NHDP - Over 500 Call for NH House Speaker O'Brien to Remove Rep. Al Baldasaro

Over 500 Call for NH House Speaker O'Brien to Remove Rep. Al Baldasaro Concord, NH - Over 500 people have joined New Hampshire veterans in calling for Republican House Speaker Bill O'Brien to remove Rep. Al Baldasaro as Chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee in just 24 hours.  Last week, Rep. Al Baldasaro remarked that a member of the military "disgusted" him and thought it was "great" when the audience boo-ed the soldier because of his question about the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy at the Republican Presidential Debate. [10/3/2011] The more than 500 individuals who have called for Rep. Baldasaro removal come on the heels of continued calls for Baldasaro's resignation from New Hampshire veterans [10/5/2011; 10/6/2011]. "If Republican House Speaker Bill O'Brien and Majority Leader DJ Bettencourt won't remove Rep. Baldasaro from his Republican leadership post as Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, then Senator Kelly Ayotte, Congressmen Charlie Bass and Frank Guinta, and candidate Ovide Lamontagne should make clear to voters if Rep. Baldasaro shameful comments are the official position of the New Hampshire Republican Party," said Harrell Kirstein, press secretary for the New Hampshire Democratic Party.  "Sadly, the silence from Republican leadership isn't surprising.  In addition to the loss of over 1,500 jobs, their reckless and irresponsible tenure over the past 10 months has been marked by nationally embarrassing gaffs, from calling the Catholic Bishop a "pedophile pimp" to a member of the Republican caucus advocating for eugenics, all without an apology from Speaker O'Brien to the people of New Hampshire," continued Kirstein. The full text of the petition is below, and list of the more than 500 individuals who have signed it can be found here. Remove NH Rep. Al Baldasaro as chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee During a recent Republican presidential debate, the audience infamously boo-ed a gay soldier serving in Iraq, and not one candidate on stage rebuked the audience's inappropriate boo-ing. Now, one New Hampshire State Representative Al Baldasaro said the boo-ing of a man serving his country in Iraq was "great." Baldasaro told Think Progress, "I was so disgusted over that gay marine coming out...He doesn't realize it, but when the sh** hits the fan, you want your brothers covering your back, not looking at your back." Baldasaro's response is shameful and an insult to the constituency he is supposed to serve as chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee in the New Hampshire State House.  State Representative Al Baldasaro's public and egregious disdain for an American serving in Iraq makes Baldasaro unquestionably unfit to represent the state's veterans. Al Baldasaro is clearly incapable of serving as an advocate for all veterans and Speaker O'Brien must swiftly remove him from this position. Sincerely, Name ###

ASMR - CRAIG STOWELL, FORMER NH MARINE, TO SPEAK AT DADT REPEAL EVENT IN KEENE

On Tuesday, September 20, the 17-year-old policy that has required gay
service men and women to hide their sexual orientation, known as “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell” will officially end. Craig Stowell, a former NH Marine who
spoke out in favor of marriage equality to the NH Legislature to support the
rights of his gay brother, will attend the event.
http://www.towleroad.com/2011/02/watch-former-nh-marine-speaks-out-for-marri
age-equality.html

He will join special guest Kayla Calkin, the regional field director for
Obama for America who will represent the President at this momentous
occasion.

The law was signed by President Bill Clinton on December 21, 1993 under the
full title, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue and was intended as a
compromise policy to allow gay and lesbian service-members to remain in the
military. The impetus for the policy was the death of Allen R. Schindler,
Jr, a Navy Radioman Petty Officer Third Class who was brutally murdered by a
fellow shipmate Japan on October 27, 1992 for being gay.

Repeal Day celebrations will be held around the country. The Monadnock Live
Free and Equal Coalition host the event at the Keene Public Library
Auditorium on by showing the film, Serving in Silence: The Margarethe
Cammermeyer Story (1995) starring Glenn Close. Cammermeyer was a Colonel in
the National Guard who was discharged for disclosing that she was a lesbian,
and went on to win a court case in 1994 that resulted in her reinstatement.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114395/

The celebration will begin at 6 with refreshments and the film will be shown
at 7p.
For more information, contact Susan MacNeil at 603-357-6855, visit Monadnock
Live Free and Equal Facebook page or email susan.macneil@asmronline.org.


Susan MacNeil, Executive Director
AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region - www.asmronline.org
The Cleve Jones Wellness House - www.asmronline.org
Live Free and Equal -www.monadnocklivefreeandequal.wordpress.com
POB 396, 16 High Street
Gilsum, NH 03448
ph: (603) 357-6855
fax: (603) 358-5091

Supported in part by the City of Keene and Monadnock United Way.

In 2011, we acknowledge that 30 years of AIDS is too long. Do your part to
stop AIDS. Join our movement to end the discrimination and stigma that fuel
the AIDS pandemic. Abolish Ignorance Demand Solutions.