Pentagon: It's Safe to Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell

As he promised to do in his primary

(NEWSER) - There are two things that could prevent Congress from repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: The dwindling congressional calendar, and John McCain. Though historically open to repeal, McCain promised to preserve the law during his primary battle with JD Hayworth, the New York Times explains. Since then, he’s helped block a defense bill that has a provision to repeal the ban, and now he’s negotiating with Carl Levin to strip that provision from the bill. More»

Margaret Witt was discharged under 'don't ask, don't tell'

(AP) - Another setback for "don't ask, don't tell": A federal judge says the Air Force violated the constitutional rights of a highly decorated flight nurse when it discharged her for being gay, and ordered that she be given her job back as soon as possible. US District Judge Ronald Leighton issued his highly anticipated ruling today in the case of former Maj. Margaret Witt. She was discharged under the DADT policy on gays serving in the military and sued to get her job back. More»

(NEWSER) - A persuasive essay arguing against the military's ban on gay soldiers is raising hope among activists that a watershed moment is near. It's not so much because of the essay's familiar arguments—that "Don't Ask Don't Tell" hurts morale and violates civil rights—but because of its publication in a widely read Pentagon journal. "We think it is significant—a breakthrough moment," one opponent of the policy tells NPR. More»

President fires away at GOP contenters at gay rights fundraiser

(NEWSER) - Ah, election season—when politicians remember that they once had guts. President Obama swung hard at GOP presidential hopefuls last night, blasting them for not condemning the crowd that booed a gay soldier at a Republican debate on Sept. 22, reports the Hill . "We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s OK for a stage full of political leaders—one of whom could end up being the president of the United States—being silent when an American soldier is booed," Obama said at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization. More»

Fight over half-pay has outlived Don't Ask, Don't Tell

(NEWSER) - "Don't Ask Don't Tell" wasn't cold in its grave before Obama administration lawyers were in court opposing giving full severance pay to service members honorably discharged under the policy. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the case on behalf of 142 people discharged under the policy since 2005, reports the New York Times . Under a policy introduced in 1991, service members discharged for homosexuality received only half the severance pay of those involuntary discharged for other reasons. More»