End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The State Of The Union Address

2010-01-28T14:13:00.004-08:00

During his campaign to become President, Obama spoke about the, "Urgency of now" and "Change you can believe in." Today, many in the LGBT community are losing faith in President Obama's sincerity fulfilling his campaign promises amidst his renewed pledges during the State of the Union Address.

Written By: Christopher T. Landavazo

Last night during the "State Of The Union Address", President Obama once again vowed to bring and end to our military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Although, I have some reservations about his resolve to bring an end to this policy of discrimination I am proud of the President for including this very important national security issue in his address to the nation.

Today, during an interview with LA Channel 4 News Reporter Gordon Tokumatsu, I was asked about President Obama using an Executive Order to repeal DADT, and if I thought the President was only using the citation in his speech to regain waning support from the gay community. I would hope that is not the case. Although, I have not been an extrema Obama supporter, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. As a community I believe it is important that we press the Obama Administration for a deadline and not merely allow him them credit for a check not yet cashed.

As for an executive order, it is my understanding that our President does in fact have the authority to issue an "Executive Order" to end DADT. In the past, two Presidents, John F. Kennedy in 1961 via Executive Order 10925 sought to strike down discriminatory employment practices and to ensure fair treatment during employment, without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin. A few years later, Lyndon B. Johnson would eloborate and widen the protections to include African Americans and Women.

Therfore, it would seems that Obama using the power of the Executive Order to end DADT would be well within the scope of his authority. At this point, this may be the Presidents last chance to make good on his word to the gay community. Although we are patient, we are not willing to wait for your second term or for a better time. The time is now Mr. President. Use the momentum and the remaining support from our community to realize this quest for full equality for all Americans who seek to serve our great nation.

Called To Serve

2009-11-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2009

Called to Serve

The military continues to operate under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which even the Pentagon says is unsubstantiated. As General McChrystal asks for more troops in Afghanistan, one gay Navy vet offers his service to his country in spite of the policy that would deny him.

By Christopher T. Landavazo

On May 13, 1996, I raised my right hand, took a solemn oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic,” and bore “truth, faith, and allegiance to the same.” With those words I began my journey of public service as a sailor in the United States Navy.

More that a decade has passed since then, and although I upheld that oath, and wish to serve and protect my country again, I am now being rejected simply because I’m honest about who I am. The United States military desperately needs trained, dedicated personnel like me, but like many of my fellow LGBT patriots, I am denied that right under the bigoted and outdated policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

DADT is a flawed public policy that not only destroys the lives of great service members but deters young patriotic American gay youths from serving in our country’s armed forces and reaping the benefits of learning self-mastery and discipline and leading a life founded on the core values of “honor, courage, and commitment.”

Today, supporters of DADT are using the same antiquated lies about threats to unit cohesiveness as the basis of their argument against gays serving openly. These fallacies are very similar to the ones used in the past to argue against African-Americans, Native Americans, Asians, Latinos, and women serving in our military. However bigots want to spin discrimination, each of those groups has produced soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen who have helped win wars and secure peace and tranquility, and some have given their lives to preserve freedom and democracy. Many have become great generals, leaders, heroes, entertainers, civil rights leaders, artists, and Medal of Honor recipients such as Gen. Colin Powell (U.S. Army), Rep. Daniel K. Inouye (U.S. Army), actress Bea Arthur (U.S. Marine Corps), Carl Gorman (U.S. Marine Corps), and John Ortega (U.S. Navy). Yet even as I write, LGBT heroes remain unsung, serving in silence, and the sacrifices of their significant others are forgotten.

In the Navy I became an air traffic controller -- a job only a select few are suited for due to the high stress. My experience fashioned me into a self-motivated, highly dedicated, and disciplined team player and I rose in rank from E-1 (Seaman Recruit) to E-6 (Petty Officer 1st Class) in less than five years of service. Throughout my eight-year military career, I sought out and held several positions that were normally reserved for personnel of higher rank, including air transportation officer (ATO) aboard the forward deployed, Japan-based carriers USS Independence and USS Kitty Hawk, and base operations chief at the Naval Air Station in Point Mugu, Calif. In both positions I was responsible for the safety and security of many people, and I was entrusted with millions of dollars in equipment. As a result of my leadership abilities I became a highly decorated sailor and had earned letters of recommendation that would prompt my selection to become a naval aviation officer.

I was never a threat to unit cohesiveness. In fact I shared bonds of friendship with fellow straight sailors that still remain strong today. My most fond memories of the Navy come from my three years at sea. Two of those years were spent forward deployed aboard the last of the Navy’s all-male carries. I lived and worked in cramped quarters with 5,000 other men with very little privacy. As a matter of fact, it was in the Navy that I met my first gay friends. And although I was not out, there were a number of fellow shipmates who knew or suspected that I was gay, yet it did not matter to them because we were all one big family. Together, we lived and laughed, shared our victories, and mourned our losses. We went into areas of conflict and battle together, and we shared our hopes and dreams for our futures and the futures of our families together.

As I reflect back to those days, my only regret is that I was not allowed to be more open and honest. The fact that I felt I had to hide the fact that I was gay, for fear I would be kicked out, was more of a hindrance to my relationships with shipmates than their anxiety of serving with gay sailors. Often in our downtime my shipmates would share photos or talk about their wives or girlfriend back home. I would retreat in the hopes that they would not notice, but I know they did. And it was always awkward and uneasy to be distant from the people who trusted me with their lives and whom I trusted with mine.

That situation was isolating because there was always that risk the wrong person would find out. Thus, I tried everything I could to hide and repress my truth. Ultimately this would impact my decision to leave the military, preventing me from realizing my full potential as a member of a military I love so dearly.

Although I was fortunate in that I was never dismissed from the military like Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach or Lt. Dan Choi, I did ultimately become a victim of DADT. Five years into my military enlistment I reached a crossroads and would be forced to choose between my dream of becoming a naval aviator and a chance to find true love, have a family, and live a full life. I had applied for the Aviation Enlisted Commissioning Program (AECP) and was one of three candidates selected Navy-wide to enter this highly competitive flight program. The excitement of being selected was only overshadowed by the grim reality that being gay in the military was dangerous. At this transitional point in my life, I was living in Ventura, Calif., and had only come out to a handful of friends.

As I began to realize the possible implications “don’t ask, don’t tell” could have on my career and livelihood, a mood of ambivalence overwhelmed me. These were very dark and troublesome days for me. I had given my all to earn a commission and to realize my dream of becoming a pilot and had tried so hard to fashion myself into the perfect sailor. I had succeeded and was selected to become a naval aviator. But no matter how solid my work and reputation, I would never be good enough for the military because I'm gay.

I had worked so hard to fulfill that dream of flying, but taking that opportunity would have meant denying myself love, a family, and equality.

I left the military very reluctantly to become a police officer in Ventura -- and elected to serve my country further in the Naval Reserves. My next eight years would become a time of intense personal leadership development, community activism, civic engagement, and a return to active duty.

The tragic events of 9/11 transpired while I was in the Ventura County Sheriff’s Academy. I had completed the academy and patrol training when suddenly I was called back to active duty. I was stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and was utilized for force protection for almost a year. Upon completion of my second tour of duty I was honorably discharged from military service and returned home to Ventura. Although military life often meant making difficult sacrifices, I have always regarded my years in the military as some of the best years of my life.

I love being a deputy sheriff in Los Angeles, where I live now, however I do sometimes wonder what life would have been like had DADT not helped me decide to leave the military. I am deeply offended that our leaders in government, who have also taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, can sleep nights knowing that DADT continues to blatantly violate the ideals and values of equality and justice we hold so scared and consider to be fundamental to being Americans. Excellent gay servicemen and women are tarnished by dismissal under DADT. And I can’t help but be perplexed when we have a policy that deters hundreds if not thousands of LGBT youths from joining the military, especially in a time when our military commanders are asking our president for more troops. If it were not for DADT I would still be serving along with my military brother and sister who are both honorably serving our country in the fight against terrorism right now.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal has asked for 40,000 more troops to support our mission in Afghanistan. Although I realize that a great number of Americans are against an additional troop increase in Afghanistan, after studying the complexities of our conflict with al-Qaeda and the implications of a complete troop withdrawal from the region, based on al-Queda’s belief system of engagement, I believe that it is imperative to the safety of America and to Americans to provide the additional troops requested. Like many of my military brothers and sisters who are there today, I believe in America's mission there so firmly that I would be willing to give my own life in Afghanistan to ensure that my family and loved ones here at home live in peace.

Thus, I am asking our president, Congress, and military leaders to allow me to serve again. Additionally, I seek to provide them with 10,000 more reasons to strike down the oppressive policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” by asking others to pledge to join or rejoin the ranks of the military in furtherance of our military’s goals and objectives -- provided President Obama lives up to his promise to repeal DADT in a timely manner.

At the end of the day, just like members of law enforcement, the honorable men and women who serve in the military by and large couldn’t care less if you are black, white, brown, yellow, gay, or purple -- as long as they trust that you can do the job. LGBT service members have always been there and always will be there to serve our country. It is time for our government to recognize our sacrifices and celebrate our service as openly gay members of the military by repealing DADT.

I am a firm believer in calling for action within the LGBT community in furtherance of helping to give incentive to our current administration and our elected leaders to move quickly with the repeal of DADT. Thus, I am asking those of you who are ready, willing, and able to join the military to join with me in signing a promissory petition to join the military, provided DADT is repealed. This petition will be sent to the White House, to Capitol Hill, to the secretary of Defense, and to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Let’s put our money where our mouths are and give General McChrystal as many of the 40,000 troops he has requested as possible from the LGBT community. In doing so, we will not only help protect the world from terrorism but continue to advance civil rights, equality, and the unalienable rights of every American to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

To sing the petition visit: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/EndDADT"

Veteran's Day Petition To END "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Support Equality..Enlist here!

2009-11-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

I am writing to you to ask for your assistance in bringing an end to the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. For the past few weeks I have been working with Mathew Breen at The Advocate on an article that is schedule to be published this week on Veteran’s Day (November 11, 2009) The article focuses on the reasons why DADT weakens our military readiness, discriminates against the lesbian, gay and bi-sexual community and why we must bring it to an end in our quest for equality. We need your support to have our voice heard!

Background:
I am an 8 year Veteran of the U.S. Navy who has served two tours in the Gulf. Currently, I am a Grad Student at USC (GI Bill) and 8 year member of law enforcement. I also happen to be gay. I was inspired by the thousands of LGBT and straight allies who marched on Washington D.C. to demand that our civil rights not be deigned. That day leaders like David Mixner implored that each of us do our part in our battle for equality. As a Veteran, given America’s situation in Afghanistan, I felt the best way to do my part was to once again ask our government for the right to serve openly in the military and to encourage others to do the same.

The Movement:
The Advocate Magazine will be released our article this week along with a petition that has been set up on Care2. This petition seek signer who are gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or straight allies to pledge to join the military, provided DADT is repealed. We hope to attract 10,000+ signatures to send to our President, Congress and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thus providing them with 10,000 more reasons to bring an end to the DADT policy.

The petition can be found at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/EndDADT We have not yet publicized the site, because we want to have it launch with the nation-wide article. We have begun assembling a list of strong supporters with large networks to help us get the message out. David Mixner was the first to say yes and to pledge his support. We now invite you to join with us so that we may work together to End DADT.

How You Can Help:
1) Post The Advocate Story your FB page.
2) E-mail the petition link to your network of friends, family and co-workers and asking them to forward the petition on to their contacts
3) Become a fan of End DADT on FB at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/?act=24596228#/pages/End-Dont-Ask-Dont-Tell-DADT/189233402525
4) If willing, ready and able sign the petition at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/EndDADT
5) Become a member of our blog here at http://enddadt.blogspot.com/

Please let me know if you are willing to join with us. If you have any questions I can be reached via e-mail at: EndDADT@gmail.com Thank you for your time and consideration. And thank you for your leadership and dedication to protect Civil Rights for all American’s.

Very Respectfully,

Christopher T. Landavazo

EndDADT Sends A Gift Subscription of The Advocate to President Barack Obama

2009-10-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

Today EndDADT took the liberty of ordering the President of the United States, Barack Obama a years subscription of The Advocate.

This magazine is filled with insightful stories about the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community (LGBT). It also offers perspectives and commentary on the effects pubic policy plays in our daily lives. We are most proud to be working with Matthew Breen at The Advocate to tell our story about the effects of the U.S. Military's discriminatory policy of discharging members because of their sexual orientation, under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

It is our "HOPE" that President Obama will receive his copies of The Advocate and gain perspective from our communities points of view. Furthermore, we "HOPE" that our President will use this insight to strengthen his resolve to ensure that all Americans share the same rights, protections and freedoms our great land promises to Her people. And that he will ensure Equality for all members of the U.S. Military regardless of their race, gender, religion, creed, or sexual orientation.

President Obama, we hope that you enjoy your years subscription and we look forward to working with you to live up to your promise to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

(Below: The confirmation Receipt for President Obama's Subscription)

Thanks for ordering a gift subscription to THE ADVOCATE. Barack Obama will receive first issue in four to six weeks. We'll send a letter/email to Barack announcing your gift today.

Order Confirmation Number: 95134

Your Address is:
Christopher Landavazo
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Los Angeles CA 90036
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EndDADT@gmail.com

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Hope & Dream of Equality in America

2009-10-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

"WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Today, we are embarking on a mission to bring an end to the U.S. Military's discriminatory policy of discharging members because of their sexual orientation, under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy. This was inspired by National Equality March in Washington D.C.

In the next few day's we will be unveiling a way for you to get involved in support of Ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" while also supporting Marriage Equality. We would like thank our partners at The Advocate and NOH8 Campaign in advance for their support in this endeavor and we salute all of you who attended the March for Equality who helped to inspire this effort!