The Log Cabin Republicans released a press release on Friday July 9th laying out details pertaining to the Log Cabin Republicans v. United States case that will be heard this week. The case challenges the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy. The Obama Administration is being forced to defend this policy which the President is in favor of repealing. Politico printed the following story on the situation.

“OBAMA CAN’T SHAKE GAY-RIGHTS FIGHTS

By JOSH GERSTEIN | 7/10/10 7:03 AM EDT

When President Barack Obama agreed to back legislation in May that could eventually repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the resolution seemed to offer twin benefits for the White House:

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This week a transcript of Barry Goldwater’s commentary on a military ban on openly gay service appeared in the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

 Barry Goldwater wrote a transcript in 1993 on his opinion and opposition to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The following are outstanding quotes from Goldwater on the issue.

 “The conservative movement, to which I subscribe, has as one of its basic tenets the belief that government should stay out of people’s private lives. Government governs best when it governs least – and stays out of the impossible task of legislating morality. But legislating someone’s version of morality is exactly what we do by perpetuating discrimination against gays.”

 “I served in the armed forces. I have flown more than 150 of the best fighter planes and bombers this country manufactured. I founded the Arizona National Guard. I chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee. And I think it’s high time to pull the curtains on this charade of policy.”

 “After more than 50 years in the military and politics, I am still amazed to see how upset people can get over nothing. Lifting the ban on gays in the military isn’t exactly nothing, but it’s pretty damned close.”

 “But most Americans should be shocked to know that while the country’s economy is going down the tubes, the military has wasted half a billion dollars over the past decade chasing down gays and running them out of the armed services.”

 “If I were in the Senate today, I would rise on the Senate floor in support of our commander in chief. He may be a Democrat, but he happens to be right on this question.”

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After numerous conferences and discussions, The White House and Department of Defense reached a compromise late on Monday about the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The compromise is backed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services.

 This new compromise will tie the repeal of the policy to a certification from the military with Sec. Robert Gates and President Obama that the ending of the policy will not affect military readiness or morale. Having this compromise between the White House and the Department of Defense is crucial in aiding to convince several members of Congress to support repeal efforts. A full report on the policy is due in December from the Department of Defense, but we should see movement on the issue this week.

 A debate is expected on the House floor later this week and a vote in the Senate Armed Services Committee in a closed session. Log Cabin representatives have held meetings with several members to ensure this crucial vote has Republican support for equality.

 Congressman Murphy believes the vote will pass without problem in the House. “We have the votes to get this done,” he describes. “I have 192 co-sponsors and commitments from dozens of others.” This would put the count at well above the 217 needed to pass the House.  

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Vice Admiral Jeffrey L. Fowler, superintendent of the Naval Academy, stated that if the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is lifted by Congress, they will adapt, just like they have over the years.  Since the policy’s passing in 1993, gay men and lesbians have been barred from openly serving in the military.

 Fowler described that if repealed, the academy will continue to strive for “basic respect” for all shipmen. The ability to work together as a team is imperative for success, he described.

 ”You cannot get through here without your classmates, and that will continue forever,” Fowler said.

 Fowler identified the diversity of the military, recognizing the different backgrounds of each in the group. Trust and respect are crucial in the academy’s “high stress environment,” he added.

 ”Basic respect” was needed when he was a student, “and that’s really what we teach our midshipmen.”

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Last week House Republicans took a bold step aimed at reducing spending and reducing the massive government deficit.  The House Republican Conference vowed to give up earmarks — a pet project or pork barrel spending tactic used by members of Congress attaching funding for projects or research in their home districts.  House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence commented on the Republicans move to end wasteful spending:

“We are offering the American people a fresh start on spending in Washington, D.C. We are offering the American people a new way forward.”

The text of the resolution reads:

Resolved, that it is the policy of the Republican Conference that no Member shall request a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit, as such terms are used in clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House for the 111th Congress.

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While speaking at a Democratic fundraiser for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer in California on Monday, President Obama was the target of hecklers in the crowd.  A group of protesters from the left who were in attendance at the fundraiser yelled “Repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’!“  It is a clear sign that when the Democratic president is at a Democratic fundraiser in a largely Democratic state and receives criticism from people in attendance on moving too slowly for repeal of the gay ban in the military that something needs to be done.

Log Cabin Republicans is currently pursuing efforts through the courts and lays claim to the only legal challenge to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  The Obama Justice department has made arguments supporting the gay ban, a position supposedly juxtaposed to the President’s opinion.  The question remains as to why Obama is acting slowly on pushing Congress to repeal if he is in fact so supportive.  The Log Cabin case was filed in 2004 and after numerous hearings and motions, the case is set to go to trial in June.

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A Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that seventy-five percent of Americans back repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy which prevents gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military. This echoes a 2009 poll released by the Washington Post and one released by Gallup, which showed sixty-nine percent of Americans supported repeal.

The support comes as the Pentagon, led by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, both of whom were originally appointed by President George W. Bush, have been advocating for study and repeal of the policy.  At a hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services Committee, Gates announced that he was appointing General Carter Ham, commander of Army forces in Europe, and  Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon’s general counsel, to study a possible repeal and logistics for implementation. Johnson and Ham have indicated that they would deliver its first recommendations by mid-March.

The percentage of Americans who say they support gays openly serving is the same as a Post-ABC News poll found in July 2008; both are far above the 44 percent who said so in May 1993. In the new poll, majorities across party lines favor such a policy, with support among Democrats (82 percent) and independents (77 percent) higher than among Republicans (64 percent).

The poll also reveals several sharp demographic divides. Men (65 percent) and seniors (69 percent) are far less likely than are women (84 percent) and young adults (81 percent under age 30) to say that gays should be allowed to serve if they have disclosed their sexual orientation. Knowing a gay person makes a big difference: Among those who say they have a gay friend or family member, 81 percent support allowing gay people to serve openly, compared with 66 percent who say they do not know someone who is gay.

With significant support among Republicans and self-identified conservatives, opportunities to repeal the legislation before the end of the calendar year remain strong.

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The Dallas Voice highlights the race between Dallas Log Cabin Republicans President Rob Schlein and Homer Adams, the husband of former Texas Eagle Forum and current Texas Republican Party Chairwoman Cathie Adams, to chair the North Dallas Precinct 1800.

In some ways, the Schlein-Adams race might seem like an epic battle in the ongoing GOP civil war between right-wing social conservatives and moderates who espouse a “big tent” philosophy.

But both Schlein and Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Jonathan Neerman, who’s himself been criticized by Cathie Adams for welcoming gays into the party, are downplaying the symbolism of the contest — at least for now.

“It’s just a precinct chair race, and I don’t want to make it bigger than it is,” Schlein said. “I think maybe the result could speak to something bigger, but you’ll just have to wait and see. If I kick his ass in a significant way, then maybe we can say it’s epic, but it’s just a precinct race.”

…

It’s not the first time Schlein has sought to take over the position from Adams.

In 2008, after Adams missed the filing deadline for re-election, Schlein was encouraged by Neerman to throw his name in the hat. Adams then expressed his desire to keep the position, leading to a vote by the Republican Party’s Executive Committee, which is made up of all the precinct chairs.

The committee voted for Adams by a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent.

“He gave his speech, I gave my speech, and he won but not by very much, which kind of surprised everybody in the room,” Schlein said.

Schlein added that he likes his chances even better this year, when the race will be decided by voters instead of party activists. His sexual orientation shouldn’t come as a surprise to those in the precinct because he and his partner knocked on doors in 2005 prior to the vote on Texas’ constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Schlein said he’s prepared to mount an aggressive campaign, including direct-mail pieces, and he accused Adams of not doing his job.

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As a recent Gallup survey indicates that self-identified conservatives are the nation’s largest ideological group, two of the nation’s most prominent conservative leaders have gone to the presses articulating the case for marriage equality.

In the New York Daily News, Roberty Levy, Chairman of the Cato Institute, the nation’s leading libertarian organization, makes a strong argument in favor of allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry:

No compelling reason has been proffered for sanctioning heterosexual but not homosexual marriages. Nor is a ban on gay marriage a close fit for attaining the goals cited by proponents of such bans. If the goal, for example, is to strengthen the institution of marriage, a more effective step might be to bar no-fault divorce and premarital cohabitation. If the goal is to ensure procreation, then infertile and aged couples should be precluded from marriage.

Instead, most states have implemented an irrational and unjust system that provides significant benefits to just-married heterosexuals while denying benefits to a male or female couple who have enjoyed a loving, committed, faithful and mutually reinforcing relationship over several decades. That’s not the way it has to be. Government benefits triggered by marriage could just as easily be triggered by other objective criteria, leaving the definition of marriage in the hands of private institutions.

Yet our politicians, unwilling to privatize marriage, seem congenitally unable to extricate themselves from our most intimate relationships. One would hope, in the coming months and years, that more enlightened federal and state legislators will have the courage and decency to resist morally abhorrent and constitutionally suspect restrictions based on sexual orientation. Gay couples are entitled to the same legal rights and the same respect and dignity accorded to all Americans.

As former United States Solicitor General, Ted Olson prepares to go to trial challenging the Constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, he has penned a column in Newsweek making the conservative case for gay marriage.

Legalizing same-sex marriage would also be a recognition of basic American principles, and would represent the culmination of our nation’s commitment to equal rights. It is, some have said, the last major civil-rights milestone yet to be surpassed in our two-century struggle to attain the goals we set for this nation at its formation.

This bedrock American principle of equality is central to the political and legal convictions of Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives alike. The dream that became America began with the revolutionary concept expressed in the Declaration of Independence in words that are among the most noble and elegant ever written: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

A succesful challenge in Court by Olson would likely pave the way for marriage equality to be taken up by the United State Supreme Court, possibly setting a national presedence for the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry.

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In response to President Obama’s extension of the Nation’s National Emergency status on September 10th, the Palm Center, a research institute focused on providing objective information on controversial social issues, states that due to a “stop-loss” statute which authorizes the President to suspend any law regarding military separations during national security emergencies, the continuation of the National Emergency status allows the President an additional year to sign an executive order suspending “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

At present, the repeal process has been stalled in the Congress, therefore, Dr. Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center, suggests, “Because the legislative process is frozen, a two-part strategy is the only realistic way to go.  Start with an executive order, and then follow with legislative repeal.”

Read more about work by Nathaniel Frank and his colleagues at the Palm Center.

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