Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN
Week in Review - February 22, 2013
Collateral Damage: How the Defense of Marriage Act Harms the Troops and Undermines the U.S. Military. Following Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s recent announcement that the Department of Defense would extend some benefits to same-sex couples, advocates quickly turned to another stumbling block—the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on its constitutionality this summer. This week, the Center for American Progress and OutServe-SLDN released a report, “Collateral Damage: How the Defense of Marriage Act Harms the Troops and Undermines the U.S. Military,” which details exactly how DOMA negatively affects gay service members and their families. Read the report and watch the video here.
Retiring Army Colonel Tapped to Become First OutServe-SLDN Chapter Director. Army Veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson announced this week the appointment of Colonel Gary D. Espinas, currently a military professor of national security affairs in Monterey, California, as the first Director of Chapter and Member Services at OutServe-SLDN. Espinas will begin the newly created full-time position on April 30 following his military retirement. Read the news release here.
Bishop Gene Robinson Joins Lineup for March 9 National Dinner. Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson has joined the lineup of special guests for the March 9 OutServe-SLDN National Dinner in Washington, DC. Other special guests scheduled to appear include former Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA); reality television stars and winners of CBS’s The Amazing Race, Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his partner Brent Ridge (The Fabulous Beekman Boys); Washington Post opinion writer and MSNBC contributor Jonathan Capehart; and the first same-sex couple to wed in the West Point Cadet Chapel, Sue Fulton and Penelope Gnesin. To purchase tickets, click here.
02-22-13 By Zeke Stokes, OutServe-SLDN Communications Director | Comment (0)
Week in Review - February 15, 2013
Remembering Charlie Morgan. OutServe-SLDN mourns the loss of one of our own this week, CW2 Charlie Morgan, who passed away following a nearly two-year fight with cancer punctuated by her own family's battle against the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). To read OutServe-SLDN's statement on the passing of CW2 Morgan, click here. On Friday, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced The Charlie Morgan Military Spouses Equal Treatment Act in her honor. To learn more, click here.
Panetta Extends Benefits. Army Veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson praised outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta for his decision to extend to nearly the full extent permitted under current law the benefits available to gay and lesbian service members and their families. Though Panetta’s announcement did not include a number of important items that could have been granted - including on-base housing, burial rights at national cemeteries and some overseas travel for spouses, which remain under consideration - Robinson called the package “substantive” and acknowledged that the Pentagon has done almost as much as it can with the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) still on the books. To read the news release, click here.
Robinson Will Deliver "State of LGBT Miltary Service" Address at National Dinner. The 2013 OutServe-SLDN National Dinner will take place at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC on Saturday, March 9, 2013. The organization’s Executive Director, Army veteran Allyson Robinson, will deliver her first “State of LGBT Military Service” address to set the stage for an evening expected to draw a thousand service members, veterans, families, and allies. To purchase tickets or become a table captain or sponsor, click here.
02-15-13 By Zeke Stokes, OutServe-SLDN Communications Director | Comment (0)
Week in Review - February 8, 2013
No Movement on Reports of Panetta Action on Benefits. Outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was expected this week to announce the long-delayed extension of support and benefits for gay and lesbian military families, according to reports first made by the Washington Post. Army Veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson released this statement, indicating the hopes of OutServe-SLDN that Panetta will take full advantage of this final opportunity to act before leaving office. As of the time of this briefing, the Pentagon had announced no action.
Robinson to Hold First Online Town Hall for OutServe Chapter Leaders, Members. OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson will hold a first-of-its-kind online town hall meeting exclusively for actively serving OutServe members to discuss her first 100 days as ED, as well as answer questions and listen to comments. The event, "Fort Bragg, Hagel, and the Path Forward," will take place via Google Hangout and Twitter. For more information, click here.
OutServe-SLDN National Dinner Set for March 9. Tickets are on sale for OutServe-SLDN's 2013 National Dinner taking place on Saturday, March 9 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. The first announcement of special guests came this week and includes former Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) and reality stars The Fabulous Beekman Boys, winners of the CBS series, The Amazing Race. Additional special guests will be announced next week. Click here to purchase tickets.
02-08-13 By Zeke Stokes, OutServe-SLDN Communications Director | Comment (0)
Week in Review - February 1, 2013
Hagel Renews Commitment to Action in Confirmation Hearing Testimony. Consistent with his recent public statements, former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel reiterated his commitment to do everything possible under current law to provide gay and lesbian service members and their families with equal benefits and support on Thursday during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill. Hagel said he would move quickly upon confirmation to create greater equity for gay and lesbian service members and their families should he become Secretary of Defense. OS-SLDN's Allyson Robinson was on the Hill and released this statement at the conclusion of the hearing.
Robinson Op-ed on Hagel Featured in Washington Post. Meanwhile, OS-SLDN's Allyson Robinson published an op-ed in the Washington Post on Wednesday on the eve of the hearing, calling on Hagel - should he be confirmed - to make good on his commitment to LGBT military families and on the vision President Obama set forth in his inaugural address last month. For the full text of the op-ed, click here.
Gillibrand, Shaheen Call on Panetta to Act. Senate Armed Services Committee members Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) called on Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to end his two-year silence on extending recognition, support, and benefits to LGBT service members and their families as the law currently allows before he leaves his post at the Pentagon. OS-SLDN praised this move with a news release following up its own similar calls last week. To read the news release, click here.
Get Your Tickets Now for March 9 National Dinner. The 2013 OS-SLDN National Dinner on March 9 is quickly approaching and tickets are going fast. To secure your spot, it's important that you purchase tickets as quickly as possible. This event sold out last year, and OS-SLDN expects the same this year. Announcements about special guests will be coming soon. Purchase tickets here.
02-01-13 By Zeke Stokes, OutServe-SLDN Communications Director | Comment (0)
