DON'T UNDO DADT: Not every vet wants to eliminate Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Around 1,000 retired officers signed a letter addressed to Prez Obama urging him to keep the law on the books. In their words, if the law is repealed it: "would undermine recruiting and retention, impact leadership at all levels, have adverse effects on the willingness of parents who lend their sons and daughters to military service, and eventually break the All-Volunteer Force."
Among the signatories were Gen. Carl E. Mundy, Jr., a former commandant of the Marine Corps; Adm. Leighton W. Smith, a former commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe; Gen. Charles A. Horner, who commanded U.S. aerial forces during the 1990-91 Gulf War; and Adm. Jerome L. Johnson, a former vice chief of Naval Operations.
The retired officers said they strongly supported the principle that "homosexuality is incompatible with military service" and warned that repeal of current law could jeopardize morale and "unit cohesion."
Mundy said in a telephone interview that he believed a "large segment" of currently serving officers shared the views expressed in the statement.
"We just see a great many downsides to attempting to enforce on the military something I don't know is widely accepted in American society," he said.
The statement was criticized by Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group seeking equal treatment of gays in the military.
"The signers of this petition are mired in the fears and politics of the past," Sarvis said. "More than 75 percent of the American public, including most younger service members as well as many active duty flag officers, realize the question is not if 'don't ask, don't tell' is repealed, but when and how." [AP]
The retired officers said they strongly supported the principle that "homosexuality is incompatible with military service" and warned that repeal of current law could jeopardize morale and "unit cohesion."
Mundy said in a telephone interview that he believed a "large segment" of currently serving officers shared the views expressed in the statement.
"We just see a great many downsides to attempting to enforce on the military something I don't know is widely accepted in American society," he said.
The statement was criticized by Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group seeking equal treatment of gays in the military.
"The signers of this petition are mired in the fears and politics of the past," Sarvis said. "More than 75 percent of the American public, including most younger service members as well as many active duty flag officers, realize the question is not if 'don't ask, don't tell' is repealed, but when and how." [AP]
I RECOGNIZE YOU: NY Govenor David Paterson has placed in the books that state agencies are to recognize same-sex marriages that were performed in other states. Now the NY State Supreme Court could follow and back his wishes or throw out his wishes when the court hears two cases involving out- of- state gay marriages:
One case, Godfrey v. Spano, stems from the Westchester County executive’s 2006 decision to begin officially honoring out-of-state marriage licenses for gay couples the same way it did for heterosexual couples.
The other case, Lewis v. New York State Department of Civil Service, was filed after the department agreed in 2007 to begin recognizing out-of-state, same-sex marriages for the purpose of extending health insurance to spouses of public employees.
Brian Raum, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, said Tuesday that the group believed that the Court of Appeals would reverse the lower courts in both cases.
“We’re confident that we’re on the right side of the law,” he said. “The law in New York states it will not recognize marriages that conflict with public policy in New York. Since New York only recognizes marriage between one man and one woman, for any court to recognize same-sex marriage would be to recognize marriages that run contrary to New York law.”
Susan Sommer, senior counsel from Lambda Legal, a gay rights group that is representing Westchester County and the civil service department, said she had hoped the court would decide not to hear the cases, but added that she was optimistic it would not rule against same-sex couples.
[NYT]
Brian Raum, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, said Tuesday that the group believed that the Court of Appeals would reverse the lower courts in both cases.
“We’re confident that we’re on the right side of the law,” he said. “The law in New York states it will not recognize marriages that conflict with public policy in New York. Since New York only recognizes marriage between one man and one woman, for any court to recognize same-sex marriage would be to recognize marriages that run contrary to New York law.”
Susan Sommer, senior counsel from Lambda Legal, a gay rights group that is representing Westchester County and the civil service department, said she had hoped the court would decide not to hear the cases, but added that she was optimistic it would not rule against same-sex couples.
[NYT]
MOTHER'S DAY: Congressman Jerrold Nadler and John Kerry are working hard to fight these injustices.
A lesbian mother was handcuffed and torn from her two sons and partner of 23 years:
"If Jay Mercado, [Shirley] Tan's partner of 23 years and the mother of her sons, were a different gender, it's highly unlikely that [authorities] ever would have come. As a U.S. citizen, Mercado could have sponsored a wedded spouse for legal permanent residency. But although Mercado and Tan (above) married in San Francisco in 2004, federal law limits the definition of marriage to a man and a woman, and same-sex partners of U.S. citizens don't have a route to legal permanent residence extended to straight married couples...Mercado and Tan, who first appealed for political asylum for Tan in 1995 and thought their case was still pending, said they were completely unaware a deportation order had been issued in 2002. If Tan is deported this week, they will have to decide between separating two sons from one of their mothers, or moving the family to a country they have never known."
WILL YOU MARRY ME?: After six hours of debate, the Swedish parliament voted to adopt a gender-neutral marriage law which will allow same-sex couples in the country to marry:
"Only the Christian Democrats, one of the four parties in the ruling centre-right coalition, opposed the move. Yvonne Andersson said her party wanted to maintain 'a several hundred-year-old concept' about marriage. Supporters of the gender-neutral legislation included Evon Frid of the Left Party who said it was 'not a negative change, but a positive change.' The proposal was approved by a 261 to 22 vote, with 16 abstentions. The new legislation is to take effect as of May 1, and replaces the legislation approved in 1995 that allows same-sex couples to form a union in Sweden via registered partnership."
JSYK: Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium. Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway allow their gays and lesbians to marry.
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