Were I at today’s news conference with the President, here would be my question:
You received word yesterday from U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings and 76 other members of Congress that they believe “our country’s national security will continue to suffer” each day that people continue to be kicked out of the Armed Forces simply for being honest that they are gay. Do you agree with those members of Congress? And if so, will you take the immediate action that they urge: to direct that the Pentagon stop “investigation of service personnel to determine their sexual orientation” and “disregard third party accusations” of the same and then work with Congress to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?
Yup. I discussed this letter earlier here and this idea for immediate action here.
[UPDATE: Kerry Eleveld from The Advocate reports that the Obama Administration's response to the letter that came to the President on Monday from more than one-sixth of Congress is a non-response repetition of the Gibbs line about the "only durable" change coming through Congress:
"President Obama remains committed to a legislative repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which he believes will provide a durable and lasting solution to this issue. He welcomes the commitment of these members to seeing Congress take action," read the statement.
But what about national security today, Mr. President?]
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found
This post seems to me exactly right. Your blog is a great, rational source of information: progressive yet fair. I’ve known about it for awhile (as we tend to write about some of the same issues), but this is the first time I’ve spent some time looking through it. The result is that I’m about to add it to my blogroll. Keep up your tireless work!