Results tagged “dontaskdonttell”

Without giving any specifics,,President Barack Obama pledged to end the U.S. military's dated and bizarre ban on openly queer homosexuals serving in the military. During a speech at the annual Human Rights Campaign dinner on Saturday, Obama said, "I will end 'don't ask-don't tell."

SFist reported yesterday that Gay Pride Grand Marshall National Guard Lt. Dan Choi faced being discharged from the service, and a military review panel later confirmed this recommendation. The recommendation must be approved by the First Army commander and the chief of the National Guard Bureau, which could take weeks or up to a year. Choi, who is an Arabic translator, will continue to drill with the National Guard until then.

San Francisco Gay Pride Grand Marshal Lt. Dan Choi, the Army National Guard officer translator and West Point alum who came out as queer "to protest the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy," could become the first New York National Guard member discharged for breaking the military's inane and bizarre policy on homosexuals. Or, as the military defines it, ousted "for 'moral and professional dereliction.'" A hearing today in Syracuse, NY at the headquarters of the 27th Brigade Combat Teamwill decide whether or not to rid the service of his esteemed and education, albeit gay, presence. According to AP, "Choi served as one of the grand marshals of last Sunday's LGBT Pride Parade in San Francisco, marching with a group called Knights Out, which supports gay military members."

Oh joy. President Obama plans on repealing that childish "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has prevented lesbians and straight-acting/-appearing queer men from serving openly in the U.S. military. "Don't ask don't tell"s genius, enacted by the Clinton administration, lies within the idea that military folk should censor answers or declarations of their sexuality. And who's to blame for this jarring acceptance of homosexuality within the military? Will & Grace, claimed sociologist Melissa Embser-Herbert, author of The U.S. Military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy: A Reference Handbook. "It's the Will and Grace generation," she told the Chronicle. "They've grown up seeing gay people on TV and having friends in 10th-grade come out."