Tampa Bay Coalition
Eye on GLBT Gays & Lesbians in the Military
Rights News Archives
~ February, March & April 2003 ~
 
April 2003
 
Metropolitan Community Churches Reaching Out To Gay Military Families
April 23: The needs of thousands of gay and lesbian military spouses are being ignored and Metropolitan Community Churches, MCC, throughout the US are reaching out to families of gay and lesbian servicemembers left without support during the war. Because of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', gay service members are closeted, so their partners and children unable to receive help from the large number of programs designed to help military families. MCC announced it was setting up a program to assist gay families of servicemembers, with about 250 Churches across the nation taking part in the program.
 
For Gays, Secrecy in Love, War
April 17: Partners of American military personnel are the invisible players back home, bearing their burdens without support or rights.When he went off to fight in Iraq, the 39-year-old Los Angeles resident did what any airman might do. He took with him a photo of his beloved, a reminder of who waits for him at home. But the airman is gay. So the photo he carries with him appears to be of his dog. The pet is in the foreground, and the man's partner of five years, a 41-year-old talent agent named Brian, is in the background.
*April 10: Partners Silenced Under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' [Bay Windows Article Also About Brian & Partner]
 
Military Gay Linguist Firings Escalate
April 17: The number of linguists in the US military discharged because they are gay is growing despite a critical need for language specialists the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network today. In November the military fired nine linguists, trained in Arabic and Korean.  Since then, the SLDN said in a statement, it has assisted an additional twenty-four linguists targeted under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
TBC Eye on GLBT News Op~Ed. "Don't Ask - Don't Tell - No Gay Arabic Linguists"
 
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
April 16: SLDN Releases Revised 'Survival Guide' For Military Personnel.
April 16: Military Continues to Discharge LG&B Linguists, Despite Critical Shortfall of Trained Personnel.
 
Gays in Military See An Easing of Discrimination
April 8: She is a senior enlisted person, 34 years old, in the service for already 15 years. She is deployed on a ship conducting operations against Iraq in the Persian Gulf, working in the ship's command center. This is wartime, things in the military are different right now, as they have been in conflicts throughout American history, when the country's needs don't permit the luxury of indulging official bigotry.

Military Policy Exacerbates Stress of War For Homosexuals
April 3: When soldiers of the Army's 82nd Airborne were deployed in late February, their loved ones traveled from all over to Fort Bragg, N.C., to offer an emotional, public send-off. The same-sex partners of gay troops in the unit, though, had to say their farewells in secret, behind closed doors.
 
March 2003
 
Military Has Lowest Gay Dismissal Rate Since 1996, Report Says
The number of people forced to leave the military last year because of their homosexuality fell to the lowest level since 1996, an advocacy group for gays and lesbians in the military said Tuesday. Discharges of gay service members typically decline during times of war or conflict, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which released its annual report on the Pentagon's ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy.

Gays, Lesbians Press to Serve Openly in Military
Some people yearn to reinstate the prior policy, which made clear that homosexuals were not welcome. From the opposite flank, there is greater pressure than ever to allow gays to serve openly; gay-rights groups argue the military's war readiness is undercut by a policy that alienates gay soldiers or forces them from the ranks.

Partners of Gay Soldiers Bid Farewell in Secret
When the love of his life prepared to leave home for deployment to the Middle East just days after Valentine's Day, J.R. packed a bible, a rosary and the St. Michaels medal, symbol of the patron saint of the warrior. "We talked for over an hour that night," J.R. recalled. They also prayed, and said their good-byes behind closed.

Families Of Gay Soldiers Forced Into Shadows
SLDN now receives up to 25 calls each week from soldiers concerned about how to stay in touch with their partners, how to select same-gender individuals for benefits, emergency notification, how to report harassment and how to respond to investigations of their sexuality.
 
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Reports Sharp Increase in Calls for Assistance
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), the only national organization assisting men and women harmed by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," today reported a significant increase in calls for assistance. SLDN received a record 170 requests for help between January 1 and March 1, a thirty percent increase over the same period in 2002, when the group fielded approximately 119 such requests.
 
Colin Powell Defends Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy, Citing Privacy Concerns
During an interview with TeenInk.com, Secretary of State Colin Powell defended the military's ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service members. While denouncing homophobia and acknowledging the work of lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans at the State Department, Powell noted that ". I think it's a different matter with respect to the military, because, you're essentially told who you're going to live with, who you're going to sleep next to."
 
February 2003
 
TeenInk.Com Interview With Secretary of State Colin Powell
By Maria A., Sussex, N.J.; Mark S., Wilmington, DE and Olga T., Franklin, MA.
 
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