In a release, the Christian Family Coalition writes that “Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) has embarrassed and ridiculed herself by becoming the first Republican to co-sponsor on a deceptive bill to overturn the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This new fraudulent legislation seeks to overturn the will of the people in Florida and all across America, by imposing so-called ‘homosexual marriage’ on all fifty (50) states.”

The release adds that Ros-Lehtinen lied and misled her “own constituents, donors and volunteers by kowtowing to an extremist agenda.”

Ros-Lehtinen, the first and only GOP congressperson to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, has earned the support of Log Cabin Republicans and Freedom to Marry.

Equality Florida, which works to secure “full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community” writes that “Ros-Lehtinen is a longtime Equality Florida supporter and a 2010 Voice for Equality Award honoree for her work to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and as a founder of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. She’s stood her ground against these extremists in the past but this time they are coming after her like never before.”

Last week, the National Organization for Marriage called on supporters to fund a new campaign that targets Ros-Lehtinen for her decision to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act.

A letter crafted by Organization for Marriage for supporters to send to Ros-Lehtinen states, “I am writing to express my disappointment and deep concern that you would abandon traditional Republican principles of marriage, family, and democratic self-government. Marriage is a bedrock of our society, and I urge you to re-consider your position on DOMA.”

]]> http://washingtonindependent.com/113044/christian-family-coalition-attacks-ros-lehtinen-for-marriage-equality-support/feed 0 http://washingtonindependent.com/113021/bachmann-allowing-gays-in-the-military-would-destroy-the-armed-forces http://washingtonindependent.com/113021/bachmann-allowing-gays-in-the-military-would-destroy-the-armed-forces#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:31:01 +0000 admin http://washingtonindependent.com/113021/bachmann-allowing-gays-in-the-military-would-destroy-the-armed-forces On a conference call with supporters of Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom coalition on Tuesday evening, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said she would reinstate Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, while agreeing with a caller who said allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military would “destroy the armed forces.”More...

After the debate, many moderate Republicans spoke out against the audience’s behavior including Minnesota Republican Rep. John Kriesel who called those who booed “morons.”

Stephen Hill, a gay soldier serving in Iraq, asked the candidates what they would do with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell if they took over the White House. As he did, the audience booed, and Santorum responded that he would reinstate DADT.

Santorum overlooked that a soldier serving in Iraq during a time of war had been disrespected by the audience. That drew a sharp rebuke from Republicans who support LGBT members of the Armed Forces.

“Tonight, Rick Santorum disrespected our brave men and women in uniform, and he owes Stephen Hill, the gay soldier who asked him the question about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal, an immediate apology,” said a statement from GOProud, a conservative gay rights group aligned with the tea party. “That brave gay soldier is doing something Rick Santorum has never done – put his life on the line to defend our freedoms and our way of life. It is telling that Rick Santorum is so blinded by his anti-gay bigotry that he couldn’t even bring himself to thank that gay soldier for his service.

Minnesota state Rep. John Kriesel (R-Cottage Grove) condemned the incident.

He wrote on Twitter:

“Booing a soldier during a time of war?!? A new low. Way to look compassionate Florida Republicans. #morons”

He added:

“If someone is brave enough to risk their life and serve their country in a time of war, let them serve. Who cares if they are gay?!?! How many of those people in the audience at the GOP debate that booed the gay soldier serving in Afghanistan are brave enough to serve??”

Only two of the candidates spoke out against it Thursday night.

“It was unfortunate,” Jon Huntsman told Talking Points Memo. “You know, we’re all Americans, and the fact that he is an American who put on the uniform says something good about him.”

Gary Johnson said, “In my opinion, when you have booing this is not indicative of Republicans,” he said. “This is not the Republican Party that I belong to.”

“September 20 is a historic day for our service members and our country,” said Navy veteran and Equality Michigan Executive Director Denise Brogan-Kator. “Every service member should be treated with fairness and respect in the work environment. This repeal is long overdue – gay service members have always been a part of our military. We are grateful that the federal government has finally offered the respect and dignity that service members should have had long ago.”

While the repeal of DADT will allow lesbians, gays and bisexuals to serve openly, transgender persons will still be prohibited from serving because of other policies in the military which identify transgender people as unfit for duty. The law was repealed nearly a year ago by action of the Congress, but implementation was delayed until the service chiefs, the secretary of defense and the president signed off on the military’s preparations for repeal.

“We are frustrated that the military still fires some members of our community simply because of who they are,” said Brogan-Kator. “Transgender people continue to serve our country and we need to address this harmful ban.”

To recognize the end of the law, LGBT communities across the country will be holding celebrations.

“The repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is an historic milestone along the journey to achieving LGBT equality in America’s military, and Tuesday is a monumental day for our service members and our nation. Through these events taking place in every state across the country, we will pay tribute to their service and sacrifice as we look forward to this new era of military service – an era that honors the contributions of all qualified Americans who have served and wish to serve,” said Army Veteran and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis.

In Michigan, there will be an event in Lansing Monday night at Sir Pizza in Old Town from 10:30 p.m. until midnight sponsored by the Lansing Association for Human Rights. Also on Monday night, students at Eastern Michigan University will celebrate the end of the law as part of their regular meeting. In Ann Arbor, the celebration will happen Tuesday night into Wednesday at the Necto Night Club.

Duncan Hunter

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a long-time opponent of open service in the military for gays and lesbians, is drafting legislation, according to Army Times, that wouldn’t seek to reinstate the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy set to end this month, but would allow military personnel to voice their opposition to serving with such individuals.

Speaking with National Public Radio in February 2010, Hunter gave his reasons for opposing repeal of DADT:

… I think that its bad for the cohesiveness and the unity of the military units, especially those that are in close combat, that are in close quarters in country right now. Its not the time to do it … [T]he folks who have been in the military that have been in these very close situations with each other, there has to be a special bond there. And I think that bond is broken if you open up the military to transgenders, to hermaphrodites, to gays and lesbians. …

It’s not just gays and lesbians. Its a whole gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual community. If you’re going to let anybody no matter what preference – what sexual preference they have that means the military is going to probably let everybody in. Its going to be like civilian life and the I think that that would be detrimental for the military. …

The Hunter proposal is expected to specifically address sensitivity training that is being conducted by the military branches in preparation for the Sept. 20 repeal date of DADT.

“We’ve heard the training is really pushing the line for people who believe homosexuality is wrong on religious and personal grounds,” an aide, who asked not to be identified, told Army Times. “It is a legitimate concern, under the circumstances, with the services working on disciplinary policies for people who don’t agree with this decision.

“The military always falls in line, but that doesn’t mean that the men and women who serve in its ranks should suddenly be forced to personally accept something that is contrary to their own principles,” the aide said.

The proposal has not yet been submitted for consideration, but it is believed that if such a measure is going to be considered, it would need to be one of the first proposals viewed by Congress when it reconvenes on Sept. 7.

Hunter, who was first elected to Congress in 2008 as the successor to his 14-term father of the same name, served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the Marine Corps. He is the first Marine combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan elected to Congress.

Since DADT was first introduced in 1993, the military has discharged more than 13,500 soldiers for being gay.

In a recent Washington Update, Perkins warns that “activists are already plotting to overthrow the Republicans’ pro-life, pro-family platform. … Homosexual groups like GOProud and the Log Cabin Republicans are hoping to elbow their way into the conversation, but they’ll meet strong resistance from the solid conservatives that have historically dominated the platform process.”

Gay GOP groups’ essential strategy, as reported by the Washington Blade, is to try to make the party’s 2012 party platform more LGBT-friendly than 2008′s platform, which denounced same-sex marriage as well as statues against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in areas such as employment and adoption.

“Log Cabin Republicans plan to actively participate in the process to revise the party’s platform,” Log Cabin Republicans Deputy Executive Director Christian Berle told the Blade. “We recognize there will be a lot of work to be done to strengthen the importance of reaching out to LGBT Americans as a part of strengthening the party.”

Despite Perkins’ insistence that such efforts should be tamped down, he disputes the idea that there is a gay constituency in the Republican Party, stating, “Although Gov. Jon Huntsman is the only candidate with a pro-gay agenda, [GOProud board chair Christopher] Barron says he’s ‘confident’ that this almost non-existent constituency is ‘going to have a nominee that gay conservatives can work with.’” (Perkins ignores the fact that openly gay Republican candidate Fred Karger is still in the race and but has been fighting for recognition from his own party.)

Last month, GOProud was uninvited to next year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) “for pushing this same divisive agenda,” says Perkins. However, as a boost to their credibility within the Republican Party, GOProud recently acquired conservative commentator Ann Coulter as the new “honorary chair” of their advisory council.

Perkins’ major concerns with LCR and GOProud appears to stem from a concern that the Republican Party might bend a little on LGBT issues, but it’s the 2012 Democratic Party platform (which he says is also “under attack” by LGBT lobby groups) he fears more.

Homosexuals are already leaning on Democrats to step up their support for the LGBT cause when the Left convenes in Charlotte more than 13 months from now. In 2008, delegates made it clear that this is not your grandparents’ Democratic party. For the first time in history, the Left’s planks called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Now, homosexuals want more. They want “marriage.”

But FRC’s lobbying arm, FRC Action, and new Super Political Action Committee, Faith Family Freedom Fund, are prepared to push back on LGBT agendas from both parties.

“As always, the FRC Action team will be on hand in Florida, fighting for the values and priorities of America’s families,” Perkins said. “We’ll make sure the conservative base has a solid platform to stand on.”

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property is a Pennsylvania-based group of about 120,000 “lay Catholic Americans concerned about the moral crisis shaking the remnants of Christian civilization.” The group’s ginned up rhetoric has made its way to the Catholic community of Westchester, Miami — a community that is part of state Sen. Anitere Flores’ constituency.

The group is not very well known, but it has inserted itself into fights such as the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and same-sex marriage — most notably, the court battle over the subject in California in 2008.

According to Media Transparency, a 501(c)(3) charity aimed at tracking “the money behind conservative media,” Tradition, Family and Property  responded to the California court decision by buying “advertisements critical of the decision, appearing ‘simultaneously’ in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Times, costing the group perhaps as much as three-quarters of a million dollars.”

Tradition, Family and Property describes itself as being “on the front lines of the Culture War.” The group mostly sends out books, newsletters and booklets to individuals who are members and supporters of the group.

Copies of a booklet entitled “Ten More Good Reasons to Fight Against Abortion” that make the case that socialism leads to abortion have made their way to a Catholic church in Westchester, Miami, where Flores is a member.

The booklet claims:

Socialists have never been known to oppose abortion. By its own principles, socialism will always lead to abortion. Likewise, an abortion mentality of eliminating responsibility for one’s action will eventually lead to socialism.

Tradition, Family and Property calls on all anti-abortion activists to also fight against socialism. They explain that “consistent pro-life activists must be ardently anti-socialist activists,” because:

Socialism and Communism are the same ideology. … Socialism violates personal freedom. … Socialism violates human nature. …Socialism Violates private property. …Socialism opposes traditional marriage. …Socialism opposes parental rights in education. …Socialism promotes radical equality. …Socialism promotes Atheism. …Socialism promotes relativism. … Socialism mocks religion.

As a member of Tradition, Family and Property’s staff explains, it is most likely that a church member (or members) distributed these booklets themselves. However, this sort of rhetoric strikes a particular chord with a community that identifies as mostly anti-communist and adds more fiery rhetoric to an already heated debate. Even though the tactic of inciting the fear of socialism in a conservative population is nothing new, even in Florida, it is very effective.

As of 2000, the Westchester community had the highest percentage of people with Cuban ancestry in the country. This translates into a community with predominately politically and socially conservative views. Most identify themselves as anti-communists.

Flores is currently the sponsor of a piece of legislation in the Senate that would amend Florida’s Constitution to ban the use of public funds for abortions. She also led the charge to reintroduce the mandatory-ultrasound bill after it was vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist last year.

When asked for her thoughts on the Tradition, Family and Property booklets, Flores emailed the Independent to say she has never seen the pamphlets and had no role in placing them at her church.

The groups said Pawlenty was pandering to social conservatives to shore up a floundering presidential campaign.

Here’s video of Pawlenty’s statements in Iowa (story continues after video):

Pawlenty then doubled down on his call to defund the repeal.

Think Progress asked him, “Do you think gays should be allowed to serve in the military at all, or do you think it’s detrimental to unit cohesion?”

Pawlenty responded, “I really defer to the military leaders to a large degree on this issue. I supported maintaining Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

GOProud, a group of LGBT conservatives and a sponsor of the CPAC conference Pawlenty will speak at this weekend, belittled Pawlenty’s campaign. Chris Barron, chairman of the board of GOProud, released this statement:

I understand that Pawlenty is trying hard to get people to pay attention to his campaign. Its certainly a challenge for someone with such little stature in the conservative movement to compete with high profile conservative leaders like Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, etc. Unfortunately for Pawlenty, comments like this simply show how totally out-of-touch he is with the issues that rank and file conservatives care about. If he wants to show he is a committed social conservative he would be much better served talking about the need to defund Planned Parenthood, end federal funding for abortion, reign in an out of control judiciary and support for a parents rigths amendment to protect home-schoolers.

The Log Cabin Republicans also dinged Pawlenty for his positions on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

“Governor Pawlenty’s comments fly in the face of both overwhelming public opinion and common sense,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans executive director. “Congress voted in a bipartisan majority in December to enact the clear will of the American people, which demanded that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ be stricken from the books. The Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and leadership throughout the Pentagon along with Congressional leaders, including Senator John McCain, are now in full support of implementing open service. The debate on this matter is done, and that Governor Pawlenty continues to fight the end of this failed and unconstitutional policy demonstrates that he is willing to put personal ambition and political pandering ahead of the priorities of the American people.”

“It would be easy to pay the $2500 bill and be swiftly done with this diseased chapter of my life,” he wrote. “…But my obligation is to take a stand… I refuse to pay your claim.”

Choi’s DADT bill (click to enlarge)

The U.S. Military spent roughly $200 million on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell since its implementation nearly two decades ago, recruiting, training, investigating and replacing gay service members. If Choi’s bill is any indication, the government has been, in effect, heaping on bureaucratic injury to insult by demanding discharged gay soldiers help foot the bill the whole time.

“By flagrantly and repeatedly violating an immoral law, I have flagrantly and repeatedly saluted the honor of America’s promise,” Choi wrote in his “screw you” letter to the White House. “At West Point, when we recited the Cadet Prayer we reminded ourselves ‘always to choose the harder right over the easier wrong.’”

Now that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has been repealed, will Choi and all of the other discharged gay soldiers still be forced to pay? Or will the government be made to pay reparations to the gay soldiers it discharged under the policy and whom it apparently billed for the pleasure?

Choi’s letter:

Dear Mr. President:

Today I received a $2,500 bill from your Defense Department Finance and Debt Services. Specifically, you claim payment for “the unearned portion” of my Army contract. Six months after my discharge under the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy I have tried to move forward with my life, and I was inspired by your clarion calls for our progress as one nation towards a more just society. I have served my country in combat and I have tried to live my life by the values I learned at West Point in continued service to our nation. To move forward in my own life I have finally sought treatment for Combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Insomnia, and Depressive Disorder from the Veterans Affairs Department. But I still find myself on a domestic battlefield for basic dignity as an American citizen. I know I am not alone in this fight because of the desperate cries for help I get from discharged, unemployed, discriminated, and suicidal veterans. I have felt all of their same pains personally. Today I also witness the disgrace of a country that perpetually discovers methods to punish its own citizens for taking a moral stand.

By flagrantly and repeatedly violating an immoral law, I have flagrantly and repeatedly saluted the honor of America’s promise. At West Point, when we recited the Cadet Prayer we reminded ourselves “always to choose the harder right over the easier wrong.” It would be easy to pay the $2500 bill and be swiftly done with this diseased chapter of my life, where I sinfully deceived and tolerated self-hatred under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Many thousands have wrestled with their responsibilities and expedient solutions when confronted with issues of this magnitude. I understand you also wrestle with issues of our equality. But I choose to cease wrestling, to cease the excuses, to cease the philosophical grandstanding and ethical gymnastics of political expediency in the face of moral duty. My obligations to take a stand, knowing all the continued consequences of my violations, are clear.

I refuse to pay your claim.

Respectfully,
Dan Choi
Former Army First Lieutenant
West Point Class of 2003

Attached:
DFAS Account Statement 12/20/2010 (2 pages)

Hat tip to Pam.

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The San Diego Union-Tribune:

Hunter, a Marine combat veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, is calling the legislation the Restore Military Readiness Act.

“The idea behind the Restore Military Readiness Act is not necessarily to prevent the implementation of the DADT repeal, but rather to ensure that military readiness and combat effectiveness are not adversely impacted,” Hunter said in a statement.

“Given that the service chiefs carry most of the day-to-day responsibilities for each service branch, their independent certification is just as important and equally necessary.”

The current law requires the president, the secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to sign off on the repeal.

A new Government Accountability Office report says the military spent over $193 million between 2004 and 2009 to replace around 3,660 troops. A Palm Center study in 2006 reported $363.8 million was spent by the military in the policy’s first ten years.

It’s worth noting that though Gen. James Amos — a Marine Corps Commandant — opposed the repeal, he said he would implement it anyway if Congress passed a law.

Cosponsors of the legislation include:

Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6]
Rep Bilbray, Brian P. [CA-50]
Rep Chaffetz, Jason [UT-3]
Rep Conaway, K. Michael [TX-11]
Rep Davis, Geoff [KY-4]
Rep Fleming, John [LA-4]
Rep Franks, Trent [AZ-2]
Rep Gibbs, Bob [OH-18]
Rep Gingrey, Phil [GA-11]
Rep Huelskamp, Tim [KS-1]
Rep Kline, John [MN-2]
Rep Lamborn, Doug [CO-5]
Rep Luetkemeyer, Blaine [MO-9]
Rep Manzullo, Donald A. [IL-16]
Rep Miller, Jeff [FL-1]
Rep Pearce, Stevan [NM-2]
Rep Rogers, Mike D. [AL-3]
Rep West, Allen B. [FL-22]

Update, 4:51 p.m. EST: The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a national, legal services and policy organization committed to repealing DADT, released a statement today about the new GAO report.

“Today’s GAO report underscores that the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law not only deprives the military of the qualified Americans it needs, but has also been a huge waste of taxpayer dollars on replacing patriots lost under this discriminatory law,” said Aubrey Sarvis, Army veteran and executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “These numbers remind us why it’s time to move forward on certification so we can begin implementing repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and make a smooth transition to open service.”