Finally, the discriminatory policy that prevents gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and possibly transgendered Americans from serving our country openly in the military was repealed by the Senate today. The House of Representatives passed the repeal bill earlier this week.

Cloture was approved by a margin of 63 yea to 33 nay votes, and the bill immediately advanced. Republicans ended the debate period after a couple of hours (instead of the maximum 30 hours they could have used) and the Senate voted on the final bill. The vote was 65 yea to 31 nay, and DADT is now repealed by a margin of 14 more votes than were required (after the cloture vote succeeded, only 51 votes were needed for repeal).

The President is expected to sign the bill into law early this week.

This is a huge victory for President Obama, a victory that was difficult and for which he spent a large amount of political capital. The Democratic and Progressive base has been quite upset with President Obama lately, especially over his signature on extending all of the Bush tax cuts yesterday. It’s amazing that about 24 hours later he was able to win a big victory and keep one of his most important campaign promises: getting DADT repealed in 2010 using the legislative process.

If repeal had not happened in the Legislative Branch, federal courts, which have already begun ruling that this law is unconstitutional, would have had to take it all the way to the Supreme Court. I’m not sure what would have happened with that process. If Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the case, repeal of the law would likely have failed because the final vote would have been 4-4, and in that case the 4th vote against repeal would have decided the issue. If Justice Kagan did not have to recuse herself, repeal would have passed. The final vote would have been 5-4 for repeal.

I’m extremely happy that repeal took place in the Legislature where the policy was codified in the first place. Now there is no doubt that repeal is final and that no one can accuse the court of legislating from the bench.

This is a great day for our LGBT military members, for all LGBT Americans, and for Americans as a whole. Civil rights and justice have been upheld by law instead of judicial enforcement of the U.S. Constitution. For once, public opinion was ahead of both the courts and the law on such an important civil rights issue. In so many cases in the past, it has taken the Supreme Court to grant Constitutionally guaranteed civil rights, but not this time.

This vote restored my faith that America can be great and we can do great things. I was truly beginning to believe we weren’t capable of greatness anymore.

We can bask in today’s victory, but we must return to work on LGBT civil rights on Monday. DOMA still has to be repealed, and equal marriage rights and work-place rights still do not belong to all LGBT Americans.

Technorati Tags: Civil Rights and Justice, DADT, DADT repealed, don't ask don't tell policy, gay lesbian bisexual transgender in the military, LGBT civil rights, U.S. military

I am angry and sickened by Maine putting gay marriage rights on a ballot. They just became state number 31 to overturn equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in a popular vote, after those rights became law in that state.

How is it that gay civil rights are allowed to be put to a popular vote? How is this in any way legal? It is not legal. It is a direct violation of our Constitutional right to equal protection under the law. LGBT organizations are going about this issue completely the wrong way. This is a U.S. Constitution 14th Amendment issue.

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.– 14th Amendment, United States Constitution

If our civil rights can be decided by popular vote, and not by our right to equal protection under the law, why not put anyone’s civil rights to a popular vote? Because it violates the U.S. Constitution.

Why don’t gay and lesbian couples have the same right to equal protection under the law guaranteed in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, including the equal right for two adults of the age of consent who are of the same gender to enter into the civil contract of marriage? Because we’re not really a country about equality in practice. We never have been.

We are a country full of bigots who will deny civil rights to any group we can until we are forced to stop denying those rights by the federal courts or by specific federal laws banning discrimination. When we obtain civil rights for one group, those rights do not carry over to the next group subject to the same discrimination (Gay marriage is similar to interracial marriage, see Loving v Virginia, 1967).

It seems in America no minority group has any civil rights until they are tested in the federal courts and the U.S. Congress. We’re supposed to be a country that guarantees equal rights to all, except we’re not. Any minority group discriminated against is automatically denied civil rights until the group wins a Supreme Court case protecting those rights, or Congress passes a law guaranteeing those rights. Our Constitution is essentially meaningless for minorities until it is enforced. Minorities must exercise their right to due process of law to receive the equal rights guaranteed in the same Constitutional Amendment.

Second Amendment rights don’t seem so tenuous. Anyone who carries a gun in accordance with the laws of the state in which they live cannot be stopped from carrying a gun. Gun laws are not discriminatory either. We saw that Constitutional Amendment exercised during the August town hall meetings on health care. Some who were licensed to carry guns, openly or concealed, brought them to town hall rallies and meetings, even one where President Obama was speaking. They were not permitted access to the President, but they were not removed from the rallies outside the buildings where the President was speaking. Why weren’t their guns taken away? Because of their 2nd Amendment rights to keep and bare arms. Why doesn’t the 14th Amendment have the same weight as the 2nd Amendment?

When are we going to start fighting for gay and lesbian equal rights on the civil rights battleground on which it belongs?

When are we going to demand our 14th Amendment rights the way others demand and exercise their 2nd Amendment rights?

Photo credit:  San Francisco Chronicle photo by Liz Mangelsdorf

Technorati Tags: Civil Rights and Justice, gay marriage, LGBT civil rights, U.S. Constitution 14th Amendment

Two young soldiers who just completed basic training were volunteering at a local recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 1 when they were shot. Private Quinton Ezeagwula is recovering and Private William Long was killed. Our prayers are with Private Long’s family and friends for his loss and with Private Ezeagwula and his family and friends for a speedy recovery.

The alleged gunman’s name is Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad (formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe) and he had a significant amount of fire power in his car along with a substantial amount of ammunition. He was already under investigation by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force after returning to the U.S. after being jailed in Yemen for using a fake Somali passport.

Rachel Maddow interviews former FBI counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence specialist David Cid:

Many questions remain, such as how does someone under investigation by an elite FBI task force get so much hardware, and was he working alone.

This domestic terrorist attack is very similar to the murder of Dr. George Tiller. It was motivated by religious extremism and the idea that it’s okay to kill people who don’t share your views.

The difference? Muhammad is a Muslim and is being called a home-grown terrorist and something needs to be done about stopping people like him who come from radical Mosques. Roeder is a Christian who is associated with a known radical anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue. These Christian radical anti-abortion groups are known and have been known for decades to incite and commit violence, including murder, against other Americans because they disagree with those other Americans’ beliefs. In other words, they commit domestic terrorism.

Either way, they are all home-grown terrorists, except the anti-abortion movement operates in the open, in full view of law enforcement. If Muslim anti-American terrorists tried that, we would catch them instead of ignoring them.

When are we going to see the violent anti-abortion movement as the same sort of domestic terrorism as we see Muhammad, McVeigh, Nichols and the Unibomber? Roeder is the same as these guys.

The ultimate question is how do we stop this kind of violence and protect our civil liberties and privacy at the same time?

Please leave your thoughts in the comments, but be warned. Inflammatory comments will be deleted. Multiple inflammatory comments or threats will get you banned from this site.

Technorati Tags: Civil Rights and Justice, domestic terrorism, Little Rock Arkansas, William Long murder