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I am on tenterhooks this morning, watching the debate and procedural votes on Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Dream Act. As regular readers know, I have long argued in favor of repealing that evil, discriminatory DADT policy that requires good and honorable military service members to lie about who they are. If today's procedural vote goes the way I hope it will, I promise you that I will cry. In a good way. Because a vote for repealing DADT is this generation's vote for civil rights.
I have not written about the Dream Act before, but I am also strongly in favor of that bill. My very good friend from high school, the Language Lover, and I have both been busy bees on Facebook, promoting our two bills. I have taken the lead on DADT while she has been on the charge for the Dream Act. I think between the two of us, we have them both covered. I know that she is as glued to her television or computer as I am this morning. We have both invested a lot of energy and emotion in advance of today's votes. I really hope that we both get the payout we have hoped for.
Come on, Senate. Don't let us down! (And could you hurry up, because I have a basketball game to watch in an hour...)
UPDATE: Well, there goes the Dream Act... But there's still hope for DADT repeal.
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5 comments:
This generation's civil rights? That seems to sort of insult the civil rights movement a bit.
This is a big vote, truly, but I feel so many more were / are impacted by the civil rights amendment than will be affected by DADT.
Again, if they could impose DADT to where it applied to ALL sexual orientations, I think that's what they would do. The military would really prefer eunuchs.
Also - what do you like about the Dream Act?
It's an insult to gays and lesbians to say that today's vote isn't a civil rights vote. A branch of the federal government was by law allowed (even required) to fire people based on their sexual orientation. It was the greatest shame of a law on the books. The worst part of all: there were tens of thousands of men and women who still loved this country enough to be willing to serve, even knowing that they had to hide their true selves to provide that service. Frankly, we should all be ashamed that we asked them to do so and we should be chagrined to know that they valued this country more than we valued them (even knowing how little this country valued them).
As for the Dream Act, what's not to like? Encouraging education and service. Providing a path to citizenship for people who would otherwise remain in the untenable position of not really belonging to any country. Taking that group of people out of the shadows and no longer allowing them to live as an underclass based on the mistakes of their parents. I don't understand why anyone would oppose this act.
I don't mean it isn't a civil rights vote, I just don't think it's as momentous as THE civil rights amendment. This, while playing up big in the media, just really doesn't impact that many people. Just in sheer numbers. I don't know about you, but I know people that are gay, but I don't know many that are gay and in the military. And the people that I know that are gay wanted this to be repealed, but ... well it won't directly impact them personally. You know?
But Harry Reid is a TOOL for - kid you not - tweeting @ Lady Gaga moments after the vote was final that he'd gotten it done. Seriously. He's a joke.
I don't like amnesty. Of any kind. What is the point of our immigration laws? And to say this law would only impact students is just laughable. The loop holes are numerous and purposeful.
And not belonging to any country? They are Mexican / Honduran / Guatamalen (forgive my spelling - it's atrocious) citizens. If I went to France illegally they would DEPORT me back to my country of origin, not encourage me to get a GED and grant me citizenship.
I don't agree that DADT repeal only affects gays who are in the military. I have lots of gay and lesbian friends and I think they all feel personally affected by this affirmation by Congress and the President that they are worthy of equal treatment.
As for the Dream Act, I doubt that we will ever find an immigration issue we agree on. But I think it's a little callous to brush off the claim that a lot of the targeted youngsters do have home countries. I was born in Massachusetts, but I moved to Kansas when I was 2. I have no memories of Mass and do not in any way consider myself a Bostonian. (I don't even know what the word for a person from Mass is.) I'm a Kansan, the place I've lived most of my life. This is home and if anyone told me I am no longer allowed to live here but had to go back to where I came from, I would be bereft. I don't want to do that to youngsters who were brought here as children and share a similar disconnect to the place they were actually born.
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