Frontlines Feed: The Latest from SLDN
Generosity
Ric Weiland in 2004 (AP Photo/Courtesy The Pride Foundation of Seattle, HO) 02-25-08 Comment (1)
A Life Remembered—Lawrence King
On February 12, 2008, fifteen year-old Lawrence King was murdered in his school by a classmate. Unlike many recent school tragedies, which have featured sporadic violence, friends of Lawrence say he was targeted, shot and killed because of his sexual orientation and gender expression.
Join your family, friends and neighbors in making sure this young boy, and this terrible tragedy, is not forgotten. Vigils in memory of Lawrence King, and a call for an end to violence and harassment directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in schools, are being organized in communities across the country.
Click here to find a vigil in your area, or fill out the form to list a remembrance event in your community.
Please, help make sure that what happened to Lawrence never has to happen again.
Labels: community events
-----02-24-08 Comment (0)
On The Road in San Antonio
Remember the Alamo? It’s right across the street from my hotel. I came to San Antonio last Wednesday with my colleague David Hall to raise awareness of just how unfair "Don‘t Ask, Don’t Tell" really is, to meet with SLDN supporters, and with any luck to raise some money for the cause.
Our friends are already committed, and they give us great moral and financial support, San Antonio and Austin friends like Dr. Christopher Hammet, Paul Carter, Ron Anderson, Anne Wynne, George Beddingfield, General Virgil Richard and so many more. But our friends already understand the fundamental unfairness of this law. We have to open the eyes of all those millions of uncommitted voters who probably don’t give "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" much thought (the same way that sixty years ago most Americans didn’t give racial segregation much thought). Americans recognize unfairness when eventually they see it. Our job is to make them see it now, and that’s part of what I’m trying to do in San Antonio. When we’ve got enough voters on our side, the votes in Congress will go along. They always do. That’s how democracy works, and we have to make it work for us. That’s why we’re launching a national political campaign to show the American people and Congress that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is today’s way of separating Americans into first-class citizens and second-class citizens -- even though all of them together are fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan right now.
Last Thursday night we launched our national ’08 campaign at a forum in an old downtown church in San Antonio. It’s no longer a church; it’s now a bistro and theater but in many ways it still feels like a church, an inviting church. There were about fifty of us—a good crowd, I thought, considering that the big debate in Austin between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was being telecast on CNN that night. Dr. Paul Boskind, a member of our board and a wonderful San Antonio supporter, was our host and led the discussion. And we all listened to stories.
Former Marine Sergeant Brian Fricke didn’t like having to pretend he was someone else while serving in Iraq, but when he came home the indignity of his second-class treatment from the Marine Corps under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was more than he could take. He quit, and the Marines lost a good man.
The Air Force invested many thousands of dollars in training my colleague David Hall, a former Air Force sergeant who’d been honorably discharged after he was accepted in the Air Force ROTC cadet program. He was first in his class, had already gotten a coveted pilot’s slot and was just months away from being commissioned when a fellow cadet reported him under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," revealing that David was gay. As David told us, that was more important than anything he had accomplished in his career, any awards and honors he had received, and he was discharged. But I have a question: what kind of behavior does "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" reward, telling on a colleague or living an honest life?
And retired Army chaplain Paul Dodd shared painful stories and memories of service members being kicked out under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" over the past fifteen years.
Towards the end of our discussion we were joined by Army Sergeant Darren Manzella, a medic who worked 12-hour days and nights taking care of his wounded comrades in the streets of Baghdad. He returned recently from Kuwait and is now serving in nearby Ft. Hood. Darren violated "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" most recently, and most spectacularly, last December 16th when he told his story to Lesley Stahl and the 15 million viewers of the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes. So far he’s still in the Army.
This federal law has been in force for 15 years, and still the absurdity goes on. Now, in this time of a severely overstrained military, American forces cannot legally accept an openly gay service member, but accepting a convicted felon is no problem. Makes a lot of sense, right?
In a larger sense, all of us, gay and straight, are victims of an irrational law inconsistently applied. Darren, and David, and Brian, and Paul, however, are that law’s direct victims and their stories drive the point home. We’re here in San Antonio to repeal that law, to help right a wrong, and to put an end to this unfinished business. And that costs money. A grassroots national political campaign is very expensive.
San Antonio was generous, very generous. We will leave here with nearly $50,000 to wage this important fight and, just as importantly, we leave having made new friends.
But I also came to San Antonio to tell our story to the media. I met with Sig Christensen, military reporter for the San Antonio Express-News. Sig thought we had a tough fight ahead of us. He wondered if the Pentagon was ready for total repeal. But he listened and said he would write something later in the week.
On Friday, I sat down with Bruce Davidson, head of the editorial board at the same paper. I thought it appropriate and timely that I was in Texas talking about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" during this presidential campaign, and said so. Bruce seemed to nod his head in agreement, and then he asked tough questions. We shall see.
I look forward to being in Atlanta March 14th to continue this On The Road campaign.
-Aubrey SarvisLabels: aubrey sarvis, On The Road
02-24-08 Comment (2)
Deep In the Heart of…
Supporters of repeal who live in Central Texas, or those of you visiting the San Antonio area tomorrow, please join SLDN for the first in a series of national forums educating Americans on political efforts to lift the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the U.S. military.
The event, which will feature SLDN executive director Aubrey Sarvis, SLDN Board Member Paul Boskind, PhD., former Board Member Chris Hammet, retired Army chaplain Paul Dodd, former Marine Sergeant Brian Fricke and former Air Force Staff Sergeant David Hall, is an opportunity for San Antonio residents to learn about SLDNs work to help lift the ban, including our lobbying efforts in support of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, the Congressional bill to repeal the law.
The reception will be held at the Church Bistro and Theatre at 1150 S. Alamo in San Antonio. Doors open at 6pm.
So come out and join us!
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02-20-08 Comment (0)
Be the First to See The L Word’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Trial Unfold
Labels: DADT, ourchart.com, sldn, the l word
02-15-08 Comment (3)
Thank You Wayne
For Americans focused on the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries in Maryland, DC and Virginia yesterday, many may have failed to notice the results from races farther down the ticket from Obama and McCain. One race, of particular note, came in Maryland's 1st Congressional District, where nine-term incumbent Wayne Gilchrest was upset by conservative challenger, state Sen. Andy Harris.
Gilchrest, a Republican from Maryland's Eastern Shore, has been an impassioned advocate for LGBT rights in Congress. Not only did he co-sponsor the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR 1246), a Congressional bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell." He also voted in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and voluntarily agreed not to allow sexual orientation to be a factor in the hiring practices of his personal congressional office.
SLDN will be sorry to see our friend, Wayne Gilchrest, leave Congress. However, we hope that whoever ultimately succeeds in representing Maryland's 1st District will follow Gilchrest's remarkable lead, and continue to fight for the day when all patriotic Americans can serve their country regardless of their sexual orientation.
Thank you Congressman Gilchrest for your years of service and steadfast support of all our brave men and women in uniform. Your presence in Congress will be sorely missed.
Labels: 2008
-----02-13-08 Comment (0)
The Power of 65,000
The Boston Globe is reporting that the United States military is launching a $15 billion campaign to boost recruiting in the Army. The expansive effort - which includes a home mortgage fund and a military prep school for high school dropouts - is designed to "help draw in a shrinking pool of eligible volunteers," the paper reports.
The goal? "[S]igning up enough young men and women to add 65,000 soldiers to its ranks over the next three years."
Which just happens to be the number of lesbian and gay troops who are estimated to now be serving in the armed forces. Those troops, of course, are officially silenced by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
There's no word in The Globe article about whether anyone in the Army recruiting command has also considered a much simpler - and more affordable - plan to recruit new troops: Welcoming LGBT Americans who want to serve, but have felt unwelcome because of the ban.
According to statistician Gary Gates at The Williams Institute, an estimate 41,000 lesbian and gay Americans would enter military service, if "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" weren't in place.
That's enough troops to staff 6 aircraft carriers. And all Congress has to do to get the ball rolling is repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
That's not to say, of course, that the Army shouldn't have good plans, with good benefits, to attract new recruits. They should. But they should also make those plans and benefits available to every American who wants to serve. By doing so, the Army can boost its recruitment by 41,000 (new LGBT recruits) + 65,000 (new recruits now being targeted) and make the other 65,000 gay Americans already on duty feel a little more welcome and appreciated for the stellar job that they do.
Along the way, the Army can not only realize the power of 65,000, but also live up to the idea behind an Army of One, where every soldier counts, and every service member has something important to bring to the fight.
- Steve RallsLabels: in the news, recruiting
02-13-08 Comment (2)
Remembering Tom Lantos
Congressman Tom Lantos of California, who was a staunch champion of human rights and LGBT issues in the House of Representatives, has passed away shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, his spokeswoman confirmed this morning. He was 80.
Congressman Lantos, a Holocaust survivor serving his 14th term in the House, was an outspoken support on LGBT rights during his time in Congress, and was a co-sponsor of legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He will be missed by all of us at SLDN, and by so many Americans who knew Lantos to be a passionate, and compassionate, voice for human rights and dignity around the world.
From the Associated Press:
Rep. Tom Lantos of California, the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, has died, his spokeswoman said Monday.
Lynne Weill said that Lantos, 80, passed away at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in suburban Maryland.
Lantos, a Democrat who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee, disclosed last month that he had been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus.
He said at the time that he would serve out his 14th term but would not seek re-election in his Northern California district, which takes in the southwest portion of San Francisco and suburbs to the south including Lantos' home of San Mateo.
The timing of the diagnosis was a particular blow because Lantos had assumed his committee chairmanship just a year earlier, when Democrats retook control of Congress. He said then that in a sense his whole life had been a preparation for the job — and it was.
Lantos, who referred to himself as "an American by choice," was born to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary, and was 16 when Adolf Hitler occupied Hungary in 1944. He survived by escaping twice from a forced labor camp and coming under the protection of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who used his official status and visa-issuing powers to save thousands of Hungarian Jews.
Lantos' mother and much of his family perished in the Holocaust.
- Steve RallsLabels: california, Congress, in the news
-----02-11-08 Comment (0)
Christopher Rice’s Gay Marine
There aren't many topics the authors in the Rice family won't dare to tackle. Pretty much every gay man has fallen prey to Anne Rice's seductive tales of sexually ambiguous vampires in New Orleans . . . the seductive and powerful Mayfair witches . . . and even (my favorite Anne Rice novel) the sexual exploits of the Italian castrati.
But Anne's son, the openly gay Christopher Rice, has proven himself a stand-alone literary talent, too. His recent novel Light Before Day was a brilliantly penned thriller that lifted the veil on a silent epidemic within the gay community, and his earlier novel, The Snow Garden, was set in what Publishers Weekly deemed a "pansexual pharmacopoeia" of freshman year college rituals.
Now, Rice is returning with another gay-themed novel, Blind Fall. And this time, his story is centered around a closeted gay Marine who finds himself caught up in a murder. From the review at Amazon.com:
John Houck became a Marine to become a hero. But his life changed when he failed to notice an explosive device that ended up maiming the captain of his Force Recon Company, a respected Marine who nearly sacrificed himself to save John's life.
Home from Iraq, John pays a visit to his former captain, only to discover the captain has been gruesomely murdered. John pursues a strange man he sees running from the scene, but he discovers that Alex Martin is not the murderer. Alex is, in fact, the former captain's secret male lover and the killer's intended next victim.
When it becomes clear that local law enforcement has direct connections to the murder itself, John realizes that to repay his debt of honor, he must teach Alex Martin how to protect himself, even if that means teaching Alex to kill. In the process, John confronts the painful truth about the younger brother he was unable to protect and the older sister he always felt he failed.
Blind Fall is a story of honor and integrity, of turning failure into victory. It is a stunning departure for Christopher Rice: the story of two men, one a Marine, one gay, who must unite to avenge the death of the man they both loved -- one as a brother-in-arms, one as a lover -- and to survive.
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It's a long way - (or maybe not for at all?) - from his mother's dark tales of 18th century operatic torture, but Blind Fall seems to also be another Rice family story of secret love . . . dark betrayal . . . and what hides in the shadows.
Rice's new novel will be relased on March 11, and is available now for pre-order from Amazon.com.
- Steve RallsLabels: books
02-08-08 Comment (2)
Fly Naked With Your Valentine – And Support SLDN!
Say “Be Mine” with a great piece of jewelry for Valentine’s Day. The Fly Naked with Reichen Collection from Love and Pride is a perfect choice. This aviation-inspired titanium jewelry collection features rings, bracelets, pendants, cuff links and money clips. And you can make a purchase that makes a difference as 10 percent of net proceeds is donated to SLDN. Click here to shop the entire collection. Surprise your loved one this Valentine's Day by Flying Naked for SLDN! Reichen wears the grey titanium Propeller Pendant from the Fly Naked Collection.
02-07-08 Comment (0)
