Articles in News
Anti-Gay Michele Bachmann endorses Joe Miller *more video*
The Joe Miller campaign has uploaded an endorsement from virulently anti-gay Rep. Bachmann (very far R-MN), his only video endorsement by a member of Congress:
In addition to saying that gays are “a part of Satan,” Bachman also said that being gay is “personal enslavement” and a mental disorder. She spoke out against the federal hate crimes bill protecting gays and lesbians, saying that the bill would protect pedophiles. She thinks it’s “child abuse” to teach that being gay is normal.
Bachmann has ties to a Christian rock band whose lead singer praised conservative Muslim countries for executing gays. Bachmann praised the band, saying, “I thank God that He has given you the strength and the resolve to fight for our timeless values.”
Joe Miller is a lawyer running as Alaska’s GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, against Democrat Scott McAdams and write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Miller believes that “homosexuality is a sin, and therefore immoral,” and called the Hate Crimes Act passed by Congress last year “the Left’s radical social agenda.”
Miller is also endorsed by Sarah Palin.
Check out this brilliant parody of Bachmann:
What will you lose if the anti-gays win?
A new video project from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund asks LGBT Americans, “What will you lose?” if the social conservatives get their way.
Anti-gay extremists are growing louder. But they don’t just want to stop progress, they want to roll it back.If they win, they’ll kick brave troops out of the military, stop partner visitation rights in hospitals and prevent gays and lesbians from adopting kids who need loving homes.They’ll make sure its legal to fire us for being gay or transgender.Some have even said it’s time to criminalize homosexuality itself.If they win, what will you lose?
Record your answer and upload it, and pledge to support pro-LGBT candidates in the November election.
Had enough? Take action!Tell us in a 15-second video what YOU would lose if the extremists win. Upload your video to this site and tell your friends and family to watch it and watch other videos from LGBT Americans and their allies.ORSign the pledge and tell your friends and family what you’d lose if anti-gay extremists win this November. Pledge to support candidates this November who speak openly and honestly about the LGBT community. To counter the lies and hate spread by anti-gay extremists and the campaigns they’re dumping millions of dollars into across the country.Make sure the people who love you know what will happen if we don’t keep fighting.Make sure they know what you’ll lose.
Watch the promo video:
Sara’s News Roundup 9/26/10
Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
Advocate, September 24, 2010
Washington, Advocate, September 22, 2010
Atlanta, National Black Justice Coalition, September 2010
New York City, 365Gay.com, September 23, 2010
New York, Irish Central, September 22, 2010
San Francisco, Bay Area Reporter, September 23, 2010
Los Angeles, Advocate, September 23, 2010
Atlanta, Yahoo News, September 23, 2010
Atlanta, Newsweek, September 23, 2010
San Francisco, New York Times, September 23, 2010
Michigan, City Pulse, September 22, 2010
Poland, News Scotsman, September 26, 2010
Washington, The Age, September 19, 2010
Washington, Advocate October 2010
Court rules Air Force must reinstated lesbian major
While Congress plays politics with DADT, the courts move steadily toward overturning the ban.
On Friday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton ruled that the Air Force violated the constitutional rights of Maj. Margaret Witt, and ordered that the highly decorated flight nurse be reinstated. During the six-day trial, the military failed to prove that firing her helped to achieve its goals, including unit morale. In fact, the evidence showed that morale suffered only because of her suspension and discharge.
This is the second court ruling this month declaring Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell unconstitutional. On Sept 9, another federal judge ruled that DADT is unconstitutional because it violates the 1st and 5th Amendment rights of gay and lesbian soldiers.
Major Witt was on The Rachel Maddow Show discussing her case a few hours after the ruling:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
McAdams on DADT *update*
Scott McAdams, Mayor of Sitka, former school board member and Alaska’s Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, confirmed that he opposes Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and would have voted for the repeal. In addition, he sent this statement:
“At a time when the U.S. has 50,000 troops on the ground and is still fighting a war in Afghanistan, it’s irresponsible to exclude any skilled, combat-ready troops from service. Individuals who are willing to sacrifice their lives for their country don’t deserve to be discriminated against.” – SCOTT McADAMS
It’s a mild statement, but not bad for a democrat running in an independent/red state. Now we have a real choice for senate. Instead of waiting for the magic opinion polls to tell us who has the best chance of beating Joe Miller – and hoping they’re right – we can unite behind a candidate who will actually vote for equality and fairness.
UPDATE: Check out the newer, stronger McAdams statement on DADT, answer #3 on his questionnaire for Daily Kos, where he is a highlighted Orange to Blue candidate. Guess his campaign got the message that DADT is an easy one.
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When Lisa didn’t show up for the big senate vote on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell this week, her campaign manager confirmed that she would have voted against the repeal if she’d been there. The GOP voted as a block to prevent DADT from even being debated, just like they’re blocking the other changes we voted for: no honesty for gays and lesbians in the military, no gay families included in immigration reform, no fairness at work, no marriage, no healthcare, no rights.
We called Lisa, filled her voicemail box with messages for the repeal of DADT, gave her a chance to be Alaska’s moderate candidate. She choose partisan politics – for the party that rejected her – over doing what 75% of Americans know is right and fair.
DADT is likely to come up for another vote in the U.S. Senate, either in December or next year.
Scott McAdams knows what is fair, and will vote to protect our troops from discrimination. Please get to know him and spread the word.
What’s next for DADT?
First, Rachel Maddow rips apart the GOP excuses for Tuesday’s epic fail senate vote against the “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Later, Maddow outlines the three best options for moving forward on DADT:
- another Senate attempt during the “lame duck” session after the mid-term election,
- an executive order from the president ending the policy (or at least stopping the discharges until the Pentagon removes the policy), and/or
- The Department of Justice can choose not to appeal the recent court decision that DADT is unconstitutional.
The “don’t appeal” strategy is gaining more support now that the senate repeal is on hold. A New York Times editorial on DADT notes:
President Obama, the House and a majority of senators clearly support an end to “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but that, of course, is insufficient in the upside-down world of today’s Senate, where 40 members can block anything.[snip]If the military’s unjust policy is not repealed in the lame-duck session, there is another way out. The Obama administration can choose not to appeal Judge Phillips’s ruling that the policy is unconstitutional, and simply stop ejecting soldiers.
U.S. district court judge Virginia Phillips ruled the 17-year-old law unconstitutional on September 9. The plaintiffs, the Log Cabin Republicans, filed for an end to the enforcement of DADT, and the Department of Justice is scheduled to respond with their own proposal on Thursday.
Democrats in the U.S. House, led by the three openly gay members – Barney Frank (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Jared Polis (D-CO) – wrote a letter to Pres. Obama urging him not to appeal the federal court decision:
We consider this matter a top priority to our service members, the American people and the security of the United States. We acknowledge and appreciate your support and hope that together we can end this dishonorable policy once and for all. We hope that you, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Services, will take this opportunity to restore integrity to our military and decline to appeal Judge Phillips’ ruling.
Americablog also points out:
If DOJ pursues an appeal, Obama’s administration will be defending the constitutionality of DADT and DOMA in court — right smack in the middle of his reelection campaign.
And they think the approval ratings are low now! Stay tuned for the DOJ’s response.
Senate fails to end filibuster on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Lisa too busy to vote UPDATE
The cloture vote on DADT was rejected 56-43 today. We needed 60 votes to end Sen. McCain’s filibuster. Senator Murkowski was busy with her write-in campaign and didn’t bother to vote. The two Democratic senators from Arkansas voted against their party. Seeing that cloture would not pass, Sen. Harry Reid had to vote “no” as well, so that he can reintroduce the bill another time.
UPDATE: The Dispatch reports that Lisa would have voted against the DADT repeal:
Mike Brumas, Murkowski’s Senate spokesman, confirmed that Murkowski would have voted “nay” on the cloture motion… if she had been in D.C.
The next chance to consider the National Defense Authorization Act, with both the DREAM Act and the DADT repeal amendments, will likely be in December after the mid-term elections.
“Today’s vote is a failure of leadership on the part of those who have been duly elected to serve this nation and to put the best interests of the country ahead of partisan politics,” said Alexander Nicholson of Servicemembers United. “It is simply inexcusable that this vote failed today.”
In Alaska, we gave Senator Murkowski a chance to show her support for our troops and for fairness, to establish herself as the moderate candidate before the November election. Instead, she showed her loyalty to the GOP and gave in to the social conservatives who voted her out of office a few weeks ago.
She made her choice, now we will make our choice.
Will Lisa vote for the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal?
The word from DC is that Senator Murkowski is considering voting for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the military ban against openly serving gays and lesbians. LGR wrote that Murkowski is listening:
Our DC staffer is on the Hill right now, and according to Senator Murkowski’s staff, the Senator is more than willing to listen to the calls. Her official phone number is (202) 224-6665, though the Senate can be reached via (202) 224-3121. LGBT Alaskans should call her and ask for her to vote for the repeal and to start and end debate over this.
By 9 p.m. on Monday, Lisa’s DC voicemail box was full for the day. If it’s full on Tuesday, call her Anchorage office at 907-271-3735, Fairbanks at 907-456-0233 or toll free in Alaska at 1-877-829-6030. Her email contact form is HERE.
Lisa announced a write-in campaign on Friday against the Palin-endorsed Joe Miller and Democrat Scott McAdams. She has only 6 weeks (and a few more for the recount?) as Alaska’s Republican senator – after that, either she will be our write-in senator or she will be unemployed.
Voting for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would be one way for her to declare her independent status in Congress and get back at the GOP leaders who are lining up to support Miller.
The Senate cloture vote on DADT is scheduled for Tuesday. Alaska has an unexpected opportunity to help repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and stop the filibuster. Let’s make the most of it.
Call Senator Murkowski today at (202) 224-6665 or toll free in Alaska at 1-877-829-6030 and ask her to vote for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Sara’s News Roundup 9/19/10
Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
Australia, Crikey.com, September 15, 2010
Advocate, September 17, 2010
Washington, Advocate, September 9, 2010
Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religions and Ministry
Carson City, Nevada, KOLO TV, September 21, 2010
Seattle, 365Gay.com, September 13, 2010
Toronto, Canada, Advocate, September 15, 2010
Los Angeles, Yahoo News, September 14, 2010
Medical News, September 14, 2010
Jerusalem, 365Gay.com, September 16, 2010
365Gay.com, September 15, 2010
British Columbia, Canada, BC Local News, September 15, 2010
Kentucky, OutSports, September 16, 2010
Geneva, Switzerland, Associated Press, September 15, 2010
Lady GaGa video to Senate: repeal "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell"
Lady Gaga released a video message urging fans to contact their U.S. senators before Tuesday’s cloture vote on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.
Her message for her two senators:
“I’m a constituent of the senator and my name is… Lady GaGa. I am calling to ask the senator to vote with Senators Harry Reid and Carl Levin to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and oppose John McCain’s shameless filibuster. We need to do this for our gay and lesbian soldiers and finally repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and leave messages for Senator Murkowski and Senator Begich to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”!
If the voice mail is full, call Sen. Murkowski at 202-224-6665 and call Sen. Begich at 202-224-3004.
Lady GaGa’s message:
