Totally bizarre to see that in official writing - I agree! More than being wrong, it's just so WEIRD that because the dude admits to receiving dick in his butt or putting his dick in boybutt, he's out of a job. But the poo-eaters and golden shower folks are free to serve so long as the poo they eat and pee they drink comes from the opposite sex. I just don't get it.
And wtf--General Smurfy gets all the fancy-dancy legal mumbo jumbo lined up just right, and omits the "d" at the end of "discharged"? He's clearly unfit for service.
Okay, my rage is discharging in all directions like subsea crude through a BP cap. Drinkie time.
Will @17 is wrong as always. You don't have to have an honorable discharge to be eligible for benefits, etc., you just have to NOT have a dishonorable, bad conduct, or other than honorable discharge. The benefits are available to everyone with an honorable discharge or general discharge.
Weird coincidence - Dan Choi's Discharge was signed by Patrick A. Murphy )Brigadier General, NYSRNG) and the congressman who added the amendment to end Don't Ask Don't Tell to military spending bill that passed first in the house is Patrick J. Murphy. (D, PA)
One of the few good things that came from DADT was the manner of discharge.
Prior to DADT, gays in the military often served jail time for being gay, and then given a dishonorable discharge. A dishonorable discharge is the legal equivalent to a felony conviction. So gays not only lost veteran benefits, we also lost our right to vote, to own a gun, and other assorted rights that felons loose. You can't get a security clearance. And of course, getting a job with a felony record is a challenge. So is getting a loan or insurance, sometimes.
DADT mandated that gays be given either a general administrative or honorable discharge, which carries no legal stigma. We shouldn't be discharged at all, of course, but a general or honorable discharge is vastly preferable to jail time and a felony rap.
OMG, I remember that magazine cover so well. Its just IMPOSSIBLE for people under about 50 to understand just how very radical and cutting-edge it was at the time, both for the magazine and the person.
Here's a link to an interview about him and what happened AFTER this cover: http://home.earthlink.net/~ruthpett/lgbt…
http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/image…
Curious. Has that always been the case for the "DADT violators" or is it something new?
And what is NYARNG, anyway--the sound of a cock transiting your epiglottis?
@ 9, 10 - Actually, discharges under DADT do as a rule result in honorable discharge. At least, so I've heard from friends in JAG.
Okay, my rage is discharging in all directions like subsea crude through a BP cap. Drinkie time.
Thank you so much for posting that link about Peter Wichern. I was getting downright teary towards the end--we've lost so many good men.
Prior to DADT, gays in the military often served jail time for being gay, and then given a dishonorable discharge. A dishonorable discharge is the legal equivalent to a felony conviction. So gays not only lost veteran benefits, we also lost our right to vote, to own a gun, and other assorted rights that felons loose. You can't get a security clearance. And of course, getting a job with a felony record is a challenge. So is getting a loan or insurance, sometimes.
DADT mandated that gays be given either a general administrative or honorable discharge, which carries no legal stigma. We shouldn't be discharged at all, of course, but a general or honorable discharge is vastly preferable to jail time and a felony rap.
damn.
THAT's a blast from the past....
havene't heard that sentence in DECADES.
at least.