Societal shifts on gay issues

Societal shifts on gay issues
By The Associated Press
02.02.2010 2:56pm EST

A lot has changed since the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was instituted 17 years ago. Some indicators of societal shifts:

* President Barack Obama’s signing last year of hate crimes legislation marked the first time that gays and lesbians were given comprehensive legal status as a protected class. Many states have passed laws against hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

* Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont and the District of Columbia have adopted laws permitting marriage of gay couples. Another nine states – New Jersey, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Colorado, Maine, Hawaii and Wisconsin – have granted various degrees of similar rights to gay domestic partners.

* The public’s attitude toward gays and lesbians has undergone a significant shift. The gay-rights group Human Rights Campaign says polls show about three-quarters of Americans say it’s OK for gays to serve openly in the military, compared with 44 percent in 1993.

* Internationally, the list of countries that allow openly gay people to serve in their armed forces has grown to 28, including Canada, Israel, Australia and most of Europe.

* The U.S. Census has for the first time begun tabulating information about gay couples who live together.

* Supporters of gay rights have formed a House caucus, which has 83 members. There are three openly gay members of Congress: Reps. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jared Polis of Colorado, all Democrats.

* Overall, there were about 50 openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered elected officials in the United States in 1993, according to the Victory Fund, which recruits and promotes gay candidates. Today, there are 460. The nation’s fourth-largest city, Houston, Texas, installed openly gay Annise Parker as mayor last month.

* A 2003 ruling by the Supreme Court said that anti-sodomy statutes are unconstitutional, and that states can’t criminalize intimate relations between same-sex partners.

McCain: “Deeply dissappointed” by attempt to repeal DADT
By The Associated Press
02.02.2010 2:41pm EST

(WASHINGTON) Sen. John McCain is bristling at the Pentagon’s decision to launch a yearlong study into allowing gays to serve openly in uniform, saying he is “deeply disappointed” and calling the assessment “clearly biased” because it presumes the law should be changed.

McCain, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said the current policy is not ideal, but that it has been effective.

His remarks were in direct contrast to Adm. Mike Mullen, who said it was his personal opinion that lifting the ban was “the right thing to do.” Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested that lawmakers should stand down from the process until the military can get a better handle on how to proceed. He told the panel: “Keep the impact it will have on our forces firmly in mind.”