 |
 |
| Eric Alva, a retired Marine who lost his leg in the Iraq war, is speaking out against ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ (Blade photo by Henry Linser) |
|
|
| | |
|
Legislation to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is the first of several gay-related bills expected to materialize this year in Congress.
During an event last week at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters in Washington, leading activists said a bill barring employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, as well as a hate crimes measure, also are expected this session.
HRC President Joe Solmonese said he’s optimistic the Employment Non-Discrimination Act will pass, in part because “the power of corporate America is with us now.” A vote on the bill, which has not yet been introduced, is expected this fall.
Solmonese said a vote on a forthcoming hate crimes bill, which would give the federal government authority to prosecute hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity, could come in the spring.
Those predictions echoed a timeline announced last month by Bill Murat, chief of staff to lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting.
C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said at the HRC event, sponsored by the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, that it could take longer to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and pass the Uniting American Families Act, a bill that would allow gay Americans to sponsor their partner for citizenship.
“We have a harder fight on the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and immigration bills,” he said. “It takes time, it takes education.”
Osburn later said that while Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) will lead House efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” there’s no champion yet for a companion bill in the Senate.
“We’re talking to a lot of people in the Senate who are interested in being the lead on this, and we know that there’s a lot of interest in the Senate,” he said. “But you’ll need to stay tuned. Our goal is to have something introduced this year in the Senate.”
JOSHUA LYNSEN & LOU CHIBBARO JR. |
|
| |
| |
|
|
| | |
HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: JOSHUA LYNSEN COMMENTS
 
continued...
sexual orientation on his military application.
But he said there was one particularly awkward instance during which Alva and another Marine were having drinks at a sports bar in Burbank, Calif.
After the Marine commented on several women in the bar, he noticed Alva’s dispassionate demeanor.
“He’s like, ‘Dude, what’s the matter? Are you gay or something?’” Alva said. “And just out of response — because I already had two margaritas in me, I was buzzed — I just turned to him and said, ‘As a matter of fact,’ ... ‘I am. So what do you have to say about that, jerk off?’ He just looked at me and he goes, ‘Are you serious?’ And I said, ‘I am.’”
Alva said although the man pledged to keep the secret, it was soon leaked. But the gossiping didn’t cause any harm.
“It was amazing, because people respected me and liked me more than they did him,” he said. “When he would tell people, everybody was like, ‘What’s your point? He’s still Eric.’”
But now the man who fought for fairness in Iraq will seek the same on Capitol Hill.
HRC President Joe Solmonese said Alva will serve as the organization’s national spokesperson on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” issues. Plans include public appearances, a media campaign and meetings with key members of Congress.
“When Eric Alva lost his leg in Iraq, it didn’t matter whether he was gay or straight, only that he was a courageous American serving his country,” he said. “The courage and sacrifice of gay and lesbian service members, like Eric Alva, should be heralded, not silenced.”
Alva, while relishing the opportunity, said he’s still becoming accustomed to his new role.
“Thinking that I’m going to be some poster boy, or given that title all over again — a hero — I mean, to me, I’m just wanting to be your regular, average American citizen who has a voice, who has a point to make and wants to empower other people about the rights and equality of what people really deserve in this country.”
|
