With COVID-19  devastating much of the country’s nightlife, many restaurants and bars have been hurting, especially the last standing 15 lesbian bars across America. 

Erica Rose, director and co-founder of the Lesbian Bar Project, February 16, 2021. Photo Courtesy of Erica Rose.

Erica Rose, a Brooklyn-based filmmaker, alongside her friend Elina Street banned together to create the Lesbian Bar Project, a four-week fundraiser in the fall of 2020.

“Our goal was to spread the message, spread the word, spread the urgency, and raise money to give some assistance to the bars,” said Rose. 

As a filmmaker, Rose wanted it to be a film project. So she and her team produced a 90-second PSA video to shed light on the significance of these spaces. 

They teamed up with Jägermaester’s #SAVETHENIGHT, an initiative created to support the nightlife community, and gained immense exposure to successfully raise $117,504 to distribute between the 15 bars. 

Well before the pandemic, lesbian bars have been on the decline. According to Rose, this has been an ongoing issue caused heavily by gentrification amid other factors. 

“These spaces are getting devoured by rising rents. They are getting devoured by a client base that is being squashed by heterosexual people. It’s being devoured by now the pandemic,” said Rose. 

It wasn’t until the pandemic acted as a catalyst forcing Rose to take stock of what was most precious to her that she was surprised to learn there were only 15 lesbian bars left. A number nowhere near resemblant of the 8.5 million queer women in the United States. 

“There needs to be space for people to grow, and learn, and experiment. And the fact that there are so few means that we really need to realize how precious those few are,” said Ashley Coia, a New York-based actor.

Along with gentrification bringing in younger generations, it brought with them the world of online dating and a wider acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, lessening the need for queer-centric spaces. However, the importance of these spaces remains crucial, as they offer many a safe place to experiment without unwanted and unwelcome spectators. 

“It was the space that I went the most when I was trying to find myself as a queer woman,” said Coia. “Spaces like Cubbyhole I would go because I just felt so safe there. I could hit on a woman and not worry that a man was going to come up and harass me for it.”

A bar is more than a place to drink in the queer community, it often acts as a creator of community, a place to socialize. 

“What a bar to me is, is a place where you can meet all walks of life,” said Rose. “Walking into Cubbyhole and seeing queer women together and the comradery and the friendship and the community. I was drawn, I was hooked.”

Ali Clayton, a comedian from North Carolina, February 16, 2021. Photo Courtesy of Ali Clayton

For Ali Clayton, a comedian who has been sober since 2018, it was difficult for her to go to social events that involved drinking when she first recovered. But Henrietta Hudson, another lesbian bar in Manhattan offered alternative ways, like trivia nights and dancing, for Clayton to enjoy herself in good company. 

Clayton described the emotions that the atmosphere of queer spaces elicits as “freeing” and “validating.” 

She expressed that exclusive spaces made for lesbians promote a safe place and different energy that allows her to feel confident to hit on a woman without the fear that she might be straight. 

Despite the waning number of lesbian bars, The Lesbian Bar Project’s efforts prove the vitality of the lesbian community, showing that they won’t let their spaces be eradicated.

And as long as things go as planned, The Cubbyhole Bar hopes to reopen in March, and Rose can’t wait to join her friends and her community to celebrate the bar’s rebellion.

“I always believe that queer women are the most loyal audience,” said Rose. “If you give us something…we will show up.”

The post The queer community rallies behind their sacred spaces closed because of COVID-19 appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

For 47 years, Dignity/New York has been providing the LGBTQI community with a space free from traditional rhetoric that condemns same-sex attraction. The New York chapter hosts 100 members and is one of 30 chapters within the national organization, Dignity USA. They welcome people of all backgrounds.

Former Dignity USA president, Lewis Speaks-Tanner, said that the ministry is for both those who are looking for a church home and those who are seeking reconciliation.

“Sometimes [visitors] stay and they find a home,” Speaks-Tanner said. “A lot of times what will happen is that they find they can reconcile who they are, both their sexual nature and their spiritual nature, and they are able to resolve that and go to do other things.”

Dignity’s pastors and priests are from  LGBTQI community. Some are former priests who have been excommunicated or have left the Catholic Church because of their sexual and/or gender identity. Others are theology scholars or chapter members who show an eagerness and willingness to preach.

Sean Collins, 33, had been volunteering to read scripture and minister the Eucharist. He said the experience for him was fulfilling.

“[Presiding over service] was something I had always wanted to be able to do as a young kid,” Collins said. “But then thinking ‘Oh, I don’t know if I can do that because being Catholic, I don’t know if I’m up to the celibacy rules.’ So, it’s nice to do that and share it with this community especially.”

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K had to make an impossible decision. Be gay or be Muslim.

But to be out and Muslim is dangerous, both for K and  her family back home in Saudi Arabia. When she returns home a in a few years, being out of the closet could land her in jail or cost her life.

K is a Sunni Muslim and her family follows Sharia Law, which puts adultery and homosexuality in the same category with the same punishment –  death.

“I’m usually terrified about that,” said K. “If I’m outside of the country, like I am right now, I’m untouchable. So technically if anything goes wrong they can’t do anything until I’m back in the

borders.”

K can not be identified in this story because it could harm her family back home or she could be harmed if or when she returns home.

She keeps up a facade of intimacy with her family because she knows that they will not accept her sexuality.

“They’ll blame America,” K said. “They’ll blame themselves. They’ll blame me. They won’t believe it. They will deny, deny, deny.”

For gay Muslims like K, America is a chance for them to be their true selves.

U.S. Muslims are more supportive of homosexuality. A Pew Research poll found that 52 percent say homosexuality should be accepted by society.

Organizations like Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) supports gay muslims so they do not have to choose between their sexuality and their religion.

“Our work is basically to create an environment where we challenge the Muslim majority population to think critically and to do that within the context of Islam,”  said Ani Zonneveld, the founder of MPV.

Their vision is not solely for the LGBT Muslim community in the United States, but they are strong advocates for inclusivity, human rights and social justice in Muslim-majority countries.

“In those countries, we don’t do LGBT work necessarily,” Zonneveld said. “We do more on women and girls work and also on freedom of religion and belief and on inclusiveness. And so when we promote the idea of inclusivity, that means being compassionate and loving to everyone, it includes everyone which includes LGBT people.”

According to a 2017 Pew Research study the majority of the U.S. Muslim community is still conservative in their approach to LGBT relationships. But the same study says six in 10 Muslim millennials support homosexuality. Despite this, Zondeveld said coming out in a Muslim family could “work against your freedom” as gay Muslims  can be forced into marriage, receive death threats or suffer physical violence.

K goes to college in New York City, which has one of the largest LGBT populations in the world. There she is an out lesbian studying pre-med. She smokes cigarettes. She doesn’t attend any religious institution. She does not share her religious upbringing with her peers openly. She’s outspoken and opinionated, but not headstrong. She chooses to not wear a hijab. She has a unique style, modest but a cross between vintage and punk.

K knew from a young age that she was attracted to women. She first heard of homosexuality in fourth grade and from there began to understand her attractions and the upward battle she would face dealing with society’s disapproval.

“We were raised to think it was wrong,” K said. “So, it was just a matter of how much I wanted to admit it to myself. How much did I want to admit that I was risking a lot, you know?”

Ani Zonneveld, the director of Muslims for Progressive Values.

Zonneveld believes it is the responsibility of Muslims to be critical of religious leaders and to read passages critically and to offer counter narratives. One such example of critically reading the Qur’an is with the story of Sodom which is also in the Bible.

Sodom was an ancient town known for its violence and, most notably, for the attempted gang rape of visitors as found in the story of Lot. As the men of the town came to Lot’s door to gang rape his guests, God rescued Lot; fire rained down and destroyed the city. According to K, this story helps define the conservative Islamic belief of homosexuality.

“It goes back to it and saying those people all burned,” K said. “And this is what’s going to happen to you guys. It’s illegal. It’s wrong. You get killed for it.”

Zonneveld and MPV believe this story has been misinterpreted.

“The city folk were not adhering to the prophet’s teachings of welcoming strangers,” said Zonneveld. “It was about sexual violence because their sexual violence was on women as well as men and children. So, it’s very convenient to demonize LGBT people from that story just because of a particular forced sexual violence against men by men. But that’s not the case. So, it is a twisted interpretation of the story.”

MPV also disagrees with the notion that K would need to choose between being gay and being Muslim. Zonneveld called it “bastardization of the interpretation of Islam.”

“And unfortunately, this is the norm,” Zonneveld said. “This is moderated by Saudi Arabia.”

MPV has a vision to bring more religious leaders to their side of the argument.

“The intention is for us to be able to get mosque and religious leaders to do away with the homophobic teaching,” said Zonneveld. “If we could do that where we are, we would do good for the future, for the next generation of LGBT Muslims.”

For K, the future is less hopeful. She said she will not come out to her family.

“The question is if I ever fall in love with a girl here,” K said. “But I ruin my life and marry her because I could. I technically could marry someone here and then it obviously will not be approved back home.”

K also worries about her family in Saudi Arabia if she were publicly out, she suspects the government would begin looking for legally punishable faults or sins in her family.

“The entire family would be under (investigation),” said K. “Like the government would keep a special eye on all of us.”

K also had a strong aversion to groups like MPV. Her opinion underscores her fear of Saudi Arabia’s governmental reach.

“I wouldn’t go,” K said. “Because I am literally built to assume that that is a death statement. That is a place of no return. You’re gonna go there? It’s actually a trap and the government.”

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“I had a lot of male barbers that would cut my hair and they would not be into cutting it down really low [short],” said Parker, 55, a landscape photographer and resident of Sunset Park, Queens. “They tried to talk me into keeping it a little longer.”

But Khane Kutzwell, 43, came to the rescue with her barbershop, Camera Ready Kutz that caters to the grooming needs of the LGBT community. On her website, she includes queer, asexual and intersex people to her barbershop in the comfort and privacy of one of her apartment’s bedrooms at Eastern Parkway in Crown Height, Brooklyn.

Parker’s colleague told her about Camera Ready Kutz three years ago and she has been a customer ever since. She even brought her 14-year-old son there after a hair clipper was pressed to tight to his scalp and cut him in a traditional barbershop.

“A lot of barbers tend to put a lot of pressure on the scalp when they were cutting his hair and he didn’t like the experience,” Parker said. “It’s like a dentist, you have to feel comfortable to go on a regular basis.”

They travel 30 minutes to get to Kutzwell’s two bedroom apartment, where one of the bedrooms serves as a barbershop.

Kutzwell started her barbershop in 2007 when her friends in the LGBTQ community complained about the service they received at neighborhood barbershops. For the community, getting a haircut is an irksome experience because they could never get what they wanted.

Kutzwell’s family emigrated from Trinidad and Tobago when she was really young and she grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens. Her upbringing shaped who she is today.

“I didn’t grow up male or female,” she said. “My family just treated me as whatever I presented at the moment.”

Now she identifies herself as a trans-entity, an entity who’s always transitioning through gender. But in the male dominated business, Kutzwell identifies herself as a female.

“I wake up sometimes and I feel more male than female, sometime more female than male,” she said, “So, I don’t identify as anything in particular, I just let myself be.”

Kutzwell said that she is not the barber for the LGBT community.

“If you look it up on the internet, there are tons of other LGBT friendly barbershops, so I’m not claiming that I’m the only one here,” she said. “But I always try to step up the game through the internet.”

Apart from promoting the business through website and Facebook, she has built a mobile app to make reservation easier for her prospective customers.

Although Kutzwell’s barbershop caters to the LGBT community, her customers include people from all backgrounds, races, gender, sexual orientation, and religion, such as the Orthodox Hasidic Jewish Community in Brooklyn and Muslim women. Her vast range of clientele gives her a boarder sense of different cultures in the world.

“Every culture has their own way of conducting haircut, like the Hasidic Jewish, they don’t want their side to be touched, or Muslim women who would only remove their headscarf in front of the people they trust,” she said. “Those cultural variations always amazed me.”

Apart from offering tolerant service, Kutzwell has many promotional discounts such as her famous “Get A, Get 50 percent off” program for students who get good grades.

“In the end, it’s about supporting your community,” she said.

Kutzwell’s next project will be her own mortar and brick storefront LGBT friendly barbershop in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. She hopes the barbershop will be a place where people can hang out and get their hair and nails done in a nonjudgmental space. Her dream is to have barbers and beauticians, who share her belief of unprejudiced service to the LGBT community, housed in one spot.

“I’m planning on taking a beautician class, so I can take a better care of my clients,” she said. “After all, I’ve always wanted to go back to school and sharpen up my skill.”

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Members of Affirmation, a Mormon LGBT support group. Photo courtesy of Affirmation Gay and Lesbian Mormons website.

While it’s almost certain which presidential candidate has the Mormon vote in the bag for the Nov. 6 election, the Mormon gay community, which some call “Moho,” is keeping its own counsel. While some gay men align with the LGBT community at large in their more liberal attitudes, others adhere to traditional Mormon values in their choice of candidate.

Whichever way they vote, gay Mormons have been emerging more recently as a vocal force within the Mormon community. Randall Thacker a senior vice president of Affirmation, an organization that supports LGBT Mormons, said that despite the obstacles, he’s been able to reconcile his sexuality with his religious beliefs.

“Gay Mormons feel that it’s all or nothing, that they can’t be both,” he said.

After coming-out, Thacker was not excommunicated from the Church. Though he faces restrictions because of his orientation, such as exclusion from the priesthood, he is allowed to attend Church and even plays music for the children’s group of his ward.

Apparently, unapologetic homosexuality is no longer a one-way ticket to hell—rather, tolerance of homosexuality depends upon the local Mormon leadership. In some instances, openly gay Mormons have been accepted into the Church without penalty.

Joshua Behn, president of Affirmation, spoke of an instance of flexibility within the Church.

“One of [the organization’s] vice presidents, he went back to the church and went to his bishop and said, ‘You know what, I’m coming back to Church, but I’ve got a boyfriend and I’m not gonna change, this is who I am…and this bishop [said] ‘all right, we’re glad, come in to our ward,’”Behn recalled.

Social networking has provided an important means of support for LGBT Mormons. David Burton, an openly gay man who is still very much active in the LDS Church, saidthat once he came out, he realized he shared his story with many others.

“There are so many gay Mormons out there,” he said. “I feel like…they’re like popping up everywhere.”

Gay Mormon students come out in “It Gets Better Video”

Kevin Lindley, a 27-year-old graduate student from Idaho said, “Look–we exist, we’re real people, and that’s ok.”

According to the Pew Forum, a research center devoted to the study of religion and its impact on public life, members of the Church of Latter Day Saints are some of the most socially conservative citizens in the United States. Although small in number, Mormons traditionally vote for Republicans in droves. According to Pew, only 1.7 percent of American adults identify as Mormon. The same study reveals that, in 2009, Mormons were even more conservative than Evangelicals, the group widely thought of as being the most zealous in support of conservative values. While 50 percent of Evangelicals identified with the Republican Party, for Mormons, that number jumps to 65 percent. It would follow that this relatively small religion, known for its insularity and sense of community, would likely support a Presidential candidate who is also a Mormon. The likelihood of support is even greater since Romney’s platform reflects the Church’s conservative values.

Conservatism can be found among gay Mormon voters as well. Of the 11 men interviewed, four indicated they were Republican. One “independent moderate” and two Republicans said they plan to vote for Mitt Romney.

Though Mormon doctrine emphasizes tolerance and acceptance, the LDS officially disapproves of homosexuality. However, the Church maintains this can be “forgiven through severe repentance.” As of late, the Church has veered more toward a policy in which homosexuality is tacitly permitted, as long as the attraction is not acted upon.

Kevin Lindley is an openly gay member of the Church who is married to a woman, in what he refers to as a “mixed-orientation marriage.” Lindley lives in Idaho and says the reaction to his coming-out was one of tolerance.

“I’ve received a really, really positive feedback from everybody who I’ve personally interacted with,” he said.

Some experiences are not so positive. There are those who have left the LDS voluntarily because of the Church’s attitude toward homosexuality.

Joseph Broom, a convert to the Mormon faith and member of the Church for 28 years, explained, “I could have been excommunicated and I had told myself that I would never permit myself to go through that process and I would resign. And that’s what I did.”

Many people like Broom have left the Church, but still identify with the faith.

“I’m no longer an active Mormon, but I consider myself at the same time a member of the Mormon community,” he said.

Gay Mormons have been a driving force in applying increased pressure on the Church to reassess its position on homosexuality. Leaders within the Church have begun to change the way in which they deal with people who do come out, however the LDS’s position on gay marriage has not budged.

Though the Church is adamant about its apoliticism, insisting it does not encourage its members to vote for a particular party, the Pew foundation study indicates a positive correlation between Church attendance and conservative political ideology. Among the 11 people interviewed, those who were closer to the Church, or in mixed-orientation marriages in which they currently do not act on their homosexuality, tend to be voting for Romney.

Lindley has realized the dream of the idyllic Mormon family, which so many gay Mormons are excluded from. He has a five-year-old son and is “happily married” to a woman. His vote will be cast for Romney.

Of the men who said they would be voting for the challenger, none indicated Romney’s social policies or the fact that he’s a Mormon as selling points. In fact many, like Lindley, indicated they would never vote for someone based on their religion. “I’m not like ‘Oh you’re a Mormon, check.’”

According to the Pew study, Mormons are more economically conservative than the general public. About 75 percent of Mormons surveyed in 2011 said that they “prefer a smaller government providing fewer services.” Indeed, all of the men interviewed who are voting for Romney indicated that the economy was the most important issue for them in this election.

“You know in this case it’s really the way the economy’s going,” he said. “With Romney I think we’ll be progressing in a way, because he has a lot of experience in the business world.”

For the Romney voters in the group, it’s hard to imagine how they can reconcile the candidate’s position on gay marriage with their own sexuality. Though Romney has sent mixed messages regarding his position on gay civil rights, he has taken a solid stance against same-sex marriages. Of the interviewees who support Romney, it appears that issues of social justice simply take a back seat to economic concerns.

Lindley explained that he “doesn’t really have an interest in opposing individual rights” but that he trusted the Legislature and Supreme Court to prevent a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

David Burton, a 40-year-old marketing consultant living in Washington, D.C., was the sole undecided voter of the bunch. He represented the inner struggle that many voters are experiencing this election cycle.

“You know I’ve wrestled a lot with this upcoming election because the two issues that are most important to me are the economy and gay rights.” Burton said.

If he concludes the economy is of the greatest concern, he will vote Republican, but if gay rights end up being more important to him, then Obama gets his vote.

Though some gay Mormons have been able to look past Romney’s position on same-sex marriage, many simply cannot permit the possibility that their civil rights as gay men will not be realized under a Romney administration.

David Baker, a 23-year-old political consultant living in Washington D.C. identifies as a “liberal Republican.” Largely due to Romney’s position on gay marriage he will not be voting for the Republican nominee. Instead, Baker says he will be writing in the former governor of Utah, Republican John Huntsman, for President.

The rest of those interviewed said they would be voting for Obama come November—six of the 11 men indicated they will be siding with the incumbent.

Joseph Broom, an openly gay man who is no longer an active member of the Church, nevertheless still considers himself a member of the community. Broom understands Romney’s policies as totally incompatible with his sexuality.

“For me, personally, social issues are paramount,being a gay man voting for Romney or supporting the Republican Party as it has become, is just totally out of the question,” Broom said.

Corey Clawson, a PhD candidate at Rutgers, also found Romney’s position to be indigestible.

“I cannot support Romney as a candidate who would endorse an amendment threatening the possibility of securing my family’s well-being,” he said.

The post The “Moho” Vote appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Several advocacy groups including the Human Rights Campaign, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) expressed concerns related to the repeal

.

According to The Advocate, the repeal does not solve several problems such as benefits for same-sex partners of gay service members, the insufficiency of existing channels for reporting antigay harassment and a mechanism to allow those removed from the armed forces under DADT to reclassify their discharge.



So far, the Pentagon has yet to release a public statement on the meeting.

Denny Meyer, Vice President for Region I of American Veterans for Equal Rights. Photo by Meredith Bennett-Smith



Denny Meyer, AVER’s Public Affairs Officer, said the fact that Pentagon officials were willing to meet is an important step.



“Some answers were given, but not necessarily the answers we wanted to hear,” he said. “Concerns were raised — they were not resolved — but they were raised very directly.”



The military’s policy will remain in effect until U.S. President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that the armed services are prepared to implement the final repeal, followed in turn by a 60-day waiting period. 




The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), passed by the U.S. Congress in 1996, continues to be a sticking point for the advocacy groups. Spousal benefits for same-sex couples are not included in the repeal’s language. 
 


“The military really is trying as hard as they can,” Meyer said. “Even though they aren’t being thrown a bone. That’s the big stumbling block. We’re still being held back by these discriminatory laws.”



Officials were also pressed to create a more efficient and less intimidating channel for gay service members to report abuse.

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In a converted bathroom in the West Village, Manhattan LGBT Community Center, gay veterans gather for the first meeting of AVER, American Veterans for Equal Rights, since the repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Photo by Meredith Bennett-Smith

Every time former Marine Sgt. John Ball Jr. walks past an American flag, sees the Marine Corps eagle and anchor and reads a Marine Corps bumper sticker, he feels the tug of the corps calling him back.

“I miss the feeling, I miss being a Marine, and I miss helping people,” Ball said.

It is a call that Ball, a gay veteran, is forced to ignore for now. Despite December’s highly publicized congressional repeal of the U.S. military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a policy banning gay and lesbian service members from serving openly, details of the finalized repeal and when it will go into effect remain speculative. Until the Pentagon certifies that all military branches have completed a plan of implementation, openly gay and lesbian service members are still subject to court-martial and discharge.

Ball joined the Marines straight out of high school. As an 18-year-old, he was still trying to figure out his sexuality.

What he was certain of was his patriotism. After he received an honorable discharge in 2003, Ball considered re-enlisting. But he decided against it; after four years of hiding, enough was enough.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was the main and only reason [I left],” Ball said. “I [couldn’t tolerate] the lies, the lies that I told to my friends and to my chain of command. You pretty much live a double life.”

Since then, Ball worked as a contractor in Afghanistan and now lives in Limerick, Pa. He’s started the re-enlistment process on several occasions but backed out each time, fearing discovery and the consequent stigma of a dishonorable discharge.

The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has breathed new life into his hope of one day returning to active duty. Still, Ball said he is not naïve.

“[After the repeal] I got excited,” he said. “I had a little celebration. But it’s still not legal. I’m going to give it six months.”

This state of cautious optimism is common among veterans and activists alike.

Denny Meyer, Vice President for Region I of American Veterans for Equal Rights, an LGBT Veterans Association. Photo by Meredith Bennett-Smith

“It’s not over,” said Denny Meyer, Vice President of Region I for American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER).
In a white-tiled bathroom on the second floor of the LGBT Community Center on 13th Street near 7th Avenue, Meyer, a colorful gay activist and veteran of both the U.S. Navy and Army, presided over the first New York chapter meeting of AVER this year—or, as Meyer called it, “the first meeting of AVER in the new era.”

For grassroots advocates like Meyer, the change has been a long-time coming. It was nearly 30 years ago that Meyer, a New York native from Kew Gardens, Queens, left the Army as a Sergeant First Class. After a decade of service, Meyer found himself unable to remain closeted.

Until President Obama and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mullen sign off on an official plan, the repeal will remain merely a symbolic victory for the AVER veterans.

The nuances of any final plan will have important implications both for older veterans such as Meyer, who has long since hung up his combat boots, for younger vets like Ball Jr., who at 30 can still rejoin the Corps., and for those gay and lesbians currently serving.

Meyer struck an optimistic tone not necessarily shared by all.

“Supposedly [the repeal] may happen by summer, which by military standards is lightening speed,” Meyer said. “There’s a lot of pressure and commitment to get it done by summer. I’d like to see it, but I’m not so sure they can get it all done and certified [by then].”

On Feb. 11 the Pentagon finalized the four benchmarks that will be used to gauge each military branches’ compliance with the repeal: the pre-repeal step, implementation of the repeal, a certificate confirming Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is no longer in effect and documented proof of a sustained implementation of the repeal.

The military must also complete a three-tiered “retraining” process, starting with senior personnel and working down through the ranks. A repeal implementation team will begin sending regular updates to President Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Admiral Mullen on March 1.

Under the new, as of yet unimplemented policy, harassment or abuse based on sexual discrimination will be unacceptable, Meyer read from the DOD’s most recent release. The statement drew muffled snorts of skepticism from the small gathering.

“Now listen,” Meyer said, “the Pentagon isn’t stupid. They did think of all this. They don’t want riots; they had those already in the 1950s. And they don’t want people getting sexually harassed because they had those all through the 90s and now when women were integrated.”

dennymeyer2.mp3

Denny Meyer on what he said he would do if DADT was ever repealed.

Besides its pledge of nondiscrimination, openly gay service members will be able to designate to whom their life insurance policy falls. Although technically open to gays in the past, under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, “a gay service member wouldn’t dare put down John Schmidt, their lover because there’s no privacy,” Meyer said. “That piece of paper goes to the clerk, it goes to the Commanding Officer, and he goes, ‘What are you a fag? Who is this?’ Now you don’t have to worry.”

Gay and lesbian veterans would also have access to Vietnam War benefits where applicable, death benefits, and be able to designate a gay or lesbian partner as their caregiver. But because of the Defense of Marriage Act, which still remains in effect, spousal rights proffered to heterosexual couples will remain out of reach. There will also be no compensation for those already drummed out.

The repeal’s current bureaucratic stage is perhaps most poignant for those gay and lesbian service members currently serving. In December, a chance at honesty seemed closer than ever, but some feel close isn’t good enough when careers hang in the balance.

After his graduation from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Harvey Smith, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, rose quickly through the ranks. Today the sailor is a lieutenant commander, one rank below the commander of naval vessels.

Smith said he thought Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell would be repealed eventually, but he did not anticipate it to happen while he was still serving. Smith added he didn’t expect there to be a problem if and when he officially comes out.

“I think it will be easy to come out so long as it doesn’t affect my work, which I don’t anticipate,” Smith said. “I think it’ll be a convenience rather than a need.”

Yet Smith’s stripes have a lot to do with his comfort level. As a ranking O4 Senior Officer, fewer questions have been leveled about his sexual preferences.

“Based on my experience,” he said, “and I say that to emphasize others’ may differ, officers generally tend to be more accepting.”

Smith considers himself a successful naval officer with the respect of subordinates and superiors alike. He said doesn’t want any special treatment. He simply wants the charade to end.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell essentially forces my partner and me to maintain a level of separation that straight relationships would never have to endure,” Smith said. “Everything from security clearances to transition schedules to vacation photos become challenges as I try to keep my partner part of my life though under the Navy radar,” Smith said. “Repeal would not mean he could be a full-fledged spouse in the eyes of the Navy, but at least he doesn’t have to be invisible.”

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