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NEWS ABOUT: Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal

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Military Schools See 1st Openly Gay Graduates

Students bring same-sex partners to major events

(Newser) - It's graduation time at America's military academies, and for the first time, gay students are celebrating without having to keep their sexual orientations a secret. For many, that means bringing same-sex dates to end-of-year events. In the past, notes a West Point cadet, "I had to do... More »

Gay Kiss Is Milestone, but Military Must Do More

Racism, sexism, homophobia still exist: LA Times

(Newser) - When Marissa Gaeta stepped off the USS Oak Hill after a three-month deployment and gave her girlfriend the "first kiss" , it was just one example of the "exemplary progress" the US military has made in "modernizing its culture," declares the Los Angeles Times in an editorial.... More »

Gay Troops Sue Over DOMA

Lawsuit to be filed today

(Newser) - Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell may be gone, but married gay and lesbian service members aren’t done fighting for equal rights: Six active troops and two veterans are filing suit today to challenge the Defense of Marriage Act. Lead plaintiffs Shannon McLaughlin, a Massachusetts Army National Guard... More »

Obama: Don't Just Sit There When People Boo a Soldier

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... More »

Pentagon Allows Gay Weddings on Military Bases

And will allow military chaplains to perform them

(Newser) - The Defense Department today issued guidance to military chaplains saying that they are free to perform gay marriages on or off military bases in states where it’s legal. The memos are quick to add that these weddings can’t be official Defense Department events, and that “making DoD... More »

Soldier Tells Dad He's Gay on YouTube

'I still love you, son,' replies his father

(Newser) - After the official press conferences and announcements, it's a viral video on YouTube that might be the stealing the show regarding the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. In it, an unidentified gay soldier stationed in Germany films himself telling his father that he's gay, notes... More »

Debate Audience Boos Gay Iraq Vet

Rick Santorum would repeal the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

(Newser) - First they cheered letting the uninsured die —then they booed a gay soldier. The audience at last night's GOP candidates debate didn't keep it classy when an Iraq war vet asked Rick Santorum on a YouTube clip where he stands on this week's repeal of the... More »

Discharged Gay Soldiers Suing for Full Severance

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... More »

Daily Show Applauds Our New Gay Army

Jason Jones reports... in short-shorts

(Newser) - The Daily Show reported on the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell last night with its customary level of sobriety and dignity. Which is to say, Jason Jones was wearing short-shorts and rubbing his belly under a too-small camouflage T-shirt. “The nightmare is real!” Jones declared,... More »

Navy Officer, Partner Wed as 'Don't Ask' Ends

Pair marry in Vermont the minute policy becomes history

(Newser) - Navy Lt. Gary Ross, like every other gay and lesbian service member, was free to disclose his sexuality as of midnight—and he did it in style. The 33-year-old lieutenant and his partner of 11 years traveled from their home in Arizona to Vermont so they could marry as the... More »

'Don't Ask Don't Tell' Dies at Midnight

Pentagon says it's prepared

(Newser) - After 18 years, "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is finally headed for the scrap heap. At 12:01am tomorrow morning, the military will be legally allowed to sift through an outstanding pile of applications from openly gay recruits, the AP reports. "No one should be left with... More »

Panetta to Certify DADT Repeal

New defense chief to start 60-day repeal countdown

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will sign the death warrant for "Don't Ask Don't Tell" soon after he is officially sworn in today, according to Pentagon sources. Panetta and other defense chiefs will certify that the military is ready to ax the policy barring gays from serving openly,... More »

Obama Urges Court to Reinstate DADT

... so it can die in a more 'orderly' way

(Newser) - The Obama administration says repeal of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy is going smoothly—but it wants a court to reinstate the ban on gays in the military as soon as possible. For a little while anyway. The Justice Department filed a motion yesterday asking a... More »

Court Scuttles 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Ruling kills policy ahead of military repeal certification

(Newser) - A federal appeals court has hammered what could be the final nail into the coffin of the Pentagon's ban on gays serving openly in the military. The court reinstated an earlier injunction blocking the military from enforcing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, reports the San ... More »

Obama on Gay Marriage: 'Evolving,' Warming

President may be considering an endorsement of the issue

(Newser) - Barack Obama was in favor of gay marriage before Senator Obama was against it, and now President Obama is again considering the issue, having said publicly that his views are "evolving." Obama will headline a pair of events for the gay community in coming weeks, and as he... More »

Half Military Now Trained on DADT Repeal

And it's going quietly

(AP) - More than a million troops have now been trained on the law allowing gays to serve openly and military officials say that with around half the force now trained, the turmoil some had predicted is nowhere to be seen. "So far this seems to be a non-event," the... More »

Air Force Boots Gay Pilot Over DADT

Policy still in play, as evidenced by the April 29 discharge

(Newser) - President Obama signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act in December, but it’s not entirely safe for servicemen and women to come out of the closet just yet. The Air Force discharged an Airman under the policy as recently as April 29, the Metro Weekly reports.... More »

Military Chaplains: Protect Anti-Gay Speech

Don't punish troops after DADT is lifted for speaking minds: Letter

(AP) - Military chaplains are concerned troops could be punished for expressing objections to homosexuality once the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is lifted. Leaders of 21 religious groups that provide chaplains to the US military sent a letter yesterday to the chiefs of chaplains of the Navy, Army,... More »

Navy: Never Mind, No Gay Marriages Yet

Controversial move suspended until further notice

(Newser) - Well, that didn't last long: Just one day after announcing that its chaplains would soon be allowed to perform same-sex marriages , the Navy is backpedaling. More than five dozen House lawmakers challenged the decision, which would have permitted chaplains to officiate gay unions after Don't Ask, Don't... More »

Navy Will Let Chaplains Officiate Gay Marriages

New policy takes effect after DADT is repealed

(Newser) - When Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed, a big change will come to the Navy: Its chaplains will be allowed to officiate at same-sex marriages. Rear Admiral Mark Tidd, the Navy's head chaplain, made the announcement in a recent memo but noted that chaplains may decline to... More »

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