Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJuly 20th, 2010
Today Lt. Dan Choi blocked a street in Las Vegas, NV, to call on Harry Reid to bring ENDA to a vote.
Wait, I’m confused. I though Choi was our self-delegated point-man on DADT? I mean, wasn’t that the idea behind protesting at the White House in uniform – because he’s fighting for the right to be a good dutiful serviceman? He’s not an activist, he’s an injured party. Right?
Or perhaps he has a free day. Maybe there’s just nothing DADT related going on today?
Meanwhile 233 miles to the west former Navy Lt. Jenny Kopfstein was testifying today in federal court in Riverside, CA, to have the Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy declared unconstitutional. She’s there with discharged linguist Alex Nicholson, DADT expert Nathaniel Frank, and scholar Lawrence Korb facing off against Department of Justice lawyers who are challenging their standing, their relevance, their scholarship and their credibility in order to overturn the discriminatory policy.
So why isn’t Choi in Riverside? In fact, why isn’t anyone in Riverside. That is the question that reporter Karen Ocamb is wondering.
I drove up from West Hollywood for Tuesday’s opening arguments and was startled at how few non-attorneys showed up. After all, this is essentially the military equivalent of the federal Prop 8 trial – evidence in a court of law about how gays are officially treated as second class citizens by the federal government. But for all the high decibel attention over repealing DADT and the Pentagon’s homophobic survey – no one showed up with picket signs to demonstrate outside or packed the courtroom to support the plaintiffs in this serious David versus Goliath legal battle. What does this thundering absence tell the government about how much LGBTs really care about this horrendous law?
Was driving to hot Riverside just too inconvenient? Does the fact that the plaintiffs are gay Republicans play a role in LGBT and civil rights groups ignoring the case? Would there be a similar deafening silence if the plaintiff was photogenic Lt. Dan Choi or some fire-breathing progressive who wanted to stick it to President Obama, the Pentagon or the Department of Justice?
What does it say about the real principles of the LGBT movement for equality that no one but three local LGBT activists, a couple of Log Cabin members from Palm Springs and a handful of reporters showed up for part one of this trial?
Karen has been covering gay news for longer than there was a blogosphere and she is no fool when it comes to evaluating what is important and what has lasting impact. And she’s dead right.
This case could change our lives. It is part of the package – a very important part of the package – of lawsuits that go to the question of whether the words “all men are created equal” includes us. This case has the potential to declare that no part of the government – not even the Military – has the right to exclude gay men and women or to apply rules to us that are not applied to other groups of Americans.
And it deserves our attention.
Log Cabin has transcripts and motions. And Karen has been doing stellar coverage along with the Advocate.
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RJ
July 20th, 2010
Tim,
I agree with you that the Riverside case deserves attention. I am glad that Karen is covering it so well.
Still, it is poor taste to target and insult GetEQUAL and Dan Choi. Even if you don’t agree with their level of civil disobedience (which is becoming more and more commonplace since this is a perpetuating civil rights movement), they are out there risking arrest to raise awareness for a vast array of social issues.
Will it piss our opponents off? Yes. More importantly, it will make many, many people realize and eventually see how angry we are and how devastating and disgusting harm done to us really is.
-RJ
Ben
July 20th, 2010
“Does the fact that the plaintiffs are gay Republicans play a role in LGBT and civil rights groups ignoring the case?”
It probably does. It also doesn’t come out of nothing.
Lindoro Almaviva
July 20th, 2010
I don’t get it. Is she calling Choi to the carpet because he was not there? Or is she calling US to the carpet because we are treating the republicans (who had the balls to call the administration to the carpet) like the red-headed child?
I think she does have a point on calling us to the carpet. As much as we would like to treat gay republicans like they are traitors, the fact of the matter is that they are doing what no democrat dared to do.
Lucrece
July 20th, 2010
Too little, too late.
The movement has already been hijacked by progressives as a tool for further recruitment into their other coalition interests.
By now most of the gay rabble has been conditioned to react negatively without thinking toward any group not belonging to their coalition.
Dr. Matthew
July 20th, 2010
Seriously, Tim? Bashing Choi and GetEqual for being activists? Since when is that a dirty word, and since when do civil rights movements not need them?
John
July 20th, 2010
Quite frankly I think blocking off a major street in Las Vegas is irrelevant and counterproductive. This isn’t’ the type of activism we need.
Tommy
July 21st, 2010
It has probably something to do with this trial’s lack of media coverage. “In fact, why isn’t anyone in Riverside” Possibly it has something to do with this being the first mention(on BTB at least) that this is even happening in Riverside.
Karen says, “I drove up from West Hollywood for Tuesday’s opening arguments and was startled at how few non-attorneys showed up,” which means there weren’t any reporters there either. A quick check shows only the two AP stories, and a Washington Post interview as the only mainstream coverage. The blog coverage is only slightly better, but with more diffuse viewer ship.
I’m more than willing to bet this isn’t the fault of… well no one seems to be blaming anyone other than possibly Dan Choi… whoever, but rather an apathetic media.
Greg
July 21st, 2010
I would have been there, but I live in Denver.
I would have testified, but I live in Denver.
Lindoro Almaviva
July 21st, 2010
I completely and 100% disagree. This is exactly one of the types of activism we need in the community.
It is a fact of life that angry, shocking, brash and unapologetic activism generates the kind of attention that will allow those with a ore moderate tone to advance the agenda. Lemme offer some examples and scenarios:
1. If it had not been for a group of unapologetic suffragists who would not take no for an answer and were willing to disrupt the lives of those around them, women would have not gained the vote when they did.
2. If it had not been for MLK, the Black Panthers and many people like them, who were willing to disrupt meetings, lunch counters, buses and even trash collection, segregation would have continued in the south for much longer.
3. Had it not been for the hippies and the many people who were willing to protest against the Vietnam war, that war would have continued for longer than it did.
4. If it had not been for ACT-UP, AIDS research and (and its funding), let alone the Reagan administration’s acknowledgment of it would have taken longer than what it did.
Face it, while it might be unpopular, not pretty, embarrassing and [insert your own adjective here], the people with more moderate ways of negotiating would not have as much clout as they do, because the other side would not be able to see the repercussions of their actions.
If gay men do not(and are not willing to)show their anger over the way we are being treated, then the other side will only see our plight as people complaining over a mild annoyance. The only way the HRC and like associations are effective is because there re people like Choi and ACT-UP who are willing to go to jail over the cause and by the time HRC and the like get involved the people on the other side are aware of the depth of the anger over the way we are being treated.
So, disagree with Choi all you want, but do not criticize him and do not dare call his activism unnecessary because Choi is willing to go to jail for the cause, something many people here are not willing to do. He disrupted that avenue and I say good for him, that delivered a message that (hopefully) shook Reid in his boxers, and people, as annoyed as they were saw a man willing to do anything for something he believes in, including getting a rap sheet that will prevent him from working on several industries.
Are we all willing to do that?
Jim Burroway
July 21st, 2010
I don’t have much of an opinion about the action in Las Vegas either way. Eh, block traffic, don’t block traffic. When our rights are violated, we can make someone 20 minutes late to their next casino. No big whoop.
But I do want to highlight what I believe is the larger point. There is a trial going on in L.A. that has the potential of overturning DADT, something that the White House and Congress have been dragging their feet on despite overwhelming majorities of Americans supporting its repeal. And I do have to wonder why LGBT activists — Choi, GetEqual, Gay Inc., progressive bloggers — so many of them are pretending that this trial isn’t happening.
We held onto every word of the Prop 8 trial, including massive live-blogs and YouTube re-enactments. (A trial, by the way, that Gay, Inc opposed.) We cheered the successes of the two DOMA cases in Massachuetts. But this one? Crickets.
What’s up with that?
I mean, seriously. I am definitely not a Republican. But is our collective disdain for Log Cabin so deep that we don’t want to draw attention to the fact that they are actually trying to get rid of DADT? Is there a collective fear that they might actually succeed where Gay Inc has so far not been able to?
Are we that petty?
ZRAinSWVA
July 21st, 2010
Lindoro wrote, “If it had not been for a group of unapologetic suffragists who would not take no for an answer and were willing to disrupt the lives of those around them, women would have not gained the vote when they did.”
True, but not the whole story. Interesting read from the Smithsonian:
Smithsonian Magazine – Prohibition
Mike in Houston
July 21st, 2010
As noted in another post (NOM’s watching), it’s pretty apparent that there is a diversity of opinion about tactics in our community.
I don’t think it’s denigrating Choi to question the appropriateness of GetEqual’s attempt to annoint him as THE focal point for all things DADT (as if HE is the only one trying to hold this Administration and our allies accountable for their promise of DADT repeal).
HRC is notably silent on this front as well — even though their own “blog” is flogging DADT protests in North Dakota and New Hampshire.
From the beginning, this effort by the LCR’s has been viewed askance by just about every other LGBT organization — and I think that the fact that it’s LCR has everything to do with that. (And let’s face it, LCR hasn’t actually been the greatest about making the case for their approach to garnering LGBT civil equality.)
It’s a pity… gains for our community often come from the unlikeliest places.
ebohlman
July 21st, 2010
In all fairness, part of the lack of attention paid to the DADT trial may be due to the fact that at the moment, the trial is dealing with largely procedural issues that aren’t very interesting to anyone but legal eagles. Once the plaintiffs and defendants start making substantive arguments, interest might heat up (and media coverage might increase; again, at the moment all a reporter would be able to come up with is a boring technical story).
Gregory
July 21st, 2010
I would also add that the Financial Regulation bill, the discussion about Elizabeth Warren, issues in Afghanistan, the Deepwater Horizon and incoming storms, and a few other large, national issues (did I mention Elena Kagan?) are of more immediate and broader concern.
That being said, as a progressive, I do think that there is more silence about this issue. Military rights and military issues are not popular on the left. There may indeed be a power dynamic at work here. And unfortunately so. While I oppose most of our military spending (also see todays Washington Post piece about Gov’t Secrecy), this is about recognizing the dignity of GLBT individuals.
Greg
July 22nd, 2010
I just read over at PHB that Lt. Choi was at Netroots Nation in Las Vegas. That might be why he was there instead of California.
Tom
July 25th, 2010
Once again we have a lack of unity within the LGBT movement. I just checked the web site of Servicemembers United and could find no mention of the Riverside trial. WTF? They should at least be filing amicus curiae briefs and giving the trial some publicity, even if they’re not fond of the Log Cabin Republicans.
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