DADT Repealed: It Is Time To Take Names
DECEMBER 18, 2010 | THEYSAID
By Joseph Christopher Rocha
(From: http://hsss.tv/archives/1350)
It took 17 years for the United States Congress to decide that our gay and lesbian service-members are equal human beings to their straight counterparts. Yet, still 206 members of Congress voted against this.
It is time to take names.
Many of these 206 members of Congress who voted against valuing our gay troops blood and sacrifice as equal to their straight counterparts feared that repealing DADT would lead to an avalanche of gay rights across this Country. I expect nothing less.
It is veterans who won this battle. Many honorable organizations undoubtedly provided the outlet and tiresome behind-the-scenes work, but as we saw in 1993, that was not enough. I am confident that in the spirit of Harvey Milk’s cry of “you must come out,” it was our veterans’ willingness to brave the scrutiny of the media and the opposition that got us to this historic day. They selflessly lent their face to this movement.
No longer could the lies and hatred of Senator’s like McCain and Representatives like Duncan Jr. carry any weight against the courageous faces, stories, lives and sacrifice of this community’s veterans.
As the years go by and we see honorable gay men and women ascend the ranks of every branch of our Armed Forces, we will see the final deterioration of bigotry across this land. When someone dare say we are not equally entitled to marriage or job protection, a little girl or a little boy will one day soon stand up in protest and say “Gays are military Heroes!”
And how, might I ask, will the opposition to equality dare say that our men and women in uniform – and their families – have not earned equality? It is time to take names.
I refuse to have my young siblings, the children of my straight friends and hopefully, one day, children of my own, grow up in a country that sponsors and upholds institutionalized discrimination. Today, the will of this Nation, the cry for liberty, was manifested in law. We will see to it, through our votes, through our financing and through the support of the allies of equality across this nation, that each one of the 206 members who voted against Repeal LOSE THEIR NEXT ELECTIONS.
You see, a vote against repeal is not a vote against the gay community alone. It is an attack against the minority. Today, it is the gay population. Tomorrow, it could be you.
It is time to take names.
Earlier this year, I was honored to have testified in the Federal Court Challenge to the constitutionality of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. We won that case. We won that case before a conservative, “no nonsense” Judge because our case, the case for equality, is supported by Justice. Let there be no mistake, the 206 members of Congress who voted against equality have waged war on the United States Constitution and the protections guaranteed within.
It is time to take names.
Susan B Anthony. Dr. Martin Luther King. Harvey Milk. These legendary men and women dedicated their lives to equality and did not live to see it to fruition. Let’s rejoice, that we are their living legacy and today guaranteed that we will live to see the dawn of equality. I am asked in every media interview why I would serve once more in uniform after I was treated like an animal by my superiors while serving overseas. I respond the same every time: those men and women who abused me are not representative of the military I love, nor of the values of this country for which I will give my life.
Today, so many of us will prepare to put back on those uniforms.
Today, 206 members of Congress voted to disgrace our beloved nation. Please, take note:
United States Senators Who Voted Against Repeal
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Senators not willing to be bothered with a vote:
Bunning (R-KY)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)
United States Representatives Who Voted Against Repeal:
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Austria
Bachmann
Bachus
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehner
Bonner
Bono Mack
Boozman
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Bright
Broun (GA)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Buchanan
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Cao
Capito
Carter
Cassidy
Castle
Chaffetz
Coble
Coffman (CO)
Cole
Conaway
Crenshaw
Culberson
Dahlkemper
Davis (KY)
Dent
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Djou
Dreier
Duncan
Ehlers
Emerson
Fallin
Flake
Fleming
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Giffords
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Guthrie
Hall (TX)
Harper
Hastings (WA)
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Hunter
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan (OH)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kline (MN)
Kratovil
Lamborn
Lance
Latham
LaTourette
Latta
Lee (NY)
Lewis (CA)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lummis
Lungren, Daniel E.
Mack
Manzullo
Marchant
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McCotter
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Minnick
Mitchell
Moran (KS)
Murphy, Tim
Myrick
Neugebauer
Nunes
Nye
Olson
Paul
Paulsen
Pence
Petri
Pitts
Platts
Poe (TX)
Posey
Price (GA)
Putnam
Radanovich
Rehberg
Reichert
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Scalise
Schmidt
Schock
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Stearns
Sullivan
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Turner
Upton
Walden
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Young (AK)
Representatives not willing to be bothered with a vote:
Barrett (SC)
Brown (SC)
Childers
Gutierrez
Hoekstra
Inglis
Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Meek (FL)
Moore (WI)
Taylor
Wamp
Young (FL)
It took 17 years for the United States Congress to decide that our gay and lesbian service-members are equal human beings to their straight counterparts. Yet, still 206 members of Congress voted against this.
It is time to take names.
Many of these 206 members of Congress who voted against valuing our gay troops blood and sacrifice as equal to their straight counterparts feared that repealing DADT would lead to an avalanche of gay rights across this Country. I expect nothing less.
It is veterans who won this battle. Many honorable organizations undoubtedly provided the outlet and tiresome behind-the-scenes work, but as we saw in 1993, that was not enough. I am confident that in the spirit of Harvey Milk’s cry of “you must come out,” it was our veterans’ willingness to brave the scrutiny of the media and the opposition that got us to this historic day. They selflessly lent their face to this movement.
No longer could the lies and hatred of Senator’s like McCain and Representatives like Duncan Jr. carry any weight against the courageous faces, stories, lives and sacrifice of this community’s veterans.
As the years go by and we see honorable gay men and women ascend the ranks of every branch of our Armed Forces, we will see the final deterioration of bigotry across this land. When someone dare say we are not equally entitled to marriage or job protection, a little girl or a little boy will one day soon stand up in protest and say “Gays are military Heroes!”
And how, might I ask, will the opposition to equality dare say that our men and women in uniform – and their families – have not earned equality? It is time to take names.
I refuse to have my young siblings, the children of my straight friends and hopefully, one day, children of my own, grow up in a country that sponsors and upholds institutionalized discrimination. Today, the will of this Nation, the cry for liberty, was manifested in law. We will see to it, through our votes, through our financing and through the support of the allies of equality across this nation, that each one of the 206 members who voted against Repeal LOSE THEIR NEXT ELECTIONS.
You see, a vote against repeal is not a vote against the gay community alone. It is an attack against the minority. Today, it is the gay population. Tomorrow, it could be you.
It is time to take names.
Earlier this year, I was honored to have testified in the Federal Court Challenge to the constitutionality of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. We won that case. We won that case before a conservative, “no nonsense” Judge because our case, the case for equality, is supported by Justice. Let there be no mistake, the 206 members of Congress who voted against equality have waged war on the United States Constitution and the protections guaranteed within.
It is time to take names.
Susan B Anthony. Dr. Martin Luther King. Harvey Milk. These legendary men and women dedicated their lives to equality and did not live to see it to fruition. Let’s rejoice, that we are their living legacy and today guaranteed that we will live to see the dawn of equality. I am asked in every media interview why I would serve once more in uniform after I was treated like an animal by my superiors while serving overseas. I respond the same every time: those men and women who abused me are not representative of the military I love, nor of the values of this country for which I will give my life.
Today, so many of us will prepare to put back on those uniforms.
Today, 206 members of Congress voted to disgrace our beloved nation. Please, take note:
United States Senators Who Voted Against Repeal
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Senators not willing to be bothered with a vote:
Bunning (R-KY)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)
United States Representatives Who Voted Against Repeal:
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Austria
Bachmann
Bachus
Bartlett
Barton (TX)
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehner
Bonner
Bono Mack
Boozman
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Bright
Broun (GA)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Buchanan
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Cao
Capito
Carter
Cassidy
Castle
Chaffetz
Coble
Coffman (CO)
Cole
Conaway
Crenshaw
Culberson
Dahlkemper
Davis (KY)
Dent
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Djou
Dreier
Duncan
Ehlers
Emerson
Fallin
Flake
Fleming
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Giffords
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Guthrie
Hall (TX)
Harper
Hastings (WA)
Heller
Hensarling
Herger
Hunter
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan (OH)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kirk
Kline (MN)
Kratovil
Lamborn
Lance
Latham
LaTourette
Latta
Lee (NY)
Lewis (CA)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lummis
Lungren, Daniel E.
Mack
Manzullo
Marchant
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McCotter
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Minnick
Mitchell
Moran (KS)
Murphy, Tim
Myrick
Neugebauer
Nunes
Nye
Olson
Paul
Paulsen
Pence
Petri
Pitts
Platts
Poe (TX)
Posey
Price (GA)
Putnam
Radanovich
Rehberg
Reichert
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Scalise
Schmidt
Schock
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Stearns
Sullivan
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Turner
Upton
Walden
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Young (AK)
Representatives not willing to be bothered with a vote:
Barrett (SC)
Brown (SC)
Childers
Gutierrez
Hoekstra
Inglis
Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Meek (FL)
Moore (WI)
Taylor
Wamp
Young (FL)
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