Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Contact: Joan Darrah JEDARRAH@AOL.COM
Purpose:
Under a law, commonly referred to as Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), gays and lesbians are not allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military. This is wrong for the country, the military and the citizens of our country.
Social Context:
No qualified person should be denied an opportunity to serve in the military if they desire. It is wrong for gay people to be allowed to serve only if they deny, or lie about, their sexual orientation.
Religious Rationale:
The inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; world community with liberty and justice for all are part of the proud UU tradition of supporting human rights and equality for all, including gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans-gender individuals. All people are worthy of our love and respect.
MVUC Action Goals:
· Educate the Church about the inequities of the current law.
· Influence state and national legislation by lobbying representatives.
· Join with other Unitarian churches to form a multi-church coalition to bring this issue to the attention of their members of congress.
Action Update:
--December 21, 2010: Joan Darrh attends signing ceremony of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, click here.
--December 20, 2010: Joan's special with the CNN, here.
--December 18, 2010: Joan on MSNBC, reaction to the news of the repeal, here.
--August 23, 2010, Lynne Kennedy, partner to Capt. Joan Darrah writes a letter to General Counsel at the Department of Defense, Jeh Johnson and Commanding General of US Army, Europe, in a series of letters released every day from family members and spouses of former service members impacted by DADT. To read the letter, click here.
--The Standing on the Side of Love Campaign is launching a petition for full equality for LGBT people. We will use this petition throughout the year as we push for specific legal advancements, for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and of the Defense of Marriage Act.
-- June 27, 2009, 2 pm: Rally at the White House to ask the administration to act against this legislation. On June 29, PBS News Hour features snapshots of the rally; Al and Birgit Robbert, Joan Darrah and Lynne Kennedy are shown demonstrating [click on link and go to the remaining 11 minutes of the program, http://www.pbs.org/video/video/1167814768/program/979359630]
-- May 2009, Dan Choi, Arab Linguist and Academy graduate is fired under DADT. He speaks publicly about his experience, and why it is important to serve. A sample of his appearance is here.
-- On March 13, 2009, Jamie Barnett addressed the Freedom to Serve Rally on the grounds of Capitol Hill. The UUA published a blog about our action.
-- On March 3, 2009, Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) introduced legislation to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and ensure that all qualified Americans can serve openly in the military regardless of sexual orientation.
-- On January 12, 2009, members of Repeal DADT briefed the Obama transition team about the necessity to repeal this legislation. Click here to read details.
-- The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR 1246), calling for repeal of DADT and replacing it with a policy of non-discrimination, currently has 148 co-sponsors. For more information on this bill, click here.
-- It is anticipated that a Senate bill will be introduced in 2009 and that more hearings will be held by the House and the Senate.
-- On 9 October, 2008 the UUA featured a story: “Why Don't Ask, Don't Tell Hurts Us All: Joan Darrah's Story.” To see this story, click here.
-- On 21 September 2008, Joan Darrah held a workshop with the MVUC YRUU’s to discuss DADT.
-- On September 11, 2008, Joan Darrah and Jamie Barnett, from MVUC, met with Senator Webb to discuss this issue.
-- July 19, 2008: Joan Darrah was interviewed on ABC's Good Morning America about the effort to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, see it here. Joan also appeared on NBC Nightly News, watch it here.
-- In July 2008 the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Readiness held hearings on DADT for the first time since it became law in 1993. Joan Darrah was a witness at these hearings. For more information on these hearings, click here.
-- In April 2008, MVUC sent petitions to both Senators Jim Webb and John Warner asking them to support repeal of DADT.
-- In June 2007, UU General Assembly supported MVUC's Action of Immediate Witness [AIW] to Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell: To see the text of the AIW please click here.
1. Ensure that the people you know fully understand the ramifications of DADT.
2. Send letters, e-mails and petitions to the President and Members of Congress, urging them to repeal DADT.
3. Support elected officials who are committed to repealing DADT.
4. Write local newspapers and participate in internet BLOGS expressing support for repealing DADT.
5. Get resolutions from city, county and state governments and other influential organizations demanding repeal of DADT.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell – Informational Update
Since the law’s 1993 implementation, more than 12,500 women and men have been discharged. According to a 2005 Government Accountability Office report, nearly 800 of those discharged were ‘mission-critical’ specialists--including pilots, intelligence analysts, medics and linguists. Interestingly, during every major military mobilization the number of gay discharges has dropped, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Persian Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea and World War II. Data show DADT discharges have fallen by nearly 50% since the war on terrorism began in 2001.
In addition, each year, approximately 4,000 gay service members leave the military rather than continue to serve under DADT. DADT has also deprived the military of thousands of young men and women who simply do not even consider a career today in the armed forces because of this law; they do not apply to our service academies and they do not volunteer. We are losing a generation of the best and brightest because of this discriminatory law. And where are they going? To welcoming employers who have non discriminatory policies. Yes, the reality is that our armed forces must now compete with the private sector to attract the new generation of leaders and to fill the ranks.
In February 2006, a Blue Ribbon Commission including former assistant Defense Secretary Lawrence Korb, former Defense Secretary William Perry, and professors from West Point found that the cost to replace and train service members discharged from fiscal years 1994 through 2003 exceeded $363.8 million.
Numerous reports and studies find no evidence to support a ban on open service
A 1993 Rand Report concluded the U.S. military could lift the gay ban without detriment to readiness. Numerous subsequent studies conclude there is no empirical evidence to support DADT. The Defense Personnel Security Research and Education Center (PERSEREC) prepared two reports which examined whether gay, lesbian and bisexual service members posed security risks or were otherwise unsuitable for service. “The first report, released in December, 1988, found no data to support the ban on gays in the military.” PERSEREC issued a second report in January, 1999, which further challenged the rationale that homosexuals were unsuitable for service.
A 1998 article published by MIT Press in International Security, entitled “Homosexuals in the U.S. Military: Open Integration and Combat Effectiveness,” by Elizabeth Kier concluded that “open integration of homosexuals would not disrupt unit cohesion and military performance.”
Twenty- four countries now allow gays to serve openly
Twenty-four countries now have laws that allow gays to serve openly, including Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and Israel. American troops are serving side by side with openly gay troops in Afghanistan and Iraq with no reported problems. “Evidence from studies on foreign militaries…suggests that lifting bans on homosexual personnel does not threaten unit cohesion or undermine military effectiveness.” In fact, in most countries the change was a “non-event.”
Public opinion is changing
Polls have shown that a large majority of the American public favors allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the U.S. military. A December 2006 ZOGBY poll reported that 73% of military personnel are comfortable with lesbians and gays. It also found that 68% of the Iraq/Afghanistan troops polled say they either know for certain or suspect there are gays in their own unit, yet our combat readiness and military effectiveness are undiminished. A 2008 Washington Post–ABC News poll, found 75% of Americans said that openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military compared with 44% in 1993.
Leaders’ opinions are changing
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Shalikashvili, USA (Ret.) and former Senator and Secretary of Defense William Cohen spoke against the law publicly in early January 2007: "I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces," General Shalikashvili wrote. "Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job.”
In 2008, A bipartisan study group of senior retired military officers representing different branches of the service conducted an in-depth assessment of DADT by examining the key academic and social science literature on the subject and interviewing a range of experts on leadership, unit cohesion and military law, including those who are training our nation’s future military leaders at the service academies. Among their findings they concluded, “Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline, or cohesion.”
The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1246) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on February 28, 2007. Sponsored by Representative Marty Meehan (D-MA) it now has 148 cosponsors. The stated purpose of the bill is "to amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces by replacing the current policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."
Gays are serving with honor and distinction
Lesbians, gays and bisexuals are serving and have served in the U.S. military in every conflict since the American Revolution. There are at least 65,000 gay Americans serving on active duty and in the National Guard and Reserves, according to the Urban Institute. Today, there are at least one million gay veterans in the United States, according to a recent Urban Institute study based on 2000 Census data.
National security agencies, DOD and almost all defense contractors do not discriminate based on sexual orientation
The CIA, FBI, NSA, DOD and almost all defense contractors do not discriminate based on sexual orientation. In fact, except for the military, the federal government does not discriminate based on sexual orientation. Many defense contractors hire gay employees who work alongside U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It simply doesn’t make sense today to discharge a talented, highly rated service member under DADT and a few days or weeks later hire him or her to do the very same job as a civilian employee or contractor in the Defense Department or the CIA.
