It's (Past) Time to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
In anticipation of hearings in Rep. Ike Skelton's House Armed Services Committee, a number of pro-equality groups are stepping up their efforts to demand the repeal of the nation's misguided "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy.
Passed by Congress in 1993, DADT is a law mandating the discharge of openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual service members. Under the law, at least one individual per day on average is fired because they are gay or lesbian. Incredibly, almost 13,000 service members have been discharged since 1994. Since President Obama was sworn into office, almost 300 have been discharged.
Upcoming Missouri Events
On July 27, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is hosting a Freedom to Serve Forum at the Truman Library in Independence. The event will include a distinguished panel of retired officers, journalists and activists. The forum coincides with the 61st anniversary of President Truman's Executive Order ending racial segregation in the US Armed Forces, and will highlight the incredible costs of our current system of discrimination in the military.
RSVP for the Truman Library event by July 23 at www.sldn.org/trumanforum
Also, the Human Rights Campaign's DADT Repeal Tour is expected to stop in Kansas City (and maybe other MO places) in the coming weeks.
DADT makes no sense
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" has cost American taxpayers more than $360 million, and hurts military readiness. In fact, the military has discharged almost 800 mission-critical troops and at least 59 Arabic and nine Farsi linguists under DADT in the last five years.
The public overwhelmingly supports an end to the ban
A July 2008 poll by The Washington Post/ABC News found that 75 percent of Americans favor allowing gays to serve openly in the military - up from just 44 percent in 1993. The same poll found 64 percent of Republicans in favor of repeal.
In the 111th Congress, almost 150 Members have signed on to HR 1283 to end the ban, including Reps. Wm. Lacy Clay, Russ Carnahan and Emanuel Cleaver.
