The End of The Line: Permitting Hate in the Military

Allan Schindler

Joseph Rocha

Kyle Lawson

Barry Winchell

August Provost

Who are the people named above? They all share something in common. They were all in the military. They were all reportedly gay. They were all murdered, severely injured or faced humiliation and torture at the hands of their superiors.

Their families are facing the shame of (or currently are, in the case of August Provost) the military preventing and/or denying an open investigation into their murders and/or assaults.

In the words of Joseph Rocha, who survived his attacks and described them in an article in the Washington Post:

I can’t say for certain when the abuse started or when it stopped. Now, several years removed from those days in Bahrain, it blends together in my mind as a 28-month nightmare.

Once, the abuse was an all-day event; a training scenario turned into an excuse to humiliate me. Normally we ran the dogs through practice situations — an earthquake, a bomb or a fight — that we might encounter in our work. That day, in a classroom at an American school in Bahrain, with posters of the Founding Fathers lining the walls, the scenario happened to be me. I was the decoy, and I had to do just what Chief Petty Officer Michael Toussaint ordered.

In one corner of the classroom was a long sofa, turned away from the door. When you walked into the room, it appeared that one man was sitting on it, alone. But I was there too — the chief had decided that I would be down on my hands and knees, simulating oral sex. A kennel support staff member and I were supposed to pretend that we were in our bedroom and that the dogs were catching us having sex. Over and over, with each of the 32 dogs, I was forced to enact this scenario.

Lawson, in the interview with the Arizona Star, tells of having to sleep in fear on a cot after having his nose broken during an attack by a fellow soldier because he was rumored to be gay. His attacker went unpunished.

Why is this happening? The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) reports that last year alone over 900 cases of hate crimes against gays (in the form of verbal and physical assault) in the military occurred.

This past Wednesday, President Obama made history:

Yet, in signing this historic legislation, the President has further perpetuated the shame of homophobia in the military.

Today, the only group of people NOT PROTECTED against hate are our gays in the military. These men and women, guardians of our nation, are at the end of the line when it comes to protection for hate. Why?

It’s time to immediately suspend DADT, pending legislative action in Congress. Please contact the President HERE to request his immediate action.

Army Secretary: End DADT

Lt Dan Choi: American Hero

I guess support for ending the archaic DADT can’t get much higher than this, in which the Secretary of the Army, former Republican Senator John McHugh states he Army is ready for the repeal of DADT:

SANTA BARBARA, CA, October 26, 2009 – The Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, indicated this weekend that the Army is prepared to lift the ban on openly gay service if the Commander-in-Chief and the Congress decide to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, a prospect that has gathered steam in recent weeks. McHugh, formerly a Republican congressman from the conservative 23rd district of New York, is the highest official inside the Pentagon to express such support. He told the Army Times on Sunday that there was no reason to fear that major difficulties would result from lifting the ban, and that he would help implement the policy change when the time comes. “The Army has a big history of taking on similar issues,” he said, with “predictions of doom and gloom that did not play out.” He also suggested that repeal may come in phases, with early action involving, for example, allowing open gays to serve in some occupations and not others.

It’s good to see even the leader of the Army supporting the repeal, along with Gen. Colin Powell and over 100 retired Admirals and Generals. With historic hearings of the topic finally scheduled in Congress, and with widespread congressional and public support for the repeal of DADT, it’s time for action.

Senator Kristen Gillibrand, leader of the efforts in Congress along with Rep. Patrick Murphy, have secured over 180 co-sponsors of a bill to repeal DADT, including leaders of Congress. From Senator Gillibrand:

Since 1994, almost 13,000 gay servicemen and women have been discharged from the military based not on their performance but on their sexual orientation. In 2009 alone, we’ve had more than 400 of our brave men and women leave the military under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. This is simply unacceptable. It is time to repeal this outdated and immoral policy once and for all and end the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly and honestly in our armed forces.

To that end, I’ve secured the commitment from Senator Carl Levin, Chair of the Armed Services Committee, to hold the first hearing on the policy since it began 16 years ago. Chairman Levin expects to hold the hearing soon and it’s my hope that it will be instrumental in demonstrating the level of support that exists for repeal not only throughout the country — where polls consistently indicate that solid majorities oppose the policy — but within the military itself.

Tomorrow, the President will sign the Hate Crimes Bill into law.

Unfortunately, the protections provided to gay victims of hate do not transfer to gays in the military as long as DADT exists.

Let’s hope that in the next few months we’ll see additional freedoms provided to our gay brothers and sisters in the military.

Now, That’s a March!

Remember last month when the right wing tea partiers had their little march on Washington? Organized by the leader of the Republican Party, Glenn (Crybaby) Beck, supported by and advertised on Fox News ad nauseum for well over three months, this march was supposed to show the world that the Obama Hater Racist Homophobic Secessionists were out there in droves. Hell, I remember claims were made by national names like Michele Malkin, Beck, and the former leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, that nearly one (No! Two!) million people attended! They even posted pictures on the internet of the crowds gathered in the Square! Unfortunately, those were fake pictures (YOU LIE!) and nowhere near one million attended the march. The correct number was estimated at around 60,000 – 70,000. And they all ended up bitching about the public transit system.

Flash forward to this past weekend. A new group of Americans descended upon Washington. With numbers estimated at 150,000 Gay, lesbian, bi, and transgendered men and women of all colors gathered demanding that their voices be heard. From Washington Monthly:

Tens of thousands of gay-rights activists marched Sunday in Washington to show President Obama and Congress that they are impatient with what they consider piecemeal progress and are ready to fight at the federal level for across-the-board equality, including for the right to marry and the right to serve in the military.

Key votes on same-sex marriage are coming up in the District and Maine, and Obama reiterated his campaign promise Saturday to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that forces gay and lesbian members of the armed forces to keep their sexual orientation a secret.

But organizers of the National Equality March and its participants said they want to shift the political effort toward seeking equality in all states, rather than accepting just local and state-level victories.

Amen! So there were more gays marching on Washington than right wing idiots! Now who’s the minority!

Even more important, there were no signs comparing our President to Hitler or Stalin or other such hate. Just a well behaved crowd of American citizens demanding equality.

And I’ll bet they didn’t even bitch about the public transportation!

Mel Martinez Resigns

Coming off his vote in favor of the appointment of Sonja Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, Florida Republican Senator Mel Martinez has announced his resignation. Although Martinez had previously announced his intention to resign from the Senate, it’s been widely assumed that he would not leave office until the end of his term.

Reports are that Florida Governor, Charlie Crist, could appoint himself to hold Martinez’s seat until the 2010 elections.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Official word could come later today, but CNN and Politico.com have already reported that Sen. Mel Martinez, an Orlando Republican who planned to retire in 2010, was resigning the office. This means Crist, the leading Republican candidate to fill the open seat, could have to tap someone to serve the remainder of the term.

The appointment can be argued to be a direct slap to the face of Martinez’s fellow Hispanic and announced Senatorial candidate, Marco Rubio (who opposed the appointment of Sotomayor).

What does this mean for the future of the GOP nationwide and in Florida? Considering Crist has been considered the white-headed stepchild of the Republican Party for several months following his support of President Obama’s stimulus package, one would assume a change in tune for the national Republican party towards a more moderate stance.

That, however, is probably not the case. Crist has been shown to waffle on important issues, changing his mind frequently. Additionally, his stance on gay marriage and gay adoption in Florida as well as being potentionally outed by the documentary Outrage, make him far more than the hypocrite he is, particularly considering the rumors regarding his own sexuality, which has been discussed here and nationally before.

I suspect Crist will do whatever the Republican Party tells him to, constituents be damned, in his never-ending quest for the Presidency of the United States.

As far as the State of Florida, Crist will be able to appoint his own predecessor, which may or may not be beneficial to the gubenatorial challenge of State Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink, in the coming year.

The Murder of August Provost: A Little Too Convenient?

Remember August Provost?

The admittedly gay soldier killed on duty by one of his peers? The one who admitted to his family members that he’d been harrassed on post and was concerned? The one who had nowhere other than his family to turn because of the archaic DADT?

On July 23rd, Petty Officer 1st Class Jonathan Campos was arrested in the murder of Provost.

From San Diego.com:

A sailor has been charged with fatally shooting and burning a gay serviceman last month at Camp Pendleton, but Navy officials said Thursday it was part of a crime spree not related to the victim’s sexual orientation.Prosecutors accuse Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Campos of killing Seaman August Provost during an arson attack against the compound of Assault Craft Unit 5 on June 30, said Capt. Matt Brown, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest.

Brown again stressed that there’s no evidence of a hate crime or gang-related activity.

So. Did the Navy even conduct an investigation? Or did they determine it wasn’t (according to the Navy) necessary because the gun used to kill Provost was conveniently tied to another case?). The Navy conveniently arrested someone (Campos) suspected of 16 charges, including murder, arson, unlawful entry, theft of military property and wrongful possession of a firearm. Someone who conveniently also  attempted to hire a civilian to murder another soldier the day after Provost’s death.

Yet, the Navy spokesperson (Brown) states there’s no evidence of a “hate crime”?

On August 1st, Jonathan Campos, the accused murderer of August Provost – while under SUICIDE WATCH – in the brig, conveniently committed suicide by stuffing enough toilet paper into his mouth to asphyxiate himself.

Don’t all these circumstances seem, ummm….a little too convenient?

Of course they do!

Even the military admits they don’t want the issue of DADT tied into the murder of Provost. From the Navy Times:

…Navy officials said they don’t believe the shooting was gang-or terror-related. They also continued to dispute rumors that Provost was killed because he was gay, despite contentions raised by several relatives and gay advocacy groups who claim the sailor had been harassed at the unit because he was open about his homosexuality.

While Navy officials have denied that the shooting was a hate crime, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., has asked Navy and Marine Corps officials for additional investigations into Provost’s death. Provost “made the selfless and courageous decision to serve his country, regardless of his sexual orientation; he should be treated with honor and respect,” Filner wrote in letters to Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway; Col. Nicholas F. Marano, who is Camp Pendleton’s base commander; and Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., who chairs the House Armed Services Committee.

Filner said he was frustrated with a lack of information from the Navy and the Marine Corps, particularly over the suspicion that Provost’s sexuality might be connected to his death, which would raise questions about consequences of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

“They don’t want that discussion to take place,” he said.

Thankfully, Provost’s family, gay rights groups, Rep. Filner, the NAACP, and others concerned with the course of this investigation won’t let it conveniently end without the truth:

The Navy says it will continue investigating a seaman’s killing even though the suspect apparently committed suicide in San Diego County.Navy spokesman Brian O’Rourke says the military owes answers to the family of 29-year-old Seaman August Provost of Houston, who was shot in a Camp Pendleton guard shack on June 30. The shack also was set on fire.

The family says Provost may have been killed because he was gay, though the Navy has said there is no evidence to support that claim.

Petty Officer Jonathan Campos was charged last month with killing Provost, but the 32-year-old Lancaster man suffocated Friday at Camp Pendleton after toilet paper was stuffed in his mouth.

The Navy says Campos did not target Provost for being gay and planned to commit several crimes on base.

Wait. I thought Campos stuffed the toilet paper in his own mouth? I thought Campos committed “several crimes on base” before Provost was killed?

All the more reason for a complete congressional investigation into the murder of August Provost.

Please! Call or write your Congressman and demand this investigation continues! Before it conveniently goes away.

Welcome to Florida!

You have to love this beautiful state I live in. We have gorgeous weather, beautiful beaches, great sports teams…

And the stupidest politicians in the country! And trust me, if you listen to the news lately, that’s a pretty tough pill to swallow.

This week I’d like to announce three Florida winners of the Stupid Person Award.

We have our very own Gov. Crist (I like to refer to him as Gov. Lisp), whose only goal is to go as far in politics as possible, issues be damned.

The same Governor who went over twenty five years as a single man (following a short marriage to a lesbian).

The same Governor who enjoyed a whirlwind romance and married just about the time John McCain and the Republican Party started tossing his name against the Vice Presidential nominee wall to see if it would stick.

The same Governor whose “wife” never moved into the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee after a state-paid honeymoon in Europe. And still hasn’t.

The same Governor who, after being dissed by the McCain camp, decided to ignore his constituents and started a campaign for the Senate in 2010.

The same Governor who, nestled securly in his closet,  supported Amendment 2, denying gays the right to marriage in the state.

The same Governor who, two weeks ago, used “Explore Adoption Day” to proclaim the state was “doing the right thing” in denying gays the right to adopt children.

Really!

Moving on to our next recepients of the Stupid Person Award.

The co-winners of this week’s Stupid Person award are State Senator Carey Baker, a Republican (duh) from Eustis, and his buddy, State Representative Scott Plakon, of Longwood.

What has Mr. Baker decided to do?

Mr. Baker has decided that the people of Florida don’t need health care reform of any type.

Together, they have introduced legislation in the form of a Constitutional Amendment in our State Legislature, HR 37, which would nullify any chance for Florida citizens to benefit from health care coverage when President Obama and Congress pass it.

States Mr. Baker’s legislation:

To preserve the freedom of all residents of the state to provide for their own health care:

“A law or rule shall not compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system”

Hello? Mr. Baker? Can you climb out from under that sewer in Eustis and understand something?

There are, count them, over 3.6 million uninsured in Florida.

That’s 20.2% of the state’s 18.1 million people who are without health insurance.

The Elderly.

The Children.

The infirm.

The poor.

Update: Pfc Bowe Bergdahl

In my recent post regarding Pfc Bowe Bergdahl, the young man who was “captured” by the Taliban, Kelly’s occasional sparring partner over at The Velvet Straitjacket, LilMike commented:

“This soldier just couldn’t have walked off base, he would have had to sneak away. And now he gets to make videos? I’m not sure he is a prisoner.”

I understand LilMike is a follower of all things right wing, neocon, and bows before the Gods of Rush and Faux News, but I find that it’s sad that he would actually imply that there’s something more to the story surrounding this young man ending up in Taliban arms.

Then I realized that is exactly what his heroes at Faux News are doing:

Faux News analyst, LtCol  Ralph Peters, calling Bergdahl a “deserter” and stating the Taliban should do us a favor and “just kill him”:

Then, a couple of days later, Riley appears on Bill O’Reilly’s show and repeats his accusations, going even further…

Really. I always thought the right wing, neocon,  followers of the Gods Rush and Faux News supported the troops. I guess not.

So, what is it about this young man that they hate so much they implore the Taliban to go ahead and “finish the job”?

Could it be that Bergdahl worked as a barrista at a coffee shop before enlisting? Or that he studied ballet?

Does Bowe Bergdahl not meet the criteria of being a soldier in the eyes of the right wing, neocon, followers of the Gods of Rush and Faux News?

DADT: The Day is Near

Breaking news from the halls of Congress: New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand may introduce legislation to be included within the Defense reauthorization bill.

This coincides with Rep. Patrick Murphy’s drive to include legislation repealing DADT in the same bill.

Today,  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has lent his support for the drive to repeal or suspend DADT:

The Bottom of the Barrel

For nearly three years, I participated in a little forum populated by a lot of good people, but a few die-hard Republicans who had little need for a gay, ex-Air Force guy around them. Particularly the guy who ran the forum, affectionately known as The Despot, who was a straight ex-Navy guy who thought I, as a gay ex-Air Force guy, was a criminal because I lied to the recruiter when I joined the military and was nothing but a fraud because of it. Really!

Of course, it didn’t help that I frequently and loudly pointed out the blatant (or thinly disguised) homophobia and racism sometimes voiced on said forum either…which finally led to my being banned. The good news is that little bit of censorship resulted in this blog and now I have thousands of people reading my rants instead of twenty. And thankfully, you, my readers, seem to appreciate my words and for that I’ll be forever grateful.

Being the only gay guy on the forum amongst a lot of chest-pumping, heterosexual, (mostly) God-fearing, sometimes racist bunch of guys and gals wasn’t always fun but I actually made one or two lasting friends over there, especially Kelly, who caught a whole hell of a lot of grief for coming to my defense time and time again as I posted my words and thoughts time and time again. Probably even to this day and especially after this post.

I don’t miss those who hated me and continue to have a great friendship with those that miss me…so I guess it’s obvious now who came out on top.

All that leads up the this, the latest edition of The Howey Truth Squad.

Back in May, I started a thread on the forum celebrating those whom I feel are true American Heroes: folks like Daniel Choi and Victor Fehrenbach and thousands upon thousands of other gays in the military who are forced to live a lie in order to serve their country and fight for your freedom.

Somehow, in the course of the conversation, I found an interesting article from the SF Gate, reporting on the suspect recruiting tactics of the Armed Forces and the  lax, very lax, standards the military is using to recruit soldiers to the point that, today, gang members and members of racist hate groups, are working alongside the young men and women of our military while honorable, nee honored, gay soldiers are being discharged from the military under DADT for no reason other than they are gay! From the article:

Last month, the Sun-Times reported that a gang member facing federal charges of murder and robbery enlisted in the Marine Corps “while he was free on bond — and was preparing to ship out to boot camp when Marine officials recently discovered he was under indictment.” While this recruit was eventually booted from the Corps, a Milwaukee police detective and Army veteran, who serves on the federal drug and gang task force that arrested the would-be Marine, noted that other “gang-bangers are going over to Iraq and sending weapons back … gang members are getting access to military training and weapons.”

This weekend, the Stars and Stripes, not a liberal rag, underscores my point:

But there’s one other thing that dozens of members of newsaxon.org, a white supremacist social networking website, have in common: They proudly identify themselves as active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, the Montgomery, Ala.-based watchdog group that tracks extremist hate groups, has compiled a book containing the online user profiles of at least 40 newsaxon.org users who say they are serving in the military, in apparent violation of Pentagon regulations prohibiting racist extremism in the ranks.

On Friday, the SPLC will present its findings to key members of Congress who chair the House and Senate committees overseeing the armed forces and urge them to pressure the Pentagon to crack down.

“In the wake of several high-profile murders by extremists of the radical right, we urge your committees to investigate the threat posed by racial extremists who may be serving in the military to ensure that our armed forces are not inadvertently training future domestic terrorists,” Morris Dees, SPLC co-founder and chief trial counsel, wrote to the legislators.

“Evidence continues to mount that current Pentagon policies are inadequate to prevent racial extremists from joining and serving in the armed forces.”

Can I make a suggestion to the President, Congress and the American people? Can we at least get an Executive Order suspending DADT? Especially when the majority of Americans, Democrat and Republican, support it?

Perhaps then the President, Congress, and the American people can be assured that at least our tax dollars are being used to ensure our military’s not training future terrorists on our dime.

And keep the real liars, frauds, and criminals out of our military.

On This Independence Day

As we Americans sit outside in the sunshine, enjoying our hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and beer I ‘d like to ask you to think of and honor those who are serving our country.

Especially those who are forced to live a lie and serve as second-class citizens -

Our gay members of the military.

Over 200 hundred linguists and other skilled specialists in the military have been discharged since Barack Obama took office. Not because they were doing their job – it’s been documented many were the best in their field – but because they were gay.

Can you join 67 members of Congress and join the ranks of those asking President Obama to take action now to stop this disgrace?

Put down the hot dog, hamburger, and beer for just a moment.

Call, write, or email your Representative today and ask that action be taken now, not next month or next year or the next term – NOW! – to finally create equality and end discrimination within our military.

While you’re at it, check out In Their Boots, an informative video essay and website by and for gay military members and their partners. Thank you!