, and then Dan Choi took the stand, told everyone they were marching to the White House, and thus they went! It was like the Pied Piper!

So while everyone inside the Capitol building was probs arguing about how best to ensure I never get my teeth cleaned for free, outside the White House Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo chained themselves to the fence and got the whole crowd totally riled up!

According to a source exclusive to Lez Get Real, Dan Choi planned this:

An unnamed source has given LGR a heads up that Lt. Dan Choi apparently plans to chain himself to the White House fence in an attempt to pressure President Barack Obama into issuing an executive order ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Apparently, Lt. Choi plans on doing this again and again until DADT is repealed by President Obama.

Towleroad reports:

According to Tweets from Robin McGehee at GetEqual (see stream below) reporting from the Kathy Griffin – Human Rights Campaign “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rally, McGehee, who is traveling with Lt. Dan Choi, asked Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese if Choi could speak at the rally and he rebuffed her, telling her it was Kathy Griffin’s rally.

Robin McGehee was also arrested. When Dan and Jim were put into the police van, the crowd apparently cheered a lot! They must be in jail now. Don’t drop the soa– oh wait nm

You can get the entire story at Queerty. Americablog and Towleroad also have solid coverage of the event.

As you know if you’ve been at Autostraddle for a while, we’ve been following Dan since pretty much Day One, because he was on our girlfriend’s teevee show (Rachel Maddow), and it’s pretty interesting to see how he has evolved as a human being and an activist. And he’s only 28, y’all!

When we met him in May, he was charming and friendly; shaking hands with anti-gay protesters and telling them Jesus loved them, making out with his boyfriend & laughing. At the National Equality March in October, he was decidedly angrier– and rightfully so! The naive optimism that perhaps we all felt had clearly left the building, and the New Dan Choi was ready to kick ass and take names. That’s what it feels like, after all, to have to fight so hard for something that seems just so obviously the way things should already be.

That day he took the stage with duct tape over his mouth and the next time he saw us was at a Task Force dinner in Miami, when he asked Brooke (our COO) if he “seemed angrier now.” Because he felt angrier.

And rightfully so.

Dan did get his job back in February and was reportedly back on active duty. But he could not ignore his people!

Could this get Choi kicked out of the military? According to our friend in the military (we have been instructed to take this dude’s word with a big chunk o’salt idk), “depends on the severity of the crime. could be punished by a rank reduction or brig time or pay w/holding. could be discharged. if you’re in the military, you technically can’t be part of a group protest, especially against the government.” The answer could be on this webpage, which is complicated.

What’s particularly incredible about this is that the call for more extreme action and civil disobedience has been almost directly contradicted by the actions of the HRC, who prefer more conservative and polite methods of political resistance. Obviously they didn’t know what Dan had in store… but did any of us?

Whenever radical action is criticized, I think back to the piece Vicki wrote for Autostraddle about her experience as a Lesbian Avenger in the 90’s:

As I’ve gotten older and had kids, I’m a bit more conservative than I was then, but I still appreciate the efforts of radical groups — we need both ends of the spectrum and the efforts of radical groups pave the way for more conservative groups.

Ultimately, we need more than the HRC as our community’s voice, and we need the radical groups out there to agitate people and hold the more conservative elements accountable. We’ve gotten tentative and the radical edge will challenge our nice & reasonable behavior and our politics to propel us forward.

What do you think? Is civil disobedience the way to go? (ETA: A commenter pointed out – Please don’t let the debate be what kind of action we need, we need them all..let the debate be which of these actions am “I” going to take? — and we agree completely with that on all counts.

Queer the Census: Be Counted or Pay the Price, Homos.

QUEER THE CENSUS:
It’s Queering the Census time! Get your free queering the census sticker and find out more! Although same-sex couples and their families will be part of the 2010 Census data collection this year, GLBT members who live alone cannot declare their sexual orientation. This sucks because maybe if people found out how many lesbians actually exist, more companies would put their advertising dollars into lesbian media JUST SAYING.

From the San Diego Gay & Lesbian News:

Be counted: Census 2010 to tally LGBT couples: The U.S. Census Bureau wants an accurate count of everyone in the country – but there’s no question in the survey that asks if you are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender,” the NGLTF said in a statement.

“You read that right: LGBT people are basically invisible in the survey that is supposed to reflect the diversity of America’s population – and that’s a big problem. The data collected impacts issues critical to every American – like our health care, our economic stability, and even our safety. And when LGBT people aren’t counted, then we also don’t count when it comes to services, resources … you name it.”

DADT:
THE TIME HAS COME, says David Patraeus. They are finally desperate enough to let gays & lesbians stick around.

PATRAEUS: I believe the time has come to consider a change to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. But I think it should be done in a thoughtful and deliberative matter that should include the conduct of the review that Secretary Gates has directed that would consider the views in the force on the change of policy. It would include an assessment of the likely effects on recruiting, retention, morale and cohesion and would include an identification of what policies might be needed in the event of a change and recommend those polices as well.

BEASTIALITY:
Rachel Maddow vs. The Man Who Thinks Gay Marriage is Sorta Like Bestiality. Why is it that no one ever introduces the most logical argument ever when this debate happens?

Tinkerbell, our imaginary pet chihuahua, made this acute point in an Autostraddle Roundtable in 2009:

Hello Homosexuals, it is Tinkerbell. As a dog I do not have many rights, for example I cannot join the army, vote, or smoke the ganja. I also have special privileges like I do not have to work, also my love for Littlefoot my boyfriend and for Kelly Clarkson. What I do not enjoy is people saying a woman marrying a woman will lead to a woman marrying a dog. I do not want to marry a woman. I am very little, and she would crush my bones. Humans have human laws and dogs have dog laws, human laws should be equal for all humans and they can be equal for all humans without involving dogs. What is wrong with you people. Love Tinkerbell.

GAY SENIORS:
People are coming out younger and younger these days, as evidenced by the number of recent photos in our queer prom gallery. But there are also more people coming out as queer or trans in their old age, now that society is more accepting of different sexualities and genders. The AP looked into the oft-ignored issue, and it’s really sad, but also amazing.

Chrissie Farthing, 76, is a trans woman who came out after her wife of 43 years died. (credit: Associated Press)

“For the first time in my life, I’m not putting on a show,” said Farthing, who eventually had sexual reassignment surgery and changed her first name to Chrissie. “It seems like I’ve been out on a cloud all my life and now I’m not. I’m me.”

Outing yourself late in life can be complicated after having lived through times when being openly gay could get you arrested, put in an institution and given shock treatments. It’s snarled in a lifetime of trudging along through society’s view of normalcy and the resulting fear of being ostracized by children and grandchildren. And it’s marked by a nagging doubt that all the heartache, all the potential for it to go wrong, may not be worth it with one’s years numbered.

“When somebody comes out at the age of 20, they have their whole life ahead of them,” said Karen Taylor, the director of training and advocacy for SAGE, a national group that works with LGBT seniors. “There’s a real sense of regret and loss for somebody who comes out later in life, even when talking to them and they say the decision was the right one.”

If that article doesn’t convince you of the importance of coming out, or that being gay isn’t a choice, I don’t know what will. (@ap)

DAN CHOI:
When we met Dan Choi in May, he had a super-cute boyfriend. But it appears they have broken up, and he is back on the market and has a cute butt. I dunno, read Queerty! (@queerty)

PROP 8:
We’re still awaiting the verdict on the federal Prop 8 trial, but in the meantime, you can read this great piece from Matt Coles of the ACLU, which talks about the what could happen after Judge Walker makes his decision and what those possible outcomes will mean. Seriously, this guy goes into all the possible circumstances like he’s making a March Madness bracket or something.

No matter what happens, it looks like change (or not) will take a while: The odds are that once the case does end in District Court, it will head to the U.S. Court of Appeals. There are 13 “Circuits” in the Court of Appeals, and the one covering the westernmost states is called the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth is the slowest of the Circuits, and cases usually take two years and sometimes longer to get through it. If Judge Walker strikes down Prop 8, and it does go to the Court of Appeals, it is very likely that his decision will be stayed—meaning it won’t take effect—while the case is on appeal.

In Coles’ second article on the topic, he goes into depth about what might happen if the case gets to the Supreme Court. Keep in mind that would probably take years, and there’s a good chance the Court wouldn’t hear the case. Coles thinks that if Prop 8 stands in the Ninth Circuit, the Supreme Court wouldn’t hear it. If our side has even a small victory, the Court would probably hear it, he says. Really, you should just read both of these in their entirety. (@huffpo)

And if you want to refresh your memory on the original trial, we had some really great articles about the legal issues behind the case, as well as daily recaps of the proceedings.

COLORADO:
The lesbian parents of the two kids booted from a Catholic school in Colorado have spoken out: “There are divorced parents, children of parents born out of wedlock, non-Catholics and non-practicing Catholics. Their eligibility has not been questioned. There seems to be a subjective rating system of which sins are more unacceptable. …Perhaps our biggest objection to the school’s decision is that we think that it is wrong to punish a child for who the child’s parents are,” the couple stated. “We do not think this reflects what Jesus would have done.”

CALIFORNIA:
A lesbian couple was granted a marriage license in California because one partner, Danielle Severson, a trans woman, is still legally classified as a man. The California attorney general told the county issuing the license to go by the birth certificates of the two applicants. So I guess that’s a roundabout victory for the queers? Won’t it be nice when things like gender don’t matter? (@khsltv)

NEPAL:
You can get gay married on Mt. Everest now! I guess they want part of the gay tourism market. It sounds cute, but you’re still only fake married in most of America, so. (@nytimes)

CONSTANCE:
Look, a cute video in which Constance tells you to stand up for who you are and what you believe in:

DADT: Dan Choi Back on Active Duty, Lissa Young Talks to AS, Black Women Disproportionately Affected

DAN CHOI: Queerty reports that our BFF Dan Choi has been called back to service:

Los Angeles-based photographer Jeff Sheng, who shot Choi for a photo series (and took this picture), spoke with the lieutenant to find out what the deal is. He relays: “Apparently, Lt. Choi’s commander has always been in full support of him, and even after Lt. Choi came out on The Rachel Maddow Show, his commander did not press for his discharge. The military did eventually serve Lt. Choi a discharge notification – essentially firing him from his job, but he was allowed to fight this at trial, and as it currently stands, the discharge has not been finalized. Given the current state of how DADT is in such flux, and also, in my opinion, the prominence and celebrity of Lt. Choi, his discharge might never be fully enforced.”

Well! This is, without question, a significant development in the DADT battle. Choi is arguably the most public face of the policy, and his name is well known to Pentagon officials and White House advisers; even President Obama would recognize his face. And that there’s been no top-down effort to keep him from serving — no “let’s wait and see” approach from publicity-minded military leaders above Choi’s commander — is indeed a nod toward Obama’s push to repeal the law.

Wow! Don’t you almost feel like you just got your job back? We’ve been following Dan since Day One — btw, did you know he’s only 28? So he’s very close in age to most of us — his personal, social and political evolution since that fated moment when he came out on The Rachel Maddow Show. Although we’ll miss his impassioned speeches and charming personality, it’s f*cking awesome that he’s going back to work! Yay Dan! Go linguist it up!

A brief moment to remember the beginning of Dan Choi’s fight for equality (Dan’s interview and his expectations for DADT start about halfway through)

After last week’s hearing, we caught up with Lissa Young, the DADT discharge Natalie interviewed for Autostraddle back in September, to see what she thought about last week’s announcement. As you may recall we felt the discussion on DADT was dominated by male voices. Lissa, another member of Knights Out, who was discharged from the military after 16 years of active duty.

Lissa Young says:

I watched the entire senate armed services committee hearing, and was stunned to hear Admiral Mullen make a statement that queer activists and loyalists have been saying for 50 years. This policy raises issues of integrity by forcing gay soldiers to lie about who they are! That moment was both exhilarating and infuriating. Exhilarating, because it marks the beginning of the end of an era, and it is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Mullen) who has to take the lead in making any change – and now he’s finally done so. Infuriating, because somehow queer equality is validated and more palatable when it comes out of an “official’s” mouth.

As far as Gates maintaining that this had to be “studied” for a longer period of time – that is a stall tactic if I’ve ever seen one. The issue doesn’t need to be studied. The forces simply need to do exactly what they did for African Americans, and just eliminate discriminatory policies. The issues raised are utterly irrelevant, and spring from the deep seeded fears of straight men — that they will become the objectified prey of gay men. I see Gates honoring that fear by saying “We must take a year and study these issues thoroughly”. If you’re a human being, then you already know everything you need to know about how to integrate straight and gay people. Again, these were the same stall tactics used by the forces when we were trying to integrate African Americans. Men were all up in arms about having to shower and sleep near black men. So, I say “drive on” and everything will work itself out.

The issue is really and truly about command climate. If the leadership leads, and ensures their units have healthy climates, then there won’t be any issues with either straight or gay men being afraid. As a matter of fact, a healthy, well run organization creates cohesion and camaraderie, not fear and distrust.

One thing that hasn’t been discussed enough about the recent report on DADT discharges: “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been used to kick Black women out of the military at a much higher rate than other groups. In fact, Black women are discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” at three times the rate that they serve in the military. Although Black women make up less than one percent of servicemembers, they comprise 3.3% of those discharged under the policy.” [On a more optimistic note, blisted celebrates last week’s announcement that Colin Powell is coming out against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, in opposition to his previously stated position on the matter.]

The Colorlines article also links to a 2004 Task Force report you may already be familiar with which pointed out, in line with the gaping gulfs of inequality that have yet to be rectified or fully addressed in this country, that anti-gay marriage amendments will negatively affect black same-sex couples [more than white same-sex couples] because they are more likely to work in the public sector, relying on domestic partner health insurance, and serve in the military, where they could lose income and benefits for serving openly. Furthermore, Black same-sex couples have more to gain from legal recognition of their relationships and more to lose when states pass amendments banning marriage and other forms of partner recognition.

Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic, in response to Rich Lowry’s debate with Anna Marie Cox:

“Rich says that it’s no big deal to live hiding one’s sexual orientation. If you’re straight, try it for one day. Try never mentioning your spouse, your family, your home, your girlfriend or boyfriend to anyone you know or work with – just for one day. Take that photo off your desk at work, change the pronoun you use for your spouse to the opposite gender, guard everything you might say or do so that no one could know you’re straight, shut the door in your office if you have a personal conversation if it might come up.” (you should read the whole thing)

The Wall Street Journal has a middle-of-the-road analysis of repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I, for one, am encouraged by his conclusion: DADT is a non-issue. He cites anecdotal evidence from countries (like Israel!) that have already allowed gays in their armed forces. I wonder, once again, why the US military can’t just use data from other countries for their study, but I guess they know more about the logistics than me.

HATERS WANNA HATE: Gay rights groups say the bill singles out gay students for harassment Your parents are getting married so now we’re going to have to make sure no one else grows up gay and gets married:“Two Iowa legislators are getting heat from the gay community. The lawmakers want to remove protection to lesbians, gay and transgender students from the Safe Schools Law, in and effort to reverse the Iowa’s Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage.” (@wheotv)

WALKER: We told you about Judge Walker, of Prop 8 trial fame, being gay. Turns out there’s even more to his story, including the fact that he was almost not confirmed as a judge because he was seen as anti-gay, which is debatable. The San Francisco Chronicle makes a good point: “Today, at age 65, Judge Walker is presiding over the challenge to Proposition 8, which may well determine how quickly gays and lesbians achieve full marriage equality in this country. We now know what Walker never bothered to reveal when he was being castigated as anti-gay: He is gay, which changes neither his legal history nor his fitness for this assignment.” (@sfchronicle)

IOWA: Iowans continue to be awesome! A new poll shows that a majority of the state doesn’t think the legislature needs to discuss gay marriage this year. They’re just fine, thanks! (@iowaregister)

GRAVY TRAIN: The largest gay rights group in New Jersey has asked members to stop donating to the major political parties in reaction to their disappointment with the gay marriage vote earlier this year.

Garden State Equality Chairman Steven Goldstein said the decision to stop donations was made to tell political parties they can’t take for granted the support of the state’s gays and their allies.

“No political party has a record good enough on LGBT civil rights that it can rightfully claim to be entitled to our money on a party-wide basis,” said Goldstein. “No longer will we let any political party take our money and volunteers with one hand, and slap us in the face with the other when we seek full equality.” (@njstar-ledger)

RHODE ISLAND: Three of the candidates for Rhode Island governor have pledged to sign a gay marriage bill if it were to cross their desks after a gay rights group posed the question to the field. The Republican candidates have not responded, surprisingly enough. (@bostonherald)

SWEET VIRGINIA: The Virginia Senate voted through a bill barring discrimination based on sexual orientation in government positions. It probably won’t have as much luck in the conservative House. (@washingtonexaminer)

Top 20 Autostraddle Icons of 2009: The Future is Bright For Our ’09 Favorites

Surely someone has proven, scientifically or statistically, that eccentricity thrives in times of economic strife. Because without a doubt; 2009 was The Year of the Weirdo.

The disillusioned proletariat is no longer interested in watered-down standard-issue art! We’ve been left desolate and recessed following eight years of mainstream cracker-jack “traditional” family values, eight years of Capitalist Religion, eight years of folksy dogma disguising the smart-alecky aristocracy joyriding our collective wealth into hell’s barren handbasket!  So what did we do? We turned to the weirdos.

We elected the geekiest president of all time; a scrawny egghead with big ears and questionable athleticism who’s own wife admits she assumed he was going to be a “a little weird, a little nerdy” when they first met.

In 2009 we were nothing if not ready for a pop star who loudly credited the gays with “lifting her up” and forewent boring ol’ nip-slips & for ten-inch crystal-encrusted heels, golden underpants and a model of the solar system orbiting her magenta Goldilocks-Bob wig.

The it-ensemble of this year’s breakout show bears no resemblance to the Kelly Taylors and Brendan Walshes who, back in the 90s, occupied the same Fox time slot that Glee occupies now with the high school drama Beverly Hills 90210. Glee‘s motley crew of oh-so-adorable dorks are frequently subjected to Slushee Facials (not nose jobs) and they often sing rock-pop ballads in their heads, or while washing cars, or alone to the mirror, and with each other, in matching pajamas.

We also lost the greatest weirdo of all time, Michael Jackson, this year, and the reaction to his death was perhaps the only unanimous moment of the year.

There were so many freaks, geeks and losers to fawn over this year — who will, we hope, make 2010 the best year ever. And as you know, we’re all about the queer, outsider perspective on everything, and it may’ve been a bad year for everything else, but it was a great year for Outsiders. So much to choose from!

These aren’t the People of the Year, or the Best of Anything.

They’re just Autostraddle’s most-talked-about most-admired personalities of 2009. They’re our Auto-Icons.

20. Vogue Evolution – Drama Club

America’s Best Dance Crew featured its first all-gay/transgender (Leiomy Maldonado is a trans woman) dance crew, “Vogue Evolution” this year. In their first appearance, Lil’ Mama revealed her secret awareness of the Voguing Ball Competition underground (history sidenote; rent Paris is Burning asap, kids, holler) and all the judges agreed that America is ready. Shane Sparks said, “Y’all just ripped the stage … it’s about time for this style to be exposed. It’s been underground for so long … thank you.”

It’s not often that we’ll say we agree wholeheartedly with Shane Sparks, but these kids did bring a ridiculously significant underground style into the mainstream (quote AC Slater) and event though they didn’t win, they brought some genuine diversity of gender expression, body size, race and sexuality to a show which often congratulates itself for showcasing such diversity (and is #1 in its timeslot on cable amongst 12-34 year olds). We love them. We just really, really love them.

2010: Follow them on twitter and check in at their website for updates. Leiomy will be guest starring on the National Talent Search’s College Tour in Atlanta in mid-January.

19. Jane Lynch – The Queen

We’ve been aware that Jane Lynch can do no wrong for quite some time now — starting in 2000 with her role as a dog trainer romancing Jennifer Coolidge in Best in Show. Really by the time she showed up in Season Two of The L Word and Alex sat behind her on an airplane to Dinah Shore in ’08, we were 95% convinced that The Lynch could do no wrong. And then in 2009, the rest of the world caught on to what we knew already. Lynch guested on Reno 911 and Two and a Half Men, was a series regular on Party Down and is now perhaps best known as Sue Sylvester on Glee.

2010: More episodes ahead of Glee and The Cleveland Show (Jane Lynch does a voiceover). She stars in Paul, a Sci-Fi/Comedy starring Sigourney Weaver, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Blythe Danner and Jeffery Tambor, which is due out in 2010.

18. Shannon Wentworth – Businesswoman of the Year

Shannon’s a big deal right now. Why? The actual service provided by Sweet Lesbian Travel (Incredibly Awesome Vacations) isn’t even really the point. The point is that she’s created a company which manages to encompass so many of our community’s most reveled ideals — Environmentalism, Community Service, Philanthropy, Social Responsibility, Business Success & Mutual Support — without sacrificing style, fun, hot girls or a good-looking website. Sweet’s celesbian-packed maiden voyage provided an unforgettable vacation and unrivaled networking opportunities — an an inspiring experience to be surrounded by so many ambitious queer and queer-friendly ladies (and the occasional dude!).

2010: Sweet kicks off the year with an African safari from February 7-16, 2010. A Cruise to the Hawaiian Islands goes from July 31 to August 7 2010 and Sweet will take over the Cozumel Palace Resort from September 4-11, 2010.

17. Lindsay Lohan – Dyke Drama of the Year

Even if her first public lesbian relationship wasn’t exactly perfect, perhaps this year Lindsay learned that lesbians aren’t always great girlfriends but they are always great girl friends. No one’s public meltdown could’ve landed on softer more welcoming ears & shoulders. The gossip rags tore her to pieces but the gay media stayed largely polite, and maybe that’s ’cause she wasn’t really so unlike your heartbroken best friend, crying on the floor in the handicapped stall while you stroke her hair and tell her it’s okay. If Lindsay Lohan was your BFF all broken up you would tell the teacher she was sick so she could miss class, and you’d let her cut corners or throw things at the wall or embarrass herself at the party.  And when she got better again, you’d pretend like none of that hysterical stuff ever happened. And you’d tell her she still looks pretty, too.

2010: Lindsay Lohan is set to expand her leggings label, 6126, to a full-fledged contemporary apparel line for fall 2010.

Action/Thriller Machete will premiere April 16, 2010. Lindsay’s co-stars include Michelle Rodriguez, Robert DeNiro, Jessica Alba, Steven Segal, Rose McGowan & Cheech Marin.

“Modern-day fairy tale” The Other Side is currently in production. Lindsay’s co-stars include Jason Lee, Giovanni Ribisi, Woody Harrelson, Kieran Culkin, Anjelica Huston, Alanis Morissette & Dave Matthews.

Musical/romance Dare to Love Me is also in production. Lindsay Lohan plays “La Ritana.”

More importantly, Lindsay has announced on Twitter the following plans for 2010:

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

16. Jill Bennett & Cathy DeBuono – Celesbians of the Year

From executive producing and starring in We Have To Stop Now to their live weekly vlog The Gloves Are Off to globetrotting around film festivals with And Then Came Lola, out actresses Jill Bennett and Cathy DeBuono were very busy bees in 2009. In their spare time they also managed to become cover girls for Curve Magazine and spend some quality time with Autostraddle for an exclusively candid interview.

2010: Season 2 of We Have To Stop Now premieres this Spring. We were on set during filming on the Sweet Cruise and can confirm that the second season will be off the chain. Guest stars include Meredith Baxter, Erin Foley, Nicol Paone and Kate McKinnon among MANY others. Pre-order your subscription for season 2 now!

Next: Funny Girls, Sources & Activists!