A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

DADT: Murkowski, update from HRC, and Maddow & the Daily Show take down McCain

Comments made by Sen. Lisa Murkowski to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes last night show it’s still important to keep the pressure on her with regard to repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Meanwhile, Rachel Maddow and The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart take down Sen. John McCain.

URGENT: Call Sens. Begich and Murkowski on DADT now!

A message from Tony Wagner of the Human Rights Campaign, who was in Alaska this past week:

Everyone,

Thank you all for your insight into the LGBT community in Alaska and the political lay of the land. It’s been a pleasure. I wanted to send an update with the latest info regarding DADT repeal and where we stand.

It looks like the leaked information about the positive outcome from the Pentagon’s implementation study is having a good effect on wavering legislators and the possibility of repealing DADT this year is gaining momentum. That said, we still have a long ways to go. Congress will return for their lame duck session starting on Monday and we want to send members, including Sen. Murkowski, a strong message that the National Defense Authorization Act should be debated and passed during the lame duck, with the repeal language intact. So we’re asking folks to call Sen. Murkowski and Sen. Begich on Monday or Tuesday THIS WEEK and deliver this message:

“Hi, my name’s [NAME] and I live in [TOWN]. I support all our servicemembers and they deserve to have the National Defense Authorization Act passed this year with funding for our troops, pay increases and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell included. I urge Sen. Murkowski/Sen. Begich to vote for cloture and final passage of this bill.” 

With so much at stake and so little time to get the job done, this is really an all hands on deck moment. If possible, please send this message to your lists, post to your facebook pages, blogs, etc. The alert pasted below is draft text of a national alert (separated by state) HRC will be launching on Monday. With all of us pitching in and working together, we can have the impact needed to move the ball forward and repeal DADT this year.

Thank you again and I look forward to continuing our work together for advancing equality here in Alaska and around the country.

Best,

Tony Wagner

Western Regional Field Director | Human Rights Campaign
1640 Rhode Island Ave, NW | Washington, DC 20009
202.772.3888 (o) | 202.459.3298 (c)
tony.wagner@hrc.org | www.hrc.org

Here’s the draft of the national alert being issued tomorrow, referred to in Tony’s letter:

The push to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has reached a fever pitch. And this week could make or break it.

Years of work could boil down to what happens this week. The Senate’s “lame duck” session began yesterday – our last, best hope to end the discrimination this year.

When the new Congress shows up in January, the House will be under staunchly anti-LGBT leadership. We have no time to waste.

Today, as we launch full-page newspaper ads across the country, we need tens of thousands of supporters to back up those ads by telling every single senator to end the discrimination NOW!

Call both your senators now – Sen. Lisa Murkowski at (202) 224-6665 and Sen. Mark Begich at (202) 224-3004 – and tell them “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” must end BEFORE you leave and the new Congress takes over.

The last time the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” came up for a vote in the Senate, Sen. John McCain led Republicans in a filibuster of the national defense spending bill that contains the repeal. They blocked it from an up-or-down vote – even though nearly 8 in 10 Americans now favor repealing the law.

Before time runs out, we need Senate Democrats to bring the defense bill to the floor and we need Republicans to stop threatening to derail the entire thing – including critical military equipment and pay raises – just to keep this discriminatory law on the books.

Is it just me, or is it completely absurd that Senate Republicans would hold troops’ funding hostage, just so they can ensure that lesbian and gay soldiers have to keep lying or be fired?

The ads we’re launching today call out this hypocrisy for what it is: bigotry masked as patriotism.

It’s critical that every single senator hears from us today. Even if your senators are already with us on this issue they need to know that their constituents have their backs as they stand up for what’s right.

And no matter where your senators stand, speaking out today sends a bold message: It’s going to take a lot more than a few anti-gay leaders in Congress to make us give up this fight. As long as injustice is written into our laws, we will not rest.

Call Sen. Lisa Murkowski at (202) 224-6665 and Sen. Mark Begich at (202) 224-3004 and tell them to act this week.

Momentum for repeal is high. President Obama has called on the Senate to act during this short session – an important first step of the many needed for him to fulfill the pledge he made in the State of the Union to end this law. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and military chaplains are also speaking out.

Still, repealing this law is no easy task. But if brave men and women are willing to risk their lives while hiding who they are, we must be unafraid to fail – and always, unceasingly, unafraid to fight.

Never giving up,

Joe Solmonese

Sara’s News Roundup 11/14/10

Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.

1) Frank: ‘Zero chance’ for LGBT bills next year
Washington, Washington Blade, November 8, 2010

2) Sources: Pentagon group finds there is minimal risk to lifting gay ban during war
Washington, D.C., Washington Post, November 11, 2010

3) Coming to grips with an intersex adventure
Brisbane, Australia, Brisbane Times, November 3, 2010

4) My Take: Let’s aim for respect in post-election America
CNN, November 9, 2010

5) Fox Files: Transgender Youth
Kirkwood, MO, Fox2now.cm, November 9, 2010

6) Study: Lesbian Moms Don’t Abuse Kids
Advocate, November 10, 2010

7) An Interview with Charles Robbins, CEO of The Trevor Project
JohnShore.com, September 28, 2010

8) About 12 percent of students identify as gay or bisexual
Providence, Rhode Island, Brown Daily Herald, November 12, 2010

9) Catherine Ryan Hyde’s latest novel deals with transgender issues
San Luis Obispo, Tribune, November 8, 2010

10) Hawaii positioned to pass same-sex civil unions
Honolulu, Hawaii, Washington Post, November 6, 2010

11) Kye Allums and transgender athletes can have surgery and play in NCAA
OutSports.com, November 9, 2010

2) Gay bishop says he is not retiring, just resigning post
Los Angeles, McClatchy-Tribune , November 9, 2010

13) ACLU challenging half-pay for discharged gays
Albuquerque, N.M., 365Gay.com, November 12, 2010

14) Straight spouses advocate same-sex marriage
San Francisco, USA Today, September 14, 2009

15) When your partner comes out as Transsexual
Lesbian Life

16) Express Yourself: A Major New Showcase Of Gay Portraiture
Washington, NPR, November 2010

Honoring LGBT veterans, and a Veteran’s Day message from Alaskans Together

Today is Veteran’s Day. Throughout the country, Americans are joining together to express their appreciation for the service and sacrifice of American veterans.

Let us include in the number the innumerable gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender veterans who have served us and our nation, all too often only to be “thanked” by being forcibly discharged under the draconian policies of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the discriminatory policies which preceded it.

Thank you, LGBT veterans, for your service. We do not forget you.

This Veterans Day, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is launching a special video to recognize the contributions of our patriots — past and present, LGBT and straight. Watch it now and visit www.sldn.org to find out how you can honor all our service members by helping us repeal the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law.

And now, a message from Alaskans Together:

With the elections behind us and everyone talking about what’s going to happen next year in Congress, it’s easy to forget that the work of the current Congress is not yet finished. The U.S. House voted earlier this year to repeal the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). But we still need the Senate to take action before the year ends.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski has the opportunity to prove again that she represents ALL Alaskans. In 2009, she voted for the NDAA, which included the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Now, in 2010, she can again vote for that same bill which funds our military and will also repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Tell Sen. Murkowski to take up and pass the NDAA!

In anticipation that the US Senate will revisit this issue during the “lame duck” session of Congress before the end of the year, Alaskans Together For Equality, Inc., the ACLU of Alaska, the Human Rights Campaign and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network are joining forces to mobilize support for the bill, and HRC is sending Regional Field Director Tony Wagner to the state to help coordinate the effort.

Tony arrived on November 9th in Anchorage and will remain in the state until November 16th. While on the ground, he will need the support of all those who believe in equality to apply the needed pressure to convince Sen. Murkowski that passing this legislation this year is the right thing to do. To help us with our efforts, you can email Tony directly at Tony.Wagner@hrc.org or contact Alaskans Together at alaskanstogether@gmail.com.

Tony, board members from Alaskans Together for Equality, Inc. and representatives from the ACLU of Alaska will also be available to meet and speak with equality supporters about our efforts during two meet and greets.

Thursday, November 11th | 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Residence of Pete Pinney | 814 6th Ave. | Fairbanks

Friday, November 12th | 7 – 8 p.m.
Mad Myrna’s | 530 E. 5th Ave. | Anchorage

Please come and welcome Tony to Alaska!

After you call and write your e-mail, please forward this message or tell your friends and family what is at stake and ask them to contact Sen. Lisa Murkowski too.

Sara’s News Roundup 11/7/10

Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.

1) Democratic Senator pledges to block vote on gay marriage in Iowa
Iowa, 365Gay.com, November 4, 2010

2) Nepal’s First Openly Gay Travel Company Launches on Religious Holiday
Nepal, Fast Company, November 2010.

3) Iowa Judges Sacked Over Gay Marriage Ruling
Des Moines, Iowa, Huffington Post, November 3, 2010

4) Transgender George Washington player a fascinating, inspiring story
Washington, D.C., Rivals.com, November 3, 2010

5) Osmond Talks Teen Suicide on Oprah
Advocate, November 3, 2010

6) Trans Fit
Dallas, Texas, Dallas Voice, 28 October 28, 2010

7) Exit poll: Nearly a third of gays voted for GOP
Yahoo News, November 4, 2010

8) Russian Orthodox Church Pans Parade Decision
Russia, Advocate, November 3, 2010

9) Corvino: Gay is not “unnatural”
365gay.com, November 5, 2010

10) November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance
UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns, November 2010

11) When will it get better?
NCR Today, October 28, 2010

12) Ill. Elects Gay-Friendly Gov.
Illinois, Advocate, November 5, 2010

13) African American gay man wins election to N.C. House
Greensboro/High Point, N.C., Gay Politics, November 2, 2010

14) Cicilline victory gives Congress 4th gay member
Washington, Washington Blade, November 3, 2010

15) Election results put LGBT advocates back on defense
Washington, Washington Blade, November 3, 2010

16) Robinson will step down as bishop of N.H. in 2013
Concord, N.H., Boston Globe, November 7, 2010

17) Gates urges Congress to repeal gay ban now
Melbourne, Australia , Associated Press, November 7, 2010

President Obama on DADT

President Obama discussed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in remarks yesterday morning after his post-election press conference. Video with transcript.

The election is finally over. Well, not quite.

The election is finally over. Or… not quite. With 432 out of 438 precincts reporting, the front-runner in the hotly contested U.S. Senate race is “Write-in Votes” with 41.0% of the vote — nearly 7 points ahead of Tea Party-leaning Republican candidate Joe Miller (34.2%). Democratic candidate Scott McAdams, who consistently polled with the best “favorables” — i.e., people liked him better than either Murkowski or Miller — nonetheless drew only 23.74% of the vote counted so far.

VOTE

Tuesday is Election Day! Please remember to vote.

There are a number of high stake races from Supreme Court Justices to the U.S. Senate race which could be determined by a few hundred votes. It’s important that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community come out and vote during this very important election and help support pro-equality candidates.

We need strong supportive voices for equality at all levels of government.

We encourage you to get informed and learn about each and every candidate and ballot measure before heading to the polls.

Election Day – Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Not sure where to vote? Just text “where” to 30644, then enter your complete address and you will get a text with your polling location information. You can also visit the state division of election website.

Sara’s News Roundup 10/31/10

Miller, Moffitt and Phelps – Oh, my!

“We’ve got deep, deep roots in Kansas – multi-generations,” Miller said.

Miller’s parents, Rex and Sharry Miller, live in Manhattan [Kansas], where Rex used to own Christian Books & Gifts.

Moffitt is the chairman of the Family Policy Network, a group that passionately opposes homosexuality.

Moffitt’s Family Policy Network runs a project called “Hope for Homosexuals” that encourages “practicing homosexuals to ‘come out’ of that destructive lifestyle, and to ‘come home’ to the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ… While the homosexuals celebrate their perversions, they are confronted with the truth that there is hope for deliverance in Jesus Christ.” In June, the group hired an airplane to fly a banner near Disney World during a gay outreach day that read “Jesus Christ: WWW.HOPEFORHOMOSEXUALS.COM.” It has flown this banner in other spots where there might be a collection of gays and lesbians…

The group’s guiding principles, according to its website, include opposition to all fornication and homosexuality. It denounces “any efforts to convince society that homosexual behavior or ‘being gay’ is somehow normal or natural.” The organization explains its antipathy to homosexuality “is the result of a healthy fear of God’s judgment that will otherwise be wrought on individuals who reject God’s laws and our our nation for turning a blind eye.” That puts the Family Policy Network in the extreme camp of anti-gay activists—those who believe that God could punish the United States collectively, if Americans tolerate homosexuality. (This is reminiscent of when Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson partly blamed gay rights activists for the 9/11 attack.)