Well that article swininbuff is certainly encouraging. Hopefully, we'll see lots more stories like this. We need to see the Army & Marines follow suit. Time will tell.

Sorry SCT, the Navy have now said it was all a mistake and fired the guy for a second time. Probably it was because of the publicity. There is a story on Towleroad about the second firing.

Since it began allowing gays to serve in the armed forces in 2000, none of the British military's fears - about harassment, discord, blackmail, bullying or an erosion of unit cohesion or military effectiveness - has come to pass, according to the Ministry of Defense, current and former members of the services, and academics specializing in the military. The biggest news about the policy, they say, is that there is no news. It has for the most part become a nonissue.

The military does not want to be seen bragging about the success of its policy when the issue still can cause so much anguished debate in America... (A Defense Ministry) official said. "We have had communications from our counterparts in the United States, and they have asked us questions about how we've handled it and how it's gone on the ground. There does seem to be some debate going on over how long the current policy will be sustainable."

The military actively recruits gays and punishes any instance of intolerance or bullying. The navy advertises for recruits in gay magazines and has allowed gay sailors to hold civil partnership ceremonies on board ships and, last summer, to march in full naval uniform at a gay pride rally in London.

- Despite misgivings, gays blend in to British military, International Herald Tribune, 5/16/07

If a black male or female athlete were gay or lesbian, the world might never know it, according to some observers who see a conspiracy of silence among reporters, athletes, and teammates. The public may not know about the athletes' sexual orientations, but those close to them often do. As with the military, the policy seems to be "don't ask, don't tell."

The Pentagon balked at U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s domestic partner accompanying her on a military flight for a congressional trip to Europe

Prior to the Easter recess, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was forced to intervene with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in order to get Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin’s domestic partner on a military flight for a congressional fact-finding trip to Europe

This policy goes to the heart of gay rights. We will not likely see gay athletes be able to be honest about their sexuality until DADT ends. The unspoken policy of "don't ask don't tell" is pervasive in sports as mentioned in this 2003 article

Even if Obama ended DADT tomorrow, which would be an excellent move, that wouldn't dramatically change many (Black) people's attitudes about homosexuality, bisexuality, and so on.

Just read this article:

Daily Telegraph Article

Russ Feingold, the Democratic Senator for Wisconsin, a strong critic of Mr Bush’s accumulation of executive power, said he had been informed by Mr Obama’s transition staff the records of past presidents might also be made more available.

He said the incoming president would support a bill he is proposing to make public some opinions from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which issued some of the most controversial extensions of presidential power in the Bush era.

On another topic, boomer400 said:

Things appear to be moving on the right trajectory.

As Gay Issues Arise, Obama Is Pressed to Engage

Gay rights are a sticky issue that no self-serving national politician, however liberal, would ever move on without lots of prodding. That prodding seems to be happening behind the scenes and is now making its way into the national press with a front-page New York Times article. It should be interesting to see how much play this story gets and how Obama plans on placating GLBT people who strongly supported his candidacy. We are not going to wait forever.

Obama sends handwritten letter to gay soldier ousted from the military promising to repeal DADT.

Sandy,

Thanks for the wonderful and thoughtful letter. It is because of outstanding Americans like you that I committed to changing our current policy. Although it will take some time to complete (partly because it needs congressional action) I intend to fulfill my commitment!

Barack Obama

Uruguay will allow gays to join the armed forces by scrapping military rules that define homosexuality as a disorder, President Tabare Vazquez said on Thursday.

"The Uruguayan government does not discriminate against citizens based on their political, ethnic or sexual identity," the center-left leader told a news conference in Paraguay's capital, Asuncion, where he was on a state visit.

In late 2007, Uruguay became the first country in Latin America to legalize civil unions for gay couples, granting them rights similar to those enjoyed by married couples on matters such as inheritance, pensions and child custody.

Interesting that the graphic accompanying an article about US military policy depicts an AK-47 (vice the US-manufactured M-16 or M-4), the weapon of choice for revoutionaries, insurgents and terrorists around the world.

Been watchin/listenin too much Limbaugh, have we?

Uh, no. Not exactly the program of choice on Iraqi radio. I just know a little something about some of the rougher spots around the world.

Owen West, a commodities trader, served two tours in Iraq with the Marines.

Uh, no. Not exactly the program of choice on Iraqi radio. I just know a little something about some of the rougher spots around the world.

Rachel Maddow's opening on 5/19 was an interview with Air Force Serviceman Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, who gave 18 YEARS of service to this country, is highly decorated, and only 2 years shy of retiring with full benefits. He was dismissed in September, 2008 because of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will soon announce that gay American diplomats will be given benefits similar to those that their heterosexual counterparts enjoy, U.S. officials said Saturday.

In a notice to be sent soon to State Department employees, Clinton says regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families the same rights and privileges that straight diplomats enjoyed are "unfair and must end," as they harm U.S. diplomacy.

"Providing training, medical care and other benefits to domestic partners promote the cohesiveness, safety and effectiveness of our posts abroad," she says in the message, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

"It will also help the department attract and retain personnel in a competitive environment where domestic partner benefits and allowances are increasingly the norm for world-class employers," she says.

"At bottom, the department will provide these benefits for both opposite-sex and same-sex domestic partners because it is the right thing to do," Clinton says.

Among the benefits that will now be granted gay diplomats: the right of domestic partners to hold diplomatic passports, government-paid travel for their partners and families to and from foreign posts, and the use of U.S. medical facilities abroad.

In addition, gay diplomats' families will now be eligible for U.S. government emergency evacuations and training courses at the Foreign Service Institute, the message says.

Change has certainly come to Baghdad. And it appears that includes the U.S. Embassy, where they are holding what the invitation says is the first-ever U.S. Embassy Gay Pride Theme Party next Friday at Baghdaddy's, which is the embassy employee association's pub.

"Come celebrate the start of Summer with color . . . and in costume!" the May 10 invitation says. "Dress in drag or as a gay icon. All are welcome." The invitation was attached to what was called an "All Hands Alerts" e-mail.

An embassy spokesman said by way of explanation: "This is an event organized and sponsored by a group of employees. Given the lack of places to meet in Baghdad, the embassy allows groups to use its social facilities for events on a first-come, first-served basis."

The invitation says, "Prizes will be awarded for two contests: Best Dressed Gay Icon and Best Lip Synch Performance." Unclear what the prizes are, but don't forget to "order costume supplies now in time for May 29th," we're told. "For more info and costume ideas, check out the next edition of The Tigris Times."

As further proof of 'gays in the embassy,' the US embassy in Baghdad is apparently hosting a gay pride party for dipolmats.

The invitation says, "Prizes will be awarded for two contests: Best Dressed Gay Icon and Best Lip Synch Performance." Unclear what the prizes are, but don't forget to "order costume supplies now in time for May 29th," we're told. "For more info and costume ideas, check out the next edition of The Tigris Times."

And yet the changes aren’t coming as fast as many gay Americans would like, and as our Bill of Rights would demand. Especially in Washington. Despite Barack Obama’s pledges as a candidate and president, there is no discernible movement on repealing the military's "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy or the Defense of Marriage Act. Both seem more cruelly discriminatory by the day.

When yet another Arabic translator was thrown out of the Army this month for being gay, Jon Stewart nailed the self-destructive Catch-22 of “don’t ask”: We allow interrogators to waterboard detainees and then banish a soldier who can tell us what that detainee is saying. The equally egregious Defense of Marriage Act, a k a DOMA, punishes same-sex spouses by voiding their federal marital rights even in states that have legalized gay marriage. As The Wall Street Journal reported, the widower of America’s first openly gay congressman, Gerry Studds of Massachusetts, must mount a long-shot court battle to try to collect the survivor benefits from his federal pension and health insurance plans. (Studds died in 2006.) Nothing short of Congressional repeal of DOMA is likely to rectify that injustice.
* * *
The gay civil rights movement has fewer obstacles in its path than did Dr. King’s Herculean mission to overthrow the singular legacy of slavery. That makes it all the more shameful that it has fewer courageous allies in Washington than King did. If “American Idol” can sing out for change on Fox in prime time, it ill becomes Obama, of all presidents, to remain mute in the White House.