- Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Don’t ask, don’t tell seems to have become the priority item even though employment non-discrimination would cover more people and has more support in Congress.
The New York Times explains why.
Lt. Dan Choi’s case is likely to make it to the Supreme Court. Choi is a decorated Iraq War veteran who is being drummed out of the military because he is gay, The case puts the Obama administration in the position of defending a policy they claim they do not support.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who also claims to oppose the policy, is expected to announce today that the military will stop discharging those who are outed by third parties. That remains within the original law, which was supposed to be “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue.”
A majority of American support eliminating the law altogether, according to surveys.
Anti-gay policies like this have always been pushed during peace times while gays and lesbians have been retained in the military during times of war. The DADT policy was instituted during peace and the Bush Wars were the first time policies like this were actively pursued during extended periods of war.
During Vietnam, being gay in the military was not legal, but was also not a legitimate reason to get a deferment from the draft. (Believe me. I tried!) During World War II, gays and lesbians served in the military, many openly. Most of the office that cracked the German codes were gay. After the war, they were promptly discharged, many dishonorably.
The ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ hearing has begun…. see it live at:
https://armed-services.senate.gov/Webcasts.htm
Am I missing something here? I just read this in a story from CNN:
“Laying the groundwork for a repeal of the policy will take more than a year, Gates said.”
Really? I would think a simple “Don’t kick out any homosexuals” change would take care of this in about a minute.
What groundwork? All you’re doing is NOT kicking homosexuals out of the military.
Does “groundwork” mean “stalling”? Can someone clarify groundwork?
It’s not like you have to create NEW policies about homosexuals in the military. They’re already there, in every part of the military. So you don’t have to create policies for “where” they should. They’re there.
I just see this claim of “a year to lay the groundwork” is just another stall attempt.
I’m happy it’s moving forward, but I think even the U.S. Government could repeal this in a week, not an entire year.
While I was meeting with members of NGLTF who are here for the Creating Change conference, they were crafting their response. It just went on line. Here’s what they said:
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 — The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force responded to the Senate Armed Services Committee’s historic hearing today on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The Task Force Action Fund also submitted written testimony to the committee calling for an end to the ban.
Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
“Today, we heard Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen begin to lay out a plan for ending the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. They announced the creation of a working group whose outcomes must be nothing less than full equality and full access to all of the benefits and obligations required by military service.
“Some of the questions the group might explore are ‘Should lesbian, gay and bisexual service members face any restrictions on exhibiting their sexual orientation on the job?’ Not if straight people don’t. ‘Should the Pentagon be obligated to provide for its domestic partners?’ Absolutely. ‘Should same-sex partners receive the same treatment as opposite-sex partners?’ Yes. ‘Should straight military personnel be compelled to share quarters with lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel?’ They already do. Separate but equal is not equal. Different treatment but equal is not equal. Equal means equal. Period.
“We thank Gates and Mullen for their strong statements today. We have called on the president to find a way for people to serve openly, and it appears he is trying, though we are not satisfied with the length of this timeline. We continue to call for the immediate halt to all discharges of service members because of their sexual orientation until Congress fulfills its responsibility to overturn this archaic, unjust law.
“Committee members like Sens. Chambliss and Sessions have their head in the sand on the true impact of the existing law. Contrary to their statements, the real story is ‘Live and don’t make a living. Live and lie.’
“The military has already had 16 years to think about this and other countries have been able to implement equality in the armed services. Let’s get moving. The livelihoods and safety of thousands of service members depend on it.”