San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee will join California Governor Jerry Brown, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, and other world leaders for talks on the environment and climate change in the Vatican next week. The meeting with Pope Francis follows the pontiff's recent encyclical identifying environmental degradation as one of the biggest challenges facing the world �" and how it mainly affects the poor.
We have no quarrel with that, and given our state's leadership on addressing climate change, the talks could be productive. We're sure the mayor will be busy at the meetings, which are organized by the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences and focus on local jurisdictions.
However, we would be remiss if we didn't encourage our mayor to make the most of his visit to the Vatican, and the upcoming trip offers Lee a diplomatic opportunity that stays true to the city's values. The mayor should find the moment to talk to the pope about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, and relay to him the fact that San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is not the right fit for the city.
The archbishop, a steadfast opponent of marriage equality, has spent much of this year in disagreement with teachers and staff at four Catholic high schools as he demands that they sign morality clauses declaring that same-sex relations are "gravely evil." He also wants to designate teaching staff as "ministers," thereby diluting contract provisions. While the mayor is not involved in the archdiocese's labor negotiations, he certainly believes that marriage is an institution that all couples can enjoy. "San Francisco has always been proud of our role" in the marriage equality fight, the mayor said as he celebrated on the steps of City Hall just hours after the Supreme Court's decision.
In the weeks since the court's decision, Episcopal clergy and lay members voted to allow same-sex couples to wed in church �" another big milestone that came with liturgical changes. We don't see the Catholic Church adopting a similar policy any time soon, but the pope must be aware of the shift now underway; Ireland, a very Catholic country, approved marriage equality during a referendum vote in May.
Meeting with the pope is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The mayor should take advantage of it and stand up for San Francisco values. While the pope may not come around to supporting same-sex marriage, maybe he can give us a new archbishop.
A step closer to trans military service
Nearly five years after Congress voted to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which banned gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, the Defense Department this week announced a plan to ease its ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces. Unlike DADT, the trans ban doesn't require congressional action, meaning that in the next year or so, we should see the end of this outdated policy that currently automatically declares trans people medically unfit for service.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced the formation of a six-month working group to study the impact of lifting the ban on unit readiness. Concurrently, the announcement elevates the decision authority regarding administrative discharge for trans service members and those diagnosed with gender dysphoria to Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Brad R. Carson.
The American Civil Liberties Union noted that in recent months, service branches have allowed some trans people to continue serving, but that they and their commanders are in an administrative limbo. We've reported that four of the service branches �" Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines �" have made it more difficult to discharge transgender service members.
If all of this has a familiar ring, it's because that's how the road to DADT repeal started. First, the branches elevated discharge decision making to those higher up the chain of command. Then, military brass established study groups to examine how repeal would affect unit readiness. The troops and their families were also surveyed. In short, it was a lengthy process, but one that worked. We see this week's announcement as an indication that the Defense Department is embarking on the same strategy for accommodating transgender service members.
It will take longer than we would like, but it seems that the process is in motion, and that's a good thing.