Despite the Pentagon’s announcement Tuesday that military recruiters have been told they must accept gay applicants, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network continues to advise caution.
“During this interim period of uncertainty, service members must not come out and recruits should use caution if choosing to sign up,” SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law is rooted in any statement of homosexuality made at anytime and to anyone. A higher court is likely to issue a hold on the injunction by Judge Phillips very soon. The bottom line: if you come out now, it can be used against you in the future by the Pentagon. As the DOJ fights to keep this unconstitutional and oppressive law, we are monitoring active-duty clients’ cases and fielding calls every day to our hotline. Given the uncertainty in the courts, we urge the Senate to act swiftly next month on repeal when they return to Washington.”
Of course, if you’ve already been discharged for being gay, you don’t have much to lose. Among those who plan to try to re-enlist in the wake of the Pentagon announcement is Lt. Dan Choi, according to his Twitter feed:
