Free Republic

The equal treatment of gay spouses in the military took a step forward after the Fort Bragg spouse’s club offered full membership to the wife of a female officer. Ashley Broadway, who is married to Lt. Col. Heather Mack, was offered full membership to the Association of Bragg Officers’ Spouses on Friday, after initially being offered a guest membership. “In order to immediately support all military officer spouses who are eligible for ABOS membership, a more inclusive definition of spouse was needed,” the group wrote on its website. Moving forward, the group said any spouse of an active duty commissioned...

One of the items on Obama’s second term agenda is to root out traditionally Christian chaplains from the military. He sees them as bigots unworthy of conscience protections. Like Chick-fil-A, they don’t uphold Obama’s “values.” Obama’s mouthpieces in the military have already blurted this out. In 2010, Admiral Michael Mullen told a Christian chaplain who opposed the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that “If you cannot get in line, resign your commission.” That same year Lieutenant General Thomas P. Bostick, the Army’s deputy chief of staff in charge of personnel, said military members who dissent from Obama’s...

In a landmark settlement, the Pentagon has agreed to give full back pay to U.S. service members who were discharged due to their sexual orientation under the military's “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The payouts will be granted to service members dismissed from the military under the now-repealed policy on or after November 2004. “This means so much to those of us who dedicated ourselves to the military, only to be forced out against our will for being who we are,” former Air Force Staff Sgt. Richard Collins said in a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought...

Chuck Hagel's Record On Gay Rights 1996: ... says he would have voted for the Defense of Marriage Act 1999: ... opposes repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy 2005: ... Hagel calls on the [Nebraska] court to reverse its decidsion, complaining the court had overridden Nebraska voters who opposed gay marriage Chuck Hagel's Apology: Too Little, Too Late Log Cabin Republicans ...

<p>The first same-sex marriage at West Point’s Cadet Chapel will be celebrated Saturday – when a military veteran and her partner exchange vows roughly one year after President Obama ended the military policy banning openly gay people from serving in the military.</p>

President Obama's expansion of gay rights in the military, including on-base same sex marriage and wearing uniforms in gay pride parades, would be radically yanked back in a Mitt Romney administration, according to Republican platform positions taking shape in Tampa and OK'd by the candidate. "We're pushing back," said Elaine Donnelly, of the conservative Center for Military Readiness. "This is pretty big." While one subcommittee was tightening anti-abortion and "traditional marriage" language that won praise from the Family Research Council, a national security team moved rapidly to pull back expanded gay rights derided by critics as "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered...

Did Secret Service officials associated with Vice President Joe Biden thank a baker for refusing to host the vice president at his shop on Wednesday, as local media reported? The U.S. Secret Service says it didn’t happen. “[O]ur personnel were not involved in making that statement,” U.S. Secret Service spokesman Max Milien told National Review Online’s Daniel Foster. “Milien said there were agents in the bakery, along with (similarly dressed) local law enforcement, but that USSS was there merely to thank the shop owners for their trouble and apologize for any inconvenience the advance team may have caused them,” National...

Suspect in shooting allegedly said, 'I don't like your politics'By Jordy Yager - 08/16/12 01:03 PM ET Officials have filed charges against Floyd Lee Corkins II for allegedly shooting a security guard in the arm at the Family Research Council’s (FRC) building in Washington, D.C. Prosecutors with the Department of Justice charged Corkins, who is from Herndon, Va., with illegally transporting a firearm and ammunition across state lines and assaulting the guard with the intent to kill him while armed. Corkins, 28, is expected to make an appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday. In...

The U.S. Department of Defense's recognition of Gay Pride Month less than a year after the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) is the new "stark reality" that behavior once considered by the military as grounds for court martial is now celebrated, says the director of a chaplain alliance group. "For the first time ever, the Department of Defense is making a positive event over behavior (sodomy) that had been a court martial offense a year ago," Chaplain (Col.) Ron Crews, USAR retired, executive director for the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, told The Christian Post on Monday. "Now...

Less than a year after the Defense Department's "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy toward gay and lesbian service members was repealed, the Pentagon says it will hold its first-ever Gay Pride event Tuesday. The event is likely to be a more toned-down version of the Gay Pride parades that take place every June in cities around the world—sans the flags, wigs, beads and boas. (Though some have suggested rainbow camo or berets.) Instead, the Pentagon has planned a somber-sounding panel discussion entitled "The Value of Open Service and Diversity," according to a Defense Department press release. The event will...

But now, thanks to the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, gay and lesbian soldiers and sailors have been told by top brass that it is OK to be out and proud. “As we recognize Pride Month, I want to personally thank all of our gay and lesbian service members,” said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in a videotaped message released last week. “You can be proud of serving your country and be proud of who you are when in uniform.” In addition to the video, the Pentagon will host a Pride Month event on June 26 with a keynote speaker...

Two Republican congressmen and a military chaplains’ organization are crying foul after the U.S. Army confirmed that an Army chaplain officiated a same-sex wedding ceremony for two female soldiers last month in the base chapel at Fort Polk, La. “The liberal social experiment with our military continues. A same-sex marriage-like ceremony should not have occurred at Fort Polk, especially since the people of Louisiana have made it abundantly clear that our state does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions,” Louisiana Republican Rep. John Fleming said on Wednesday. “My frustration is compounded by the fact that a social agenda, which...

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell isn’t yet ready to endorse a presidential candidate, but on Wednesday evening, he endorsed same-sex marriage. Powell, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993 when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was implemented, said in an interview on CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer that he has “no problem” with marriage equality and speculated that most Americans are prepared to adapt to changing times. “As I've thought about gay marriage, I know a lot of friends who are individually gay but are in partnerships with loved ones. And they are stable...

City official consults Ouija board before vote SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A San Francisco supervisor says he consulted a Ouija board before city leaders voted on whether to recommend naming a Navy ship after slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Supervisor John Avalos tells the San Francisco Chronicle (http://bit.ly/KnVnbu ) that he believes he made contact with Milk's spirit and that Milk spelled out letters indicating: "Good riddance to don't ask, don't tell." The Board of Supervisors approved the non-binding resolution Tuesday on a 9-2 vote. Milk was a city supervisor and former naval officer. He was fatally shot in...

Since President Obama declared his support for marriage equality last week, many politicos (including myself) have speculated about whether black voters, who are divided on the issue, will abandon him. The consensus among gay rights supporters and foes alike is a resounding "no." Sure, some black clergy are outraged, but even they admit this issue is no deal breaker. And the ongoing debate over an unlikely black backlash eclipses what promises to be the most profound impact of the president's "evolution." President Obama has single-handedly dismantled the "don't ask, don't tell" policy within the black church -- that silent disdain...

ROBIN Roberts was worried Barack Obama would out her as a lesbian. According to a Gawker report, the ABC news anchor — who scored the President Obama gay marriage interview — wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the scoop because she thought it would bring her own sexuality to the forefront. “Most of the discussions [among TV people] today about why Robin got the interview have to do with her being gay,” a source said. “Not that she’s black, or friends of the Obamas. “Obviously they picked her because she’s black and gay.

Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer: I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. I hope you'll take a moment to watch the conversation, consider it, and weigh in yourself on behalf of marriage equality: http://my.barackobama.com/Marriage I've always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution. But over the course of several years I've...

For the first time, California would ask its contractors if they are gay under legislation passed Monday by the Assembly. The measure, Assembly Bill 1960, would enable the owners of businesses that contract with the state to identify themselves as gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual. It would not require them to do so. The Assembly vote was 47-24, with only one Republican supporting it. The Department of General Services currently is required to collect data on contractors by race, ethnicity and gender. AB 1960 would add LGBT-owned businesses to that list. The bill by Sacramento Democratic Assemblyman Roger Dickinson seeks...

FORT MEADE, Md. — A military judge refused on Thursday to dismiss the most serious charge against an Army private accused in the biggest leak of government secrets in U.S. history. Col. Denise Lind rejected a defense motion to throw out the charge of "aiding the enemy" during a pretrial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. It was one of several motions seeking to dismiss some or all of the charges, but Lind left all 22 counts against Manning in place. In seeking dismissal of the most serious offense, defense attorney...

Calls from national media, state activists, and more POSTED: Jan. 8, 2012 Calls and emails have been coming in from across the country. As we've recently reported, former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney publicly re-stated his support for homosexual "rights" in America while campaigning in Iowa last month. This included his agreement with the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" in the military; he said he wouldn't reverse that. He does say that marriage itself should be one man and one woman — but that homosexual relationships should be recognized, respected, and supported. Romney discusses his views on "gay rights" with...