Lady Gaga has taken it upon herself to become an advocate for gay rights, especially for those serving in the military, by becoming extremely vocal in having 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' repealed.
But is Lady Gaga the right person for the job, and is she someone gay service men and women want?
Just two weeks ago, advocates for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell had something to be optimistic about. After nearly two decades of fighting what they think of as a fundamentally flawed, bigoted, and unjust policy by the nation’s military, it finally seemed as if the federal government was catching up to their way of thinking. Flying in the face of the foot dragging and lip service campaign that has been the Obama administration’s effort to repeal the policy, a federal judge ruled DADT unconstitutional, saying the policy violated the rights of gays and lesbians in uniform and had a “direct and deleterious effect” on the military. Four days later, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that he would include a provision to allow the Defense Department to end the policy in a defense spending bill that would be voted on the following week.
Republicans, of course, cried foul. The stage was set for yet another exhausting and bitterly partisan brawl in the Senate. A number of political observers said that the Democrats had a good shot of repealing DADT this time around. And then something peculiar happened.
Today the Senate holds a procedural vote on whether a sweeping defense appropriations bill — which allocates money for conflicts overseas as well as program cuts at home — makes it to the floor. As any Lady Gaga fan likely knows, this morning, the legislation's most visible component is a proposed repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Gaga has been calling for a repeal of the policy on her Twitter account and elsewhere, and traveled to Maine yesterday to speak at a rally organized by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
Why Maine? Maine's Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (as well as Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown) could play an important role in allowing the bill to move forward.
Yesterday evening, a federal judge ruled that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is unconstitutional because it violates the rights of gay men and lesbians. Earlier, we spoke with legal scholar Jeffrey Rosen and Larry Korb, a former Navy captain and assistant Secretary of Defense during the Regan administration who testified against DADT at the trial. Now we speak with Retired Army Colonel David Bedey, who is opposed to the ruling. He believes DADT is necessary.
A federal judge in California overturned the 17 year old policy that affects the ability of gay men and lesbians to serve in the military late on Thursday. Judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled the policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" unconstitutional, saying the rule violates the rights of gay people and has a "direct and deleterious effect" on the military. Don't Ask, Don't Tell bars gay people in the armed services from disclosing their sexual orientations.
Judge Phillips said she would issue an injunction barring the government from enforcing the rule. Legal observers expect the decision to be stayed pending an appeal.
Lt. Dan Choi came out as gay on "The Rachel Maddow Show" over a year ago and has since become the face of the movement against the military's "don't ask, don't tell." policy. Lt. Choi was honorably discharged yesterday for protesting the policy. He had attended West Point and had hoped to have a career in the army.
In her first day of questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan got off to a rocky start in a nearly 20-minute back-and-forth debate with ranking Republican Senator Jeff Sessions. In the sparring session, Sen. Sessions maintained that Kagan had circumvented the law and was disrespectful to the military when she limited military recruiters' access to campus as dean of Harvard Law School. Kagan repeatedly said Harvard was always in compliance with the law.
Exactly thirty years ago today, May 28th, West Point graduated its first women. I was one of sixty-one women who raised their right hands that day and swore our oaths to the Constitution, then pinned on our bars as new second lieutenants.
No one rolled out the red carpet for us, but on the whole, the integration of women at West Point went pretty well. We kept our heads down, and did the work, and were rewarded on occasion by a male cadet saying grudgingly, “Well, I don’t believe women belong here, but you’re okay.” My roommate was an amazing athlete – what West Pointers call, regardless of gender, a “stud.” She could do a dozen pull-ups, run two miles in 12 minutes. In combat boots. I was more of an academic type, competing on West Point’s Debate Team as a plebe. At some point, the head of Admissions told me that my SATs had been the highest of anyone, man or woman, entering in the class of ’80.
Arwa Gunja here, with an update on tomorrow's show.
It’s a big political day. There may be enough votes needed to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in both the House and in the Senate Armed Service Committee. Sen. Robert Byrd from the committee said he would support the repeal, and some say that brings the total yea votes to 16, one more than needed for passage. Democratic leadership says repeal of the 1993 law would be historic, though some key Republicans say the vote should be delayed until a military review of the repeal is complete. Tomorrow we have a great lineup of servicemen and women who say if the repeal passes, they will come out as openly gay.
Today or tomorrow, the House is expected to vote on a repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, preventing gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. It will be a close vote on a divisive issue. Nancy Pelosi has said that she would only bring the repeal to the floor if it had the votes necessary to pass. Todd Zwillich has been trying his best to count heads to see just how much support there is.
This week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen said they are prepared to repeal the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gay and lesbian service members. We talk with Michael Hyacinthe, who served in a Navy construction battalion from 1997-2005, about why he thinks the policy should be overturned.
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