American Civil Liberties Union

Here in Washington, D.C., efforts to finally repeal the discriminatory and ineffective "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy gather increasing momentum by the day. However, some in the Pentagon could do better by more closely listening to the views of Gen. David Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen. In appearances before two congressional committees yesterday, Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, and Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, expressed their mutual concerns about moving too swiftly in repealing DADT.

With President Obama set to deliver his 2010 State of the Union address tomorrow night, rumors are swirling in Washington officialdom about whether or not the President will mention the policy known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), which excludes gay men and lesbians from military service, in his speech, and if so, exactly what will be said. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed to The Advocate that the policy was at least being seriously considered for inclusion in the speech.

(Originally posted on Huffington Post.)

All of America watched New Jersey's gubernatorial election. Some interpreted the result as a referendum on Barack Obama's leadership, but everyone voting in our state understood that the Democrat on the ticket was Jon Corzine, and Corzine alone, not a stand-in for our president.

Kudos to California Congresswomen Sue Davis and Ellen Tauscher for initiating what could be the beginning of the end of former President Bill Clinton's colossally stupid, discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy barring gays and lesbians from serving in the military. Congresswoman Davis held a hearing in the House Armed Services' Personnel Readiness Subcommittee yesterday.

The Washington Post reported last weekend that a whopping 75 percent of Americans think that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military. (A CNN poll from May puts the figure as high as 79 percent.) Since enacting the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy 15 years ago, the military has dismissed more than 12,500 gay men and lesbians. ABC News reports that the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) "says nearly 800 of those dismissed had skills the Pentagon deemed 'mission critical.'"