Frontlines, the SLDN Blog

Join Jason Knight in Washington

This morning's Stars & Stripes newspaper reports on SLDN's announcement that Jason Knight will join the organization in our efforts to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Jason, who has served openly in the U.S. Navy - including during a deployment to Kuwait - will become part of our national ad campaign; speak out across the country on behalf of repeal; and meet with Congressional staffers in Washington on Tuesday afternoon. Then, on Tuesday evening, Jason will join SLDN supporters at the Women's National Democratic Club in Washington to talk about his work to support repeal and his commitment to working with SLDN to lift the ban. Jason has joined the fight against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." On Tuesday, you can join Jason in a show of support for his work. Details about Tuesday's event are on our website, here. Make plans now to join us as we welcome a passionate new voice to the cause. - Steve Ralls

Labels: events, jason knight

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06-01-07 Comment (0)

SLDN Media Alert

Tune in this evening to see SLDN client (and war vet) Austin Rooke (pictured) and Sharra Greer, SLDN's director of law policy, discussing the military's continued dismissal of gay and lesbian personnel. Their interview will air on Sinclair Broadcasting stations across the country later today. To find out if there's a Sinclair station near you, click here. - Steve Ralls Also: You can watch last night's CNN segment, featuring SLDN, online here. And check out Paula Zahn's interview with dismissed Arabic linguist (and SLDN client) Stephen Benjamin, too.

Labels: in the news

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05-30-07 Comment (0)

News Hounds on FOX & Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

If you happened to be tuned into FOX News on Saturday afternoon, you might have caught a segment on the network's The Big Story about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the continued dismissal of lesbian and gay linguists. The segment featured Jason Knight, a Hebrew linguist who just got back from a tour of duty in Kuwait, and who was recently discharged under the ban. When my phone rang on Saturday afternoon, the FOX producer assured me that, if we were able to find a linguist to speak on-air, that person would find the show's host, Julie Banderas (pictured), more "fair and balanced" than we might be expecting. And she was right. On Sunday, the News Hounds blog (motto: We watch FOX so you don't have to) had this to say about the segment: I couldn’t believe that I was watching Fox when Banderas said “the military are in desperate need of Arabic language specialists who help with the war on terror; but dozens are being fired because they’re gay.” The feeling that I had entered into an alternate reality was reinforced when she read an e-mail from a heterosexual soldier who said that he would be “honored to be joined by a homosexual on the front line.” Banderas then read another e-mail form a straight soldier who said that he “had no problem serving with a homosexual battle buddy so long as they were expected to perform the same as everybody else. If they can do their job well and do everything as of part of team, what does it matter what they do behind closed doors. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – how and where you experience these freedoms weren’t part of the bargain.” Knight noted that this e-mail was consistent with the support that he received from his peers. He said that gays in the military are taught the same values of professionalism and respect for their job and “we all do it as well as everybody else and have every right to serve our country as well as anybody else.” To this eloquent statement, Julie Banderas, Fox employee, said “absolutely.” At any rate, considering that this is Memorial Day Weekend – a time to honor the service of those who served and continue to serve honorably – this affirmation that gays in the military also serve honorably is fitting. One small step for Fox; one very big step for those in the gay community who, like their heterosexual counterparts, wear the uniform with dignity and pride. Thanks to News Hounds for covering the segment, and to Banderas for truly stepping forward and trying to tell the real story behind "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." You can read the full News Hounds synopsis online here. - Steve Ralls

Labels: in the news, jason knight, linguists

05-29-07 Comment (1)

Remembering General Tom Weinstein

The SLDN family is pausing today to remember General Tom Weinstein, who passed away on May 24. A member of SLDN's national advisory board, General Weinstein was an outspoken, heterosexual ally of the LGBT community, and a passionate advocate for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" From this morning's Washington Post obituary: "Gen. Weinstein was the principal architect of the modern military intelligence corps, his colleagues said, and was the crucial player in its expansion and professionalization. At a time when Army intelligence units were scattered under different commands, he brought them together and was responsible for the concept of intelligence and electronic warfare. Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, said Gen. Weinstein established the Army's master plan for intelligence "that set a course for the Army to have the best intelligence corps for the next decade or two. It was a tremendous jump forward." Gen. Weinstein was also known for his commitment to talking to the troops, said Alexander, who worked for him several times. "He gave people the impression that you as a person could do anything, everybody was really gifted," Alexander said." Our thoughts are with General Weinstein's family. He will be greatly missed. - Steve Ralls -----

05-26-07 Comment (0)

Tickets On Sale for Frameline31!

Get your tickets now for Frameline31, San Francisco's International LGBT Film Festival taking place June 14-24, 2007! As you remember, SLDN is a proud sponsor of Semper Fi: One Marine's Journey, one of many films being screened during the film festival. Here's the blurb on Semper Fi from Frameline:

Lance Corporal Jeff Key is one of the most patriotic people you'll ever meet. A gay man from Alabama, he felt there was something missing in his life, so, at age 34, he joined the Marines. They bent the rules to accommodate his age, but he kept his homosexuality a secret. Then, four hijacked planes changed the course of history on September 11, 2001. Semper Fi blends documentary and interview footage with Key’s one-man theater performance about his tour of duty in Iraq as a closeted gay soldier. The story begins with him on a bare stage, wearing just white boxer shorts and his dog tags, waking up to news of the attacks. Key then leads us back in time to a conservative adolescence spent as a teen preacher with the burgeoning awareness of his sexuality. He eventually lands in the gay theater community of Los Angeles, where he shocks his friends by joining the Marines. Stationed in Iraq, Key is confident in his decision to fulfill his love of God and country. But after “Mission Accomplished,” he sees a situation going terribly wrong. At the same time, it becomes more and more difficult to keep his sexuality a secret (especially with so many hot Iraqi men around him). He realizes that the mission isn’t working, and neither is the policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Semper Fi paints a refreshing portrait of a gay man we rarely meet and proves that patriotism, like sexuality, comes in many different packages.

And today (as long as you're a Frameline member), you can purchase your tickets for Semper Fi (to be screened on June 23rd at 1pm) and other great films! For non-Frameline members, general public ticket sales begin on Friday, June 1. You can purchase your tickets at Superstar Satellite video store located at 474 Castro Street (between Market and 18th Street in San Francisco), online at www.frameline.org/festival, and by fax at 415 522 5543. - Rebecca Sawyer

Labels: arts

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05-25-07 Comment (0)

Honoring LGBT Military Personnel at the Cathedral of Hope

05-25-07 Comment (1)

Meeting Jason Knight

It was a a privilege and fun to accompany Jason Knight last week on his 2-day trip to the University of Chicago to counter General Peter Pace’s address there! General Pace was invited to address the Graduate School of Business before he made his infamous remarks on gays being “immoral”. After Pace’s comments, 1,400 students and faculty of the University of Chicago then signed a position to un-invite him. They figured that a leader who gravely insults those who serve underneath him should not be held up to business students as a model of outstanding management practices. When it became clear General Pace would indeed appear, three University of Chicago departments joined together to invite Jason Knight in response to Pace’s appearance. They didn’t want to silence General Pace but wanted to broaden the debate to include the views of a gay sailor who served under Pace. When General Pace made his insulting remarks, Jason was serving in Kuwait as an openly gay sailor, out to other members of his unit. He took umbrage at Pace’s remarks, and said so in a brief letter to the Stars and Stripes. When the paper did a full article on him, the Navy began discharge proceedings against him under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. Jason’s final discharge papers came through the day after he spoke in Chicago. The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, the Divinity School, and the Center for Gender Studies at the University of Chicago pooled funds to invite Jason to respond to General Pace. He gave a talk to linguistic students about learning Hebrew at the Defense Language Institute in Monterrey, taking classes seven hours a day, five to six days a week for forty-eight weeks. This intensive training provided him with the skills to carry out simultaneous translation for the Navy. Jason spoke again the next day on campus in “counterpoint” to General Pace’s comments, a few hours before Pace’s speech, describing his experiences as a gay sailor. He was joined by MSgt. Jean Albright who served in the Air Force for twenty years. Then, outside the building where General Pace gave his speech, Jason spoke with nine media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune which originally broke the story of Pace’s remarks on gays. He reiterated his request that Pace apologize for his remarks. It was great to spend time with Jason as he set the record “straight” about the outstanding service our gay, lesbian, and bisexual troops provide to our country despite having to live under the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. The University of Chicago community learned what a waste it is for talented, skilled, highly trained service members to be “fired” by the military. The Navy has lost an outstanding linguist. Jason, however, has the skills and training the military provided him, and his whole life ahead of him. - Julie Kruse

Labels: events, in the news, jason knight, Pace

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05-24-07 Comment (0)

Making History

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05-23-07 Comment (0)

Pace Speaks Out at U of Chicago

At a speaking event last Friday at the University of Chicago, Marine General Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Here's the snippet from the Chicago Maroon, the University of Chicago student newspaper:

“It is important for a nation to give all who want to serve the opportunity to serve.” The policy prohibits anyone who has engaged in homosexual activity from serving in the armed forces and also prohibits homosexuals or bisexuals from disclosing their sexual orientation. “Our armed forces are well served by diversity in many respects,” Pace said.

Now before you start thinking that Gen. Pace has reformed his ways and is now calling for repeal of the gay ban, keep reading:

“But we also have the law of our land. It allows all citizens who want to serve to have the opportunity. But as with many parts of military life, there are issues of conformity. I do support the law of the land because it does allow those who want to serve the opportunity to do so,” he said to applause from conference delegates.

On the one hand, he seems to say that the contributions of lesbian, gay and bisexual troops are important, but, on the other hand, he seems to condone discrimination simply because it's the law of the land... Underneath that carefully crafted language of celebrating diversity is the pervasive bigotry that provides support for discriminatory laws like "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." And luckily, it's not up to Gen. Pace to repeal the law; it's up to Congress. If, unlike Gen. Pace, you truly believe that our "armed forces are well served by diversity in many respects," then call on your Member of Congress to repeal the ban now! - Rebecca Sawyer

Labels: Congress, in the news, Pace

05-22-07 Comment (1)