Gay and Straight soldiers, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, lie together, without prejudice, in Arlington National Cemetery.

How is that for “unit cohesion”?

My partner was in the Air Force during the Vietnam Conflict. I find it contemptible and dishonorable that anyone (military or non-military) could ever question his worth, or the worth of any person, Gay or Straight, Black or White, Male or Female, as human beings and insult their competence solely based on blind, unreasoning prejudices.

Shame on all bigots. They are cowards who fed like parasites on the ignorance and fears of others.

When Barack Obama sought the presidency, he pledged to reverse the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy preventing gays and lesbians from serving openly in the U.S. military. Yet on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected James’s challenge to the law at the explicit request of the Obama Administration. We were all paying attention when he reversed his policy about repealing DOMA last month, but this is certainly the final straw for me.

Its one thing for the court system to make decisions one way or another regarding cases such as these. It is an entirely different matter, however, when the President we voted for based on his proclaimed support on some of the issues that mattered to us to call up Chief Justice Roberts and request that the Supreme Court not hear a case that is a matter of great importance to our community. With Obama in office, we can’t even get our day in court! If he isn’t going to follow through on his promises to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and the Defense of Marriage Act, the least he could do is avoid intervening in matters being handled by the Judicial Branch of our government.

Some of you might be thinking that his strategy is to avenge our rights through Congress…. when the time is right. I say to you that these are false and delusional hopes. The best place for this to happen is in court. Since the United States system of checks and balances leaves it to the judiciary branch to protect the fundamental rights of minority groups against the tyranny of the majority, I believe that the judiciary should strike down Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell and gender-restrictive marriage laws in the same way it struck down racially-restrictive marriage laws. Until these laws are struck down in court we will not have the protections afforded by every American under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution.

I am gay and I serve secretly in the hopes that one day I can marry and have the same rights as everyone else who serves our country. I was so inspired by his promises of gay equality I donated to his campaign monthly, and canvassed where I lived in VA to get out the vote for him. I even put a sign in my yard. However, it is clear that Barack Obama has lied or at least misled many of us into supporting his candidacy for the office he currently holds.

AND – for those of you who say – “wait” and “have patience” – I say that is ridiculous! James Pietrangelo said it best: “This is a guy who spent more time picking out his dog, Bo, and playing with him on the White House lawn than he has working for equality for gay people, if there were millions of black people as second-class citizens, or millions of Jews or Irish, he would have acted immediately upon taking office”. Being told to be patient is outrageous. How about this – in 2012 be patient and wait for my vote. We deserve equal rights now!

While there appears to be little or nothing we can do now… we can stay current on the news, and make our voices heard in 2012 when he seeks re-election. I’m not saying vote Republican, and certainly we should all exercise our civic duty to vote. I am saying – when it comes to the Presidency – just don’t vote for Obama.

AND – on one final note – we need to get ourselves together. A concerted political effort of Gays, Lesbians, and all of our brethren across the country to speak and act with one voice! It is how every other organized community gets their agenda accomplished and we must follow suit. (This is one reason why Obama knows he can screw with us).

I won’t demand that all servicemembers come out on the same day. Any of you work for a parochial school, or an employer who can fire you for being openly gay? Yeah, well, maybe I have the protection of the Governor’s executive order right now, but I’ve been there, and like most of you, I’m not exactly collecting from a trust fund. No way in hell will I suggest that somebody else go commit career suicide. Maybe if there was a formal support network to make sure all those who got booted had a job to go to and someone to cover their interim expenses, but that won’t be happening. So those of you who do come out at the expense of your career, I respect you and support you, but I won’t insult you by asking you to do what I can’t afford to.

Know what? This isn’t all bad, because we see Obama for what he is. He’s a homophobe. And I don’t think that fact will necessarily turn all the young voters into cynics. Remember that they didn’t just witness the process that got Obama elected, they invented it. You think that such a media- and tech-savvy generation is going to be content with getting shit for their efforts? I don’t. I’m looking forward to 2012, to seeing what payback may be awaiting Barack Obama.

Obama may fix the economy and restore our standing with the rest of the world. He can do all that and more, but his homophobia is reason enough to vote him out in 2012. Remember that for all Lyndon Johnson did get done, it was Vietnam that ended his ambition and his career. I’d like to think that gay issues turn into Obama’s Vietnam.

He has betrayed my hope. Not just in DADT (bad enough!) but in detainees’ rights, support for the banks but not the mortgageholders, a whole list of right-wing positions this President has embraced since he took office.

Who would have thought that, under that progressive rheteric lurked the heart of a right-wing homophobe?

My heart breaks for the millions of young voters who believed their voice could actually make a difference. I believe we’ve just raised a whole new generation of cynics.

Shame on Obama. Shame on Holder. Shame on the Democratic Party.