National
Obama meets with Joint Chiefs on ‘Don’t Ask’
Gibbs believes president has seen parts of report
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed on Monday that President Obama met with the Joint Chiefs on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a planned topic of discussion on Monday during a meeting between President Obama and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the White House.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Monday confirmed that Obama was meeting the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Oval Office to discuss “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Pentagon report on the matter.
“I think the president right now is in the Oval Office meeting with the Joint Chiefs about the issue and about the report,” Gibbs said in response to questioning from the Blade. “We look forward to the presentation by [Defense] Secretary [Robert] Gates and [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] Adm. [Mike] Mullen tomorrow and then their testimony later in the week.”
Gibbs said he believes the president has seen “parts of” the report on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which is due for release Tuesday. Still, Gibbs said he would need to double-check whether Obama has indeed seen the study and doesn’t “want to ahead of” the release of report “in terms of commenting.”
In February, Mullen testified before the Senate that he favors allowing openly gay people to serve in the military. But the service chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force have said they oppose legislative action on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” before the Pentagon completes its report. New Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos has said he continues to oppose an end to the military’s gay ban.
Support for repeal from the service chiefs could be key in moving several fence-sitting senators to back an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” although Gibbs has previously hinted he doesn’t think unanimous agreement among the chiefs is essential to moving forward.
Asked on Monday whether the president attempted during the Oval Office meeting to get the service chiefs to support repeal in lame duck, Gibbs said he’d supply the Blade a readout of the discussion later.
One question remains on when the Senate will schedule a floor vote on major defense legislation that includes language for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has committed to holding a vote on the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill, but hasn’t yet announced a date for scheduling the motion to proceed.
Jim Manley, a Reid spokesperson, told the Blade on Monday morning there’s “nothing new yet” with regard to when the majority leader would schedule a vote on the defense authorization bill.
The majority leader is likely to bring up the legislation following Senate hearings this week on the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” report.
A number of key senators have said they wouldn’t vote to move forward with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal in lame duck unless Senate leadership sets up a more open amendment process on the defense authorization bill than what was proposed during an earlier failed attempt at bringing the legislation to the floor in September.
Reid has said he wouldn’t bring up the DREAM Act as an amendment to the defense authorization bill during lame duck and would instead bring up the immigration-related legislation as a standalone measure. Still, a number of senators have said a more open amendment process is a condition for their vote in ending the filibuster on the motion to proceed.
Gibbs noted decisions have already made with some amendments and that the DREAM Act has been taken off the table as an amendment to the defense authorization bill.
“Obviously, I think they have made some decisions about some amendments, and some amendments that have been taken out and voted on separately,” Gibbs said. “I think we just talked about that in terms of the DREAM Act.”
Gibbs said he’d have to speak with the White House Office of Legislative Affairs on whether the president has given Senate leadership any guidance on handling the defense authorization bill when it comes up again during the lame duck session.
Asked whether the president believes the amendment process in September was fair, Gibbs reiterated the president’s commitment to repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislatively.
“I think the president strongly believed that this was an issue that can, should — can and should be solved legislatively, encouraged the Senate to act legislatively on the defense authorization bill, and, particularly, changing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” Gibbs said. “That’s our position now and I don’t anticipate that the release of the report will do anything but strengthen that case.”
Watch a video of the questioning here (via Think Progress):
Federal Government
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
Agency proposing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking public comment on a proposed test of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the American Community Survey. The test would begin this summer and continue into next year.
The Census Bureau published the request as a Federal Register notice. In its press release the agency noted that the ACS is an ongoing survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. It allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
As part of the process for adding new questions to the ACS, the Census Bureau tests potential questions to evaluate the quality of the data collected.
The Census Bureau proposes testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to meet the needs of other federal agencies that have expressed interest in or have identified legal uses for the information, such as enforcing civil rights and equal employment measures.
The test would follow the protocols of the actual ACS — with one person asked to respond to the survey on behalf of the entire household. These particular questions are asked about people 15 years of age or older. Households are invited to respond to the survey online, by paper questionnaire or by phone.
The current Federal Register notice gives the public a final opportunity to provide feedback before the Census Bureau submits its recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The public may provide feedback through May 30 online.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
In a statement shared via the Human Rights Campaign, Shepard said, “This unexpected honor has been very humbling for me, Dennis, and our family. What makes us proud is knowing our President and our nation share our lifelong commitment to making this world a safer, more loving, more respectful, and more peaceful place for everyone.
“I am grateful to everyone whose love and support for our work through the years has sustained me.
“If I had the power to change one thing, I can only dream of the example that Matt’s life and purpose would have shown, had he lived. This honor reminds the world that his life, and every life, is precious.”
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
“Judy Shepard has been a champion for equality and President Biden’s choice to honor her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a testament to what she’s done to be a force of good in the world,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“A mother who turned unspeakable grief over the loss of her son into a decades-long fight against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and violence, Judy continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
“It is because of her advocacy that the first federal hate crimes legislation became law and that countless life-saving trainings, resources and conversations about equality and acceptance are provided each year by the Matthew Shepard Foundation,” Robinson said. “We are honored that Judy is a member of the HRC family and know that her work to create a more inclusive and just world will only continue.”
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
National
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
Delegates also voted for other LGBTQ-inclusive measures
The United Methodist Church on Wednesday removed a ban on gay clergy that was in place for more than 40 years, voting to also allow LGBTQ weddings and end prohibitions on the use of United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
Overturning the policy forbidding the church from ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” effectively formalized a practice that had caused an estimated quarter of U.S. congregations to leave the church.
The New York Times notes additional votes “affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.” Wednesday’s measures were passed overwhelmingly and without debate. Delegates met in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration, there were 5,424,175 members in the U.S. in 2022 with an estimated global membership approaching 10 million.
The Times notes that other matters of business last week included a “regionalization” plan, which gave autonomy to different regions such that they can establish their own rules on matters including issues of sexuality — about which international factions are likelier to have more conservative views.
Rev. Kipp Nelson of St. Johns’s on the Lake Methodist Church in Miami shared a statement praising the new developments:
“It is a glorious day in the United Methodist Church. As a worldwide denomination, we have now publicly proclaimed the boundless love of God and finally slung open the doors of our church so that all people, no matter their identities or orientations, may pursue the calling of their hearts.
“Truly, all are loved and belong here among us. I am honored to serve as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for such a time as this, for our future is bright and filled with hope. Praise be, praise be.”
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