Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
30th June, 2010
With the recent developments regarding the United States’ military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, which effectively bans openly gay and lesbian citizens from serving in the military, it is an appropriate time to examine where the policy came from, where it currently stands, and the possibilities for its future.
Leading up to his 1992 presidential election victory, Bill Clinton promised to end the ban on gays and lesbians in the US military. However, once in office President Clinton encountered fierce resistance from Congress. During the Congressional debates, Dr. Gregory Herek, a respected social psychologist with over 15 years of research in topics of sexual orientation, spoke on the potential consequences of lifting the ban on gays and lesibans in the military. His ultimate conclusion was that “the research data show that there is nothing about lesbians and gay men that makes them inherently unfit for military service, and there is nothing about heterosexuals that makes them inherently unable to work and live with gay people in close quarters.” Despite these affirmations, President Clinton was unable to persuade congress, and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was formed as a compromise. This was, at any rate, progress, because it allowed gay and lesbian troops to serve in the military, as long as they kept their sexual orientation a secret.
Every year, a bill is used to decide the budget of the US Department of Defense, and the 2010 version includes an amendment that would eliminate the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law. This was voted on by the House of Representatives on May 27, and it passed on a 234-194 vote. The Senate Armed Forces Committee also voted on the bill, and it passed there with a 16-12 vote.
The biggest argument against passing the bill is that its potential effects on the military are unknown. The Pentagon is currently undergoing a review that was commissioned after President Obama’s State of the Union Address, where he discussed his desire to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The goal of the review is to determine whether or not the repeal would affect the “military’s standards of readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion and recruitment and retention,” and to offer strategies on how to implement the law if it was passed. The results of this review are not due until December, so many Representatives who were not in favor of repeal said that they were reluctant to agree to the bill without first knowing the results of the Pentagon review.
What is known about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is there are many negative consequences. Apart from its obvious discriminatory nature, which can alienate troops and force them to lie, it is very expensive. A 2006 study showed that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has cost the US over $363 million dollars in investigations and training replacements. Over 13,000 people have been kicked out of the military since 1993 due to their sexual orientation, which includes troops with critical skills such as Arabic linguists, fighter pilots and doctors, whose skills are invaluable during a time in which the US is involved in two wars. There are over thirty countries that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, including Israel, England, Canada, Australia, and Spain.
There are still many obstacles in the way before the repealing of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell can be passed. The next step is that the Senate must vote on the bill, which could occur this summer. If it were to pass in the Senate, the president, the defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff all must sign off on it as well. This might be a very significant obstacle because President Obama has threatened to veto the bill because it contains money for defense projects he deems wasteful.
Despite these obstacles, there is more hope than ever that the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law will finally be eliminated. As Dr. Herek mentioned, there is absolutely nothing that prevents gays and lesbians from serving as well as heterosexuals. And with numerous examples of countries successfully embracing gays and lesbians into their militaries, isn’t it time that the United States, a self-professed powerful force for good in the world, did so as well? As someone close to me always says, there have always been gay and lesbian troops in the military, and I believe that it is long past due to finally allow them to serve their country openly and freely.
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What is the value of diversity?
26th March, 2010
Special thanks to Citizens Project youth volunteer videographer Isaac and Impact Video Production for this video! Interviews were taped at the 2009 Everybody Welcome Festival of Cultural Diversity in Colorado Springs’ America the Beautiful Park.
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Create Isolation? Not us!
26th March, 2010
Tell us your story and join the conversation!
It’s been revealed: Citizens Project is the agency behind the subversive ads you may have seen around town. The Gazette ran a nice story about it, and what these crazy messages really represent is our community without Citizens Project:
Now we invite you to join us to make our community a better place. We are creating a louder voice for inclusion, diversity and equal rights by collecting stories, creating conversations, and telling a new, powerful story of Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region.
Today, we want to hear more about you.
Tell us your story. Tell us about your personal experiences of diversity, discrimination, inclusion, or isolation. Tell us about a time you felt unwelcome or devalued in our community, and tell us about a time you felt included and respected. Tell us what you wish for Colorado Springs and our region, and how you think Citizens Project can help residents make a difference.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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Citizens Project in the news!
25th March, 2010
You’ve seen the billboards, the print ads, the bus sides and the websites. Church Equals State, Freedom From Expression, Create Isolation, Celebrate Conformity. And now you know that Citizens Project was the organization behind this provocative campaign.
Learn more about what the campaign is all about by checking out Citizens Project’s recent media coverage and stay tuned to learn how you can join the conversation!
- Check out the Gazette article by Mark Barna: Springs nonprofit hopes billboards spark diversity dialogue
- Read a story by Anthony Lane on the Colorado Springs Independent blog: Church equals state? Huh?
- Also, watch for Citizens Project on KRDO Channel 13 news this evening, when Executive Director Barb Van Hoy talks about the awareness campaign
If you haven’t already, please join our email list for opportunities to get involved!
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Change Begins With Me
15th January, 2010
| January 16, 2010 | ||
| 3:30 pm | to | 5:45 pm |
2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and March
Saturday, January 16, 2010
3:30pm – 5:45 pm
Keynote Speaker: The Honorable Terrance Carroll, Colorado’s Speaker of the House of Representatives
Please meet at Armstrong Hall (14 E. Cache La Poudre St., Colorado College Campus) at 3:30 for the march, with celebration to follow. Questions? Contact Jennifer @ 719-660-1435
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And the Divine Award goes to…
8th January, 2010
Citizens Project is delighted to announce that the recipient of the 2010 Divine Award is John Weiss!
Photo by Cayton Photography
Please join us as we celebrate John’s contributions to the Colorado Springs community at our sixth annual Divine Award event!
Thursday, February 18, 2010 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
The Warehouse, 25 W. Cimarron St.,
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Open to the public, $10 suggested donation
Please RSVP by February 12 to: kristy@citizensproject.org or (719) 520-9899
View the electronic invitation
About the Divine Award: Citizens Project’s Divine Award is given annually to an individual in the Pikes Peak region who has worked tirelessly to create a vibrant democracy in which equal rights are protected and differences are respected. The award simultaneously recognizes the accomplishments of its recipient and honors the legacy of Amy Divine, the founder of Citizens Project, who dedicated her energy to championing traditional American values of equal rights, individual freedoms, separation of church and state, civic engagement and respect for diversity. This year’s recipient is activist John Weiss, founder and publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent. Previous recipients are Mary Lou Makepeace, Dr. Jim White, Pam Jones and Juliet Draper (shared award), Lorne Kramer, and Richard Skorman.
Photo by Catyon Photography
About John Weiss: John Weiss is a visionary entrepreneur, collaborator, and community activist whose leadership has created a more diverse, progressive and green Colorado Springs over the last 27 years.
As founder and publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent, John oversees the region’s only free weekly alternative newspaper, which reaches more than 100,000 readers in the region with local news, diverse thought and untold stories. Through this platform, Mr. Weiss has brought nationally renowned creative thinkers to Colorado Springs to build alliances and elevate discourse, co-sponsored more than 50 civic events annually to promote a vibrant democracy, and organized coalitions to bring positive change to the region.
John is an advocate for environmental sustainability who led successful initiatives to increase funding for open space and establish recycling programs. He has organized and supported campaigns to increase City Council pay, extend health benefits to domestic partners of municipal employees, and reform local tax policy. John recently launched the Independent’s Give! initiative which raised more than $150,000 for local nonprofits, and he produces the annual Fort Carson Town Hall meetings. In his spare time, John can be found volunteering at his sons’ schools, hiking with his dog, and vanquishing reptilian invaders when innocents are threatened.
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Take Action: Vote for Plus One in Colorado Springs!
18th December, 2009
Our Plus One city employee health benefits proposal is in the news again today and the Gazette has posted an online
poll about it. A strong showing of support in the poll and on the letters page of the Gazette could make the difference in showing City Council that there is enough public support to pass the plan. PLEASE ACT NOW!
- Vote for Plus One in the Gazette’s online poll (click here and scroll down, in the right-hand column).
- Forward this and ask your friends and colleagues to do the same.
- Write to the City Council and ask them to pass Plus One. Click here for a list of City Council Members and contact information. You can also email all council members at allcouncil@springsgov.com.
- Write a letter to the editor and post on online comment voicing your support for the plan. Send to opinion@gazette.com.
City Council members pay attention to these, so your letters and vote MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Read the story and take the poll here: http://www.gazette.com/articles/city-90978-employees-href.html
You can find some talking points in Barb Van Hoy’s comment posted in the Gazette’s online comment section, reprinted here:
“The “Plus One” policy being proposed by Citizens Project would allow all city employees to buy into the city’s employee health insurance plan for one family member, if they are not already eligible for benefits for a spouse or dependent children. It is not really accurate to call this a “same-sex benefits” plan because that is only one of several types of qualifying family members. Employees could add an adult dependent child, a dependent parent, a domestic partner, or dependent grandparent. The employee would pay the full premium, rather than be subsidized by the city as current family members are (and as the 2003 policy did for same-sex couples that cost the cit $6,000). That’s one reason it is budget-neutral (the premium covers the full per-participant cost in the health plan.) The other reason it is cost-neutral is that the demographic population as a whole that is projected to buy in is not expected to increase the overall costs (based on the analyses of benefits experts).
Now is the time for Colorado Springs to begin catching up to the private sector, as well as the most successful cities across the country by adopting better, more inclusive employment practices. Whatever your personal opinion on same-sex couples, or single mothers or 35 year-old kids living with mom & dad, the fact is that our society includes a huge diversity of families. Competitive employers do right by their employees by adopting more inclusive plans, and our city should to. Attracting the best employees will get the best use out of our limited tax dollars. In addition, it is not government’s role to enforce a religious view of relationships on its employees, so arguments labeling some people’s families as “immoral” are moot. Government should treat all citizens equally. The Plus One plan doesn’t get all the way there, but it is an improvement, expands access to health care, treats all employees more equally, makes the city a more competitive employer, and won’t cost taxpayers a dime. Seems like a pretty good deal to me.”
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Religious freedom victory: Court rejects public school religious speech
17th November, 2009
ANOTHER victory for religious freedom! 
“The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a student who complained that high school officials violated her constitutional rights when they turned off her microphone during her religion-tinged graduation speech.”
This ruling makes a very important distinction about how the Constitution protects religious freedom for ALL public school students. When they are a captive audience at an official school function such as graduation, it is not OK to preach to them. An Appeals Court deemed her speech to be “proselytizing.” Everyone, including this student, is free to hold their own beliefs and to preach to others, but not by co-opting a public school function. No one has that right. Taxpayers are funding the school and the graduation, so it is not appropriate or fair to turn it into a church service. This would apply equally to a student attempting to give an Islamic, Buddhist or Atheist sermon at a public school event.
Not surprisingly, the Religious Right is calling this censorship and discrimination.
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New hate crimes law is hard-won progress for freedom and equality
29th October, 2009
Matthew Shepard
Today we celebrate a victory for the ideals of freedom and equality as promised in our United States Constitution. After a 10-year fight, our nation at last has a hate crimes law that punishes the uniquely heinous nature of hate crimes, which have the chilling effect of creating fear among entire classes of people. Thanks to Bruce DeBoskey of the Mountain States Anti-Defamation League for articulating this in an Op-Ed in Monday’s Gazette:
It has been 11 years since Matthew Shepard was beaten, tied to a lonely Wyoming fence, and left to die because his attackers hated gay men. That same year, James Byrd, Jr., was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck in Jasper, Texas, a victim of a racially motivated crime. One of Byrd’s attackers wore tattoos including the image of a black man hanging from a tree.
Shepard and Byrd were not the only victims of those horrible crimes. In both cases, the murderers were not simply committing a crime against Shepard or Byrd; they were sending a chilling message to everyone who shared the characteristics of the victims — to every American who is gay or black. “You, and anyone like you, are not welcome here,” the perpetrators said through their hateful violence. “You, and anyone like you, are not safe here.” In fact, they were sending that message to all Americans. Read more.
Signing the legislation yesterday, President Obama said,
“You understood that we must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones, but to break spirits — not only to inflict harm, but to instill fear,” Mr. Obama said. “You understand that the rights afforded every citizen under our Constitution mean nothing if we do not protect those rights — both from unjust laws and violent acts.” Read more.
This legislation does not punish thoughts, as conservative opponents of the legislation charge. It punishes a distinctive type of crime. Focus on the Family earnestly opposed hate crimes legislation with the baffling claim that the bill would silence religious speech. A July “CitizenLink” email states,
And, pastors who preach against homosexuality could end up prosecuted if they are found to have “induced” a hate-crime against a self-identified homosexual by preaching from the Bible.
It seems surprising that Focus would not understand the difference between preaching a belief and inciting violence. In interpreting the First Amendment, our courts have made careful distinctions in this area. With Neo-Nazis regularly demonstrating publicly without being prosecuted, can Focus really believe pastors will be arrested under this law for preaching that homosexuality is a sin? It sounds far fetched, but such rhetoric is consistent with their shrill denunciations of gay marriage as a threat to heterosexual marriage and their claims that equal rights laws threaten religious freedom (even with religious exemptions). Perhaps their supporters thought Focus went too far with these hate crimes statements, since this was the last such message they sent out. Regardless, in this case reason and fairness have won out.
Citizens Project thanks our elected representatives who supported this important legislation and will continue to fight locally for true religious freedom and equal rights for all.
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Dear Focus, Please stop telling other people who they should love.
26th October, 2009
Focus on the Family is trying again to enforce their interpretation of the bible through public policy. This, from the Gazette:
Last year, Focus on the Family donated nearly $450,000 to support a California proposition outlawing gay marriage.
This year, the Colorado Springs-based organization is setting its sights on Maine, but the outlay is a lot smaller — both because Maine is a lot smaller, and because of the economy.
Support Equality in Maine here.
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