Category Archives: News

AVER makes an effort to maintain links to news articles, from around the USA and the world at large, pertaining to the LGBT community, veterans and/or service members. If you find a relevant news article that is not listed, please send us the link via our Contact page, and we will assess the content for inclusion in our News lists.Please note:1. We scour the internet frequently to ensure that our news links are for articles published by media outlets. If you find a dead link, please let us know. For [non-AVER] organizational press releases, please see our Links directory.2. We will sometimes include articles pertaining to legislative matters; however, as a 501(c)(3) organization, we do not post news pertaining to specific political candidates, as this could be misconstrued as endorsement.

DADT REPEALED!

The United States Senate this afternoon at 3 PM voted by a vote of 65 to 31 to end discrimination against gay, lesbian, and bisexual military service members by repealing the 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, setting up the end of the US military policy of discrimination against LGB American soldiers, sailors, Marines, and Air Force and Coast Guard personnel.  American Veterans for Equal Rights applauds President Barack Obama for his dedicated leadership and his principled stand against discrimination.

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DADT Repeal in December 2010

American Veterans for Equal Rights joins other groups demanding an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in calling for Congress to stay in Washington until the law is repealed.  We support any legislation that is put forth in good faith to accomplish the goal of repeal in 2010, and we are deeply grateful for members of Congress from both parties who are working very hard to accomplish repeal before the end of yet another year of this disgraceful and dishonorable law.

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DADT Repeal Hearings – December 3

This morning members of the Joint Chiefs have been testifying before the Senate Armed Service Committee. They included Marine Commandant General James Amos, Army Chief of Staff General George Casey, Marine General James Cartwright, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead, and Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz. The results of their testimony depends on who is doing the spinning. Generally (pun intended), it was assumed their statements would be negative. But here are some highlights:

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Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Hearings Begin

ADMIRAL MULLEN: “I would not recommend repeal of this law if I did not believe in my soul that it was the right thing to do for our military, for our nation and for our collective honor.”

Today the United States Senate Armed Services Committee is receiving testimony on the report of the Department of Defense Working Group that conducted a comprehensive review of the issues associated with a repeal of section 654 of title 10, United States Code, “Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces”, commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. The Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG) has released its long awaited report which shows conclusively that the repeal of DADT will not harm the military. 

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DADT Repeal Fails in Senate

American Veterans for Equal Rights is saddened that the Senate failed today to proceed on the National Defense Authorization Act, with the inclusion of an amendment that would allow the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, to repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law.  For the sake of bigotry the oppositional right can now block funding our military and supporting all of our patriotic service members.

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