Gays

Tuesday marked the end of the Pentagon's nearly two-decade policy barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual people from military service. The death of "Don't ask, don't tell" is a big win for the LGBT rights community, but it may be an even bigger win for the nation's military and the communities that play host to major military installations. That's because the end of this discriminatory policy may go a long way toward dispelling the notion that there is a sharp divide between the culture of the military and that of society at large.

There is a saying that "when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. " That seems to sum up the Republican approach to all issues. The latest example is the GOP-controlled House, which just passed a budget bill that bans the use of military facilities for gay marriages. Gay discrimination in the military has ended. Gay marriage is legal is many states. Yet the Republicans have used a religious approach to everything and now have applied it the budget. There is medical condition in which fluid builds up in the wrist, causing swelling that looks like a small knot on the skin.

I have had more than enough of the ridiculous opinions as to why gays and lesbians should not be allowed to marry in Maryland, but Thomas M. Crawford's nonsensical letter ("Marriage requires couples to meet the requirements," Letters, Feb. 2) takes the cake. It is beyond belief How Mr. Crawford seems to think that the laws are fine since "any homosexual man can apply for a license to marry a woman, and any lesbian can apply for a license to marry a man. " Obviously no gay man would marry a woman, and no lesbian would marry a man, and the only reason gays and lesbians can't marry people of their own sex is that the law in the "Free State" won't allow it. Laws are often old, antiquated and discriminatory and need to be changed.

Your story on the installation of William E. Lori ("New prelate pledges firmness," May 17) as 16 t h archbishop of Baltimore reveals a religious bias that flies in the face of fair and unbiased reporting. You tout Mr. Lori's anti-gay bigotry as if it is, at it's worst, a neutral stand. When our history is written, he, like so many others, will be seen as an intolerant religious zealot who in the name of God and Christ stood for the oppression of others. Though Mr. Lori professes charity as his calling, his stand against civil rights is anything but. Your reporters failed to give voice to the devoted Christians, some of them Catholics, who believe in equality for gay and lesbian families.

The actions of the Itawamba County School District in Jackson, Mississippi, as they pertain to Constance McMillen, the lesbian high school senior, are a disgrace to everything for which this country stands. After having been sued because it would rather cancel the prom than have a lesbian appear in a tuxedo, the school district promised the court that there would be a private prom held at which there would be school officials as chaperones. But in a despicable act, the prom that Ms. McMillen was told to attend was one that basically amounted to a "separate but equal" prom held for the undesirables, while the majority of students attended another prom.

Once again the powerful homosexual lobby is roaming Annapolis for more "rights. " How come certain groups can propose the same legislation every year even though it has been rejected time and again? In addition, the state Court of Appeals has ruled against it. The ultimate goal of the homosexual lobby is not equality; it wants special protected status. Let's say you don't want schools to teach kids that having two daddies or two mommies is normal. You could be accused of discrimination for voicing that opinion.

In a recent article ("Transgender bias ban approved," Feb. 22), Baltimore County Councilman Tom Quirk describes his sexual orientation and gender identity bill as a "human rights bill" which he sponsored because "everyone deserves to be treated fairly. " Yes, everyone but the ex-gay community. As the only sexual orientation that is consistently discriminated against in Baltimore County, ex-gays asked Mr. Quirk to include former homosexuals in his bill which protects homosexuals and bisexuals.

The fairest thing the federal government could do would be to pass a law allowing gay and lesbian couples to form unions that give them the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual married couples. This would give them equal rights in every state. The term "marriage" need not be used at all, so there would be a separation of church and state. What would be involved would simply be a certification that the two partners plan to live together as a couple. Some good legal minds would be necessary to ascertain the division of money, property, etc., in case of divorce.

Bruce Fleming makes some fair points in raising concerns that the military must think hard about how to enforce a new policy that lets open gays serve in the military ("Military's history will repeat," April 20). But Mr. Fleming stumbles in several of his points. Mr. Fleming states that allowing openly gay service is not comparable to the integration of "soldiers of color" because "gender matters more fundamentally than skin color." Yet this is not how Americans experienced race generations ago. Indeed, while men and women have always lived together in the same household, many whites found the very idea of being in the same house with an African American totally unacceptable.

The 400-year advancement of African-Americans from chattel, to sharecroppers, to second-class citizens under Jim Crow, to our current status as emancipated citizens in today's democracy is one of the most powerful and transformative — although incomplete — stories in world history. The civil rights struggle is far from over for black people. We still have a long path forward to preserve our precious gains and narrow the stubborn educational, employment, housing and criminal justice disparities that hold us back.

When his roommate at the Naval Academy said jokingly last year that Andrew Atwill was a homosexual, the midshipman told him to cut it out. His friend didn't know it, Atwill says, but he really was gay — and under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, it could have jeopardized his military career. This year, the first since the Clinton-era policy was repealed, Atwill says change has come to the academy. And talking about his sexual orientation, rather than being a career-ending offense, has rallied midshipmen to his defense.

Maryland's highest court handed a victory to same-sex couples Friday in a ruling that the governor and other advocates hailed as an endorsement of administration policies recognizing gay marriages performed in other states. "To treat families differently under the law because they happen to be led by gay or lesbian couples is not right or just," Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement. "Today's decision is another step forward in our efforts to ensure that every child is protected equally under the law. " However, the ruling, in a case over whether Maryland courts could grant divorces to same-sex spouses, met with skepticism from groups fighting a recently passed state law legalizing gay nuptials.

In response to the letter from Fred D. Murray of Pikesville ("God will punish President Obama for endorsing same-sex marriage," May 12): No Fred, President Barack Obama will not go to hell for accepting same-sex marriage, because there is no hell. Actually, there is no heaven or a god to run the place! Gods were created by the human mind to placate the fears of the cave dwellers who were scared to death about lightning, thunder and floods. The idea of controlling groups of people caught on and continues today for the convenience of folks in high places.

I am very concerned that our elected Democratic leaders in Maryland are missing an extremely important concern this special session of the legislature. The efforts to ram another casino onto the November ballot threaten two extremely important referendum initiatives, namely, the gay marriage referendum, and the Dream Act referendum. This past Tuesday in North Carolina should be a warning to us all because by a 61-39 margin, voters adopted an anti-gay marriage amendment to that state's constitution.

So apparently, Barack Obamais finally done evolving. That, you will recall, was the president's word for the process of reconsidering his opposition to same-sex marriage. Last week, after being publicly and inadvertently (?) prodded by his vice president, Mr. Obama announced the results of all that cogitation. He told ABC News he has "just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married. " It was a historic statement from a historic president, a moment of political courage from an administration that has provided fewer such moments than you would like.

Former NPR and current Fox News political analyst Juan Williamsmade an excellent point  recently on "The O'Reilly Factor. " Mr. Williams said the major reason President Barack Obama had not endorsed same-sex marriage is because of the strong opposition to it in the black and Hispanic communities. Who could have doubted, though, that the president favors expanding the definition of marriage to include gays and lesbians? Vice President Joe Biden brought this divisive social issue to the forefront of the presidential campaign with his comments Sunday on "Meet the Press.

Chicago. -- Judge Terry Hatter of the U.S. District Court in central California has ruled that discrimination against gays in the military is unconstitutional. He said the discrimination is ''based on cultural myths and false stereotypes.''What is the stereotypical gay? I suppose it is the limp-wristed interior decorator. If that myth contained the whole reality of homosexual life, the military would justifiably want to keep gays out of its service, where strength and aggressiveness are encouraged and rewarded.

By now, I think we all know the repeal of don't ask, don't tell is long overdue. It is shameful that the United States ever enacted this law and that it has taken so long to repeal it will go down in history as one of our darker moments as a nation. Even without the numerous reports by experts, 25 foreign militaries, U.S. military and civilian leaders, and the American public, which all agree that open service by gays and lesbians is compatible with an effective military, the fact is that anyone brave enough to defend our nation deserves to do so openly and to have the support of our government and its citizens.

Rep. Steny Hoyer's decision to support same-sex marriage could bring a powerful ally to efforts in Maryland to retain the gay marriage law in the state. A source close to Hoyer said Friday that the Democratic House leader will "oppose efforts to repeal the new Maryland law. " Hoyer said in a statement Thursday that "because I believe that equal treatment is a central tenet of our nation, I believe that extending the definition of marriage to committed relationships between two people, irrespective of their sex, is the right thing to do. " The Southern Maryland Democrat had previously backed a prohibition of gay marriage, voting with 117 other Democrats in support of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

Barack Obama has crossed the Rubicon and come to the defense of same-sex marriage. For him, it was a small step, since his is already the most pro-gay rights presidency in history, but it will have big political ramifications. The war is on. The line is drawn. Mitt Romney -- who, in another incarnation as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, said he stood to the left of Teddy Kennedy on gay rights issues -- now is opposed not only to gay marriage but to civil unions.