National
Q-NOTES • JULY 3
Karen Arnold .
Loan Officer P^Hortgase ffl»-
Tel: (704) 321-5446 I A Dwitiiw ifiwtrtnww MofhjAEf* c»wp*ny
Fax: (704) 814-7023
10720 Sikes Place, Suite 100 Charlotte, NC 28277
#BK^902300, • by Ihe 0«p«ftnwn of Corpociions u^r »he M,$^t2Uoi LwmswJ Mortgago Company: n a Now Hampshwo Fmt Mortgago
RooKlenuol Mortgago Liconoe#. % a Ma»»acbo»«t» ^ »licen»eJ?v^ Now Jofsey Oepartmom of Banking anJ Inturanco: n iwenaod as a
Banker and Broke. •847«J-MB8 arKl SoconP M^gage Sd to1f«^«n0.fy Mortgage Loan AC. and . a Rhode fsJand L«nsed
by tno Dept, of Corp Under Bia Cahfom.B Resklenlial lending Act, « an lllitws Resktemal Mortgage Licensee- 3.04
Top 10 Things
To Do When
Buying A
Home:
#1. Call Carol Reinard
(She'll take care of the other 9!)
Call me if you know someone
who can use my expertise.
Maybe it's you.
Carol A. Reinard, ABR, GRI
Relocation Specialist
RE/MAX Executive Realty
6842 Morrison Blvd. >
Charlotte, NC 28211
careinard@aol.com
(O) 704-509-4798 I
(M) 704-458-4857
(F) 704-509-4710
Each Office Independently Owned and Operated
Clinton calls 'Don't Ask, Don't
Tell' 'inevitable' in new book
Despite tack of attention to other
LGBT issues, book delves in to
controversial military policy
by Steve Rawls
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In his new
autobiography, “My Life.” former President
Bill Clinton talks little about the gay and
lesbian issues'and individuals that figured
so prominently during his presidency. He
does recall in print, however, the public
and Congressional debate over his prom
ise to the lift themilitary’s ban on lesbian,
gay and bisexual service members.
President Clinton writes that he met
with the loint Chiefs, all of whom opposed
lifting the military’s ban. “(T)hey main
tained that letting (gays) serve openly
would be, in General Powell’s words, ‘prej
udicial to good order and discipline,”’
Clinton writes. In a new revelation, how
ever, Clinton also says that the Joint Chiefs,
despite their personal opposition, “made it
clear that if I ordered them to take action,
they’d do the best job they could.”
As well, Cllinton focuses on the incen
diary pro-ban argument that Sen. Robert
Byrd (D-WV) made in a closed-door
meeting: “He believed homosexuality was
a sin; said he would never let his grand
son, whom he adored, join a military that
admitted gays; and asserted that one rea
son the Roman Empire fell was the
acceptance of pervasive homosexual con
duct from julius Caesar on down.”
Clinton also recalls meetings with
members of the influential Senate Armed
Services Committee, many of whom
opposed lifting the ban, including the
Committee’s Chairman, Sen. Sam Nunn.
Clinton writes that he believed Nunn’s
arguments, and the arguments of others
opposed to allowing open service, “could
have been used with equal force against
Truman’s order on integration.”
While Clinton notes that a slim majori
ty of Americans supported his position on
lifting the ban, most members of Congress
viewed the support as insufficient.
“Congress,” he writes, “thought it was a
dead-bang loser for them.”
“With congressional defeat inevitable,”
Clinton says, “(Defense Secretary) Les
Aspin worked with Colin Powell and the
Joint Chiefs on a compromise,” that
became known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Though not stated specifically in “My
Life,” Clinton’s own opposition on the mil
itary’s gay ban has only strengthened since
leaving office, in a statement made to
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
(SLDN) in October 2004, Clinton said that
“Simply put, thdre is no evidence to sup
port a ban on gays in the military.” Since
1993, Clinton told SLDN. “Qur nation as a
whole has moved significantly ... toward
recognizing the full citizenship of gay
Americans.” He also urged Americans to
“keep striving for the time when serving in
our military is an honor open to everyone
regardless of sexual orientation.”
“President Clinton, like the over
whelming majority of Americans, has
learned first-hand the detrimental impact
the military’s gay ban continues to have
on our armed forces,” said C. Dixon
Osburn, Executive Director of SLDN.
“Congress should revisit this policy and
repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ once and
for all.”
Gonnie J. Vetter
Attorney and Counsellor at Law
Legal Services for
Our Community ^
704'567'5530
Vamadore Buildit^S
^ 403 7 E. Independence Boulevard
a-iarlotte, NC 28205