Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Chicago City Council Passes LGBT Military Resolution
by Andrew Davis
2005-08-03

This article shared 5620 times since Wed Aug 3, 2005
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


The Chicago City Council approved, without objection, a resolution calling for repeal of the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' ban on LGBT personnel July 27. The council unanimously approved the resolution urging Congress to pass the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, a bill pending in Congress to repeal the military's ban and allow lesbian and gay Americans the opportunity to serve openly.

In urging the council to pass the measure, Ald. Tom Tunney, D-44th Ward, noted that passing the resolution would be in keeping with the political body's stance on past issues. 'We owe it to our Chicago servicemembers to stand up for rights they possess here, and have those most basic values follow them into the military,' he said. Tunney added that ' [ d ] iscrimination based on sexual orientation is out of touch with mainstream society. The corporate world has accepted this and it's time for the military to do the same.'

Among the attendees at the meeting were Jean Albright, who served in the Air Force for 20 years and is a board member of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and on staff at Windy City Times; Jim Darby, president of the local chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights; Bill Greaves, director/community liaison of the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues; and Will Schmutz, director/community liaison of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations Advisory Council on Veterans' Affairs.

On July 12, these individuals, along with Dr. Jose Zuniga and John D. Moore ( via letter ) , testified in favor of the resolution in front of the City Council's Committee on Human Relations.

When asked how she felt about the passing of the resolution, Albright could hardly contain her enthusiasm. 'I'm just very proud of Chicago for being the first Midwestern voice to speak up on the side of reason,' she said. 'I wish I had known during my 20 years closeted in the military that I would be anywhere around [ when something like this happened ] and that I would be in a room discussing changes and see it go through.'

According to the SLDN Web site, the Chicago measure follows similar resolutions adopted by the New York, West Hollywood and San Francisco city councils. Earlier this year, a statewide resolution calling for an end to the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law was introduced in the California state legislature. The bill is supported by 90 members of Congress, including Illinois Democrats Danny Davis, Luis Gutierrez, Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Jan Schakowsky.

In a related story, a report released July 25 revealed that if the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy were repealed, the armed forces could relieve a critical troop shortage.

According to 365Gay.com, the report, prepared by the Williams Project at the UCLA School of Law and released by SLDN, shows that without the ban, the military could expect to see 41,000 new recruits. This result comes as the Pentagon admits it will not meet its recruiting goal this year for the first time since 1999.

The Williams Project based its analysis on data from the 2000 census, according to Gary J. Gates, senior research fellow at the UCLA School of Law. Gates has previously estimated there are 65,000 lesbian and gay Americans currently serving in the forces.

Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office issued a report showing that the military policy has cost taxpayers more than $200 million since its inception in 1993. More than 10,000 service members have been discharged over the last 10 years under the policy, according to SLDN's statistics.


This article shared 5620 times since Wed Aug 3, 2005
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor 2024-03-08
- Hanania Ben-Shimon—the gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recently—published a post in which he pleaded that his ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Chuck Schumer, anti-marriage bill, drag event back on, military doctor 2024-02-23
- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced his support for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)—and, as a result, several LGBTQ+-advocacy organizations dropped their opposition to it, The Hill ...


Gay News

Col. Jennifer Pritzker comments on military museum move 2024-02-13
- Local transgender philanthropist Col. Jennifer Pritzker commented to Windy City Times about the impending move of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library (PMML), which she founded in 2003, to Wisconsin. "At the end of the day, ...


Gay News

Pritzker Military Library to close in July, move to Wisconsin 2024-02-08
- On Feb. 7, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library announced that it is closing its downtown Chicago location on July 27 and moving to an archives center in Wisconsin later this year, according to The Chicago ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Paris Johnson 2023-12-29
- Paris Johnson, 29, of Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, passed away unexpectedly Nov. 28. He would have celebrated his 30th birthday Dec. 20. Born into a military family in Sacramento, California, Paris moved often in his youth, ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Women's college, banned books, military initiative, Oregon 2023-12-29
- After backlash regarding a decision to update its anti-discrimination policy and open enrollment to some transgender applicants, a Catholic women's college in Indiana will return to its previous admission policy, per The National Catholic Reporter. In ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Music awards, military film, Tom of Finland, Yo-Yo Ma, 'Harley Quinn' 2023-11-17
Video below - Brothers Osborne—a duo that includes gay brother TJ Osborne—won Vocal Duo of the Year for the sixth time at the recent CMA Awards, per a media release. Backstage, TJ told reporters, "I did not expect us ...


Gay News

AVER celebrates LGBTQ+ veterans at annual Veterans Day dinner 2023-11-12
- Writer and historian Owen Keehnen was keynote speaker at the the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) Chicago Chapter's 32nd annual LGBTQ Veterans Day Banquet held on Veterans Day at Ann Sather restaurant on Belmont. Keehnen ...


Gay News

South Korean court upholds military 'sodomy law' 2023-10-28
- For the fourth time, South Korea's constitutional court has upheld two anti-LGBTQ+ laws—including the country's notorious military "sodomy law," The Guardian reported. By a vote of five to four, the court confirmed the constitutionality of ar ...


Gay News

WORLD Couple's win, attack in Beirut, German military, gay ski week 2023-09-08
- In Strasbourg, France, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Bulgaria violated the rights of a same-sex couple (Darina Koilova and Lili Babulkova) by not recognizing their marriage abroad, RFE/RL reported. Rights groups lauded the ...


Gay News

'We've had a ball': Prominent activists Jim Darby and Patrick Bova celebrate 60th anniversary 2023-09-07
- One of the first couples to be legally married in Illinois is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. Jim Darby and Patrick Bova fell in love decades before they became the lead plaintiffs in Lambda Legal's ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Military drama, Janelle Monae, Conan Gray, Dylan Mulvaney, Whoopi 2023-08-31
- The LGBTQ+ military drama Eismayer (from Dark Star Pictures and Golden Girls Film) will be out in theaters on Oct. 6, and on DVD and Digital on Oct. 10, per a press release. The plot is ...


Gay News

FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act would undercut equality, Modern Military Assoc of America comments 2023-07-14
--From a press release - Washington D.C. - Anti-equality House members are using the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act to pass dangerous amendments targeting healthcare, gender-affirming care, education, and LGBTQ+ friendly services and resources. The ...


Gay News

WORLD Pride celebrations, puberty blockers, British military, killer sentenced 2023-06-16
- Gay Pride Buenos Aires is slated to take place Oct. 27-Nov. 4, according to GayTravel4U.com. More than 30 organizations and groups host activities that will begin a week before the parade (which is on Nov. 4). ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT War in the 21st Century: mercenaries, private military companies, private armies 2023-05-20
- In 2022, $407 billion of the Pentagon budget—representing half of that year's funding —were obligated to private contractors, of which a significant number were Private Military Companies (PMCs) involved in ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS






Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.