On March 26-27, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network held its largest-ever Lobby Day in Washington, D.C., working to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
I was there, along with a large group from my law school and nearly 200 others. Follow me over the flip for some background on this issue, my experience, and what you can do to help.
The Law
Don't Ask, Don't Tell is the common name for the Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces, a law passed in 1993 that requires separation from the military if the servicemember engages in homosexual acts. The rationale is that:
The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.
These purported fears of the effect on morale are not backed up by evidence, of course. Openly gay servicemembers are allowed in at least 24 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Israel. None of those countries have reported problems after lifting the restrictions on service.
What is even more damning, in my opinion, is the fact that discharges under Don't Ask, Don't Tell decrease in wartime.
This graphic shows that discharges have fallen by 40% since the "War on Terrorism" began. One would think that unit cohesion and morale was of the utmost importance in a combat situation, giving the lie to these claims.
Regulations (PDF) implementing the policy state that:
A member shall be separated under this section if one or more of the following approved findings is made:
(1) The member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a homosexual act or acts...
(2) The member has stated that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual...
(3) The member has married or attempted to marry a person known to be of the same biological sex (as evidenced by the external anatomy of the persons involved) unless there are further findings that the member is not a homosexual or bisexual and that the purpose of the marriage or attempt was the avoidance or termination of military service.
A homosexual act is defined as:
bodily contact, actively undertaken or passively permitted, between members of the same sex for the purpose of satisfying sexual desires.
This means that kissing, hugging, dancing, or similar behavior with a person of the same sex can be grounds (PDF) for separation. It also means, of course, that this policy can be used for harassment and revenge (more on that below).
The Cost
This discriminatory policy has enormous costs--for the military, for those affected, and for American taxpayers.
Since this law was implemented in 1994, more than 11,000 servicemembers have been discharged simply for being gay. That's 2-3 every single day. In the last five years, at least 55 Arabic linguists have been discharged. Estimates of the cost of these discharges ranges from $190-360 million. Setting aside the issues of intolerance and inequity, the monetary cost and loss of talented people is indefensible during a time of war. And this "brain drain" goes far beyond those actually discharged--how many, gay or straight, refuse to sign up to work for an organization that engages in such blatant discrimination?
According to the Urban Institute, there are nearly 65,000 LGBT people in uniform. They deserve better than this policy, which actually encourages harassment and bigotry. One good example comes from this series of emails (PDF) between an Army recruiter and a potential recruit. In the beginning, the recruiter is very positive and polite; that all changes, however, when the recruit mentions that he's gay. Her response escalates throughout the exchange. In her words (grammar and spelling errors are hers):
WELL IF YOU ARE GAY WE DON'T TAKE YOU YOU ARE CONSIDERED UNQUALIFIED.
YOU ARE DEFINITELY UNQUALIFIED, NOW TAKE YOU GAY SELF SOMEPLACE ELSE WE DO NOT TOLERATE GAY PEOPLE LIKE YOU IN ANY PART OF THE MILITARY. ... YOU SHOULD SAY THANK YOU MILITARY PEOPLE FOR WHAT YOU DO SO THAT YOU CAN LIVE A FREE LIFE IN THIS COUNTRY. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. THE US MILITARY GIVE YOU THAT FREEDOM OF SPEECH SO THAT YOU CAN SEND EMAILS LIKE THIS ONE TO US. SO ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM WHILE YOU CAN BECAUSE WHEN YOU MOVE ON TO ANOTHER COUNTRY YOU WOULD NOT BE BALE TO SEND EMAIL LIKE THAT THEY WOULD PUT YOU IN JAIL. Editor's Note: Don't you love the irony of her saying that he should thank the military for his freedoms, at the same time she's telling him he shouldn't have any?
Upon finding out that he is also African-American, the recruiter had this to say:
YOU HEAD OF FTO THE GAY LAND OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO MORALS AND GET RID OF YOURSELF. PERSONALLY I THINK BEING GAY IS DISGUSTING AND IMMORAL AND ANOTHET THING THINK AGAIN YOU AS AN AFRICAN HAVE NO PLACE TO SAY YOUR ROOTS ARE DEEPLY ROOTED HERE. ... I HAVE MORE RIGHTS HERE THAN YOU.
And finally, my favorite:
YOU GO BACK TO AFRICA AND DO YOUR GAY VOODOO LIMBO TANGO AND WANGO DANCE AND JUMP AROUND AND PRANCE AND RUN ALL OVER THE PLACE HALF NAKED THERE AND PRACTICE YOUR GAY MORALS OVER THERE THAT'S WHERE YOU BELONG.
This is what we should all be fighting against. No other law requires that someone be fired because of their sexual orientation. Don't Ask, Don't Tell is unfair, unnecessary, and far too costly.
Repeal?
On February 28, 2007, Representative Marty Meehan (D-MA) and 109 cosponsors introduced H.R. 1246 (PDF), the Military Readiness Enhancement Act. This bill would repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell and replace it with a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
To assist SLDN in their efforts, nearly 200 people converged on Washington, D.C. on March 26-27. Gay and straight, veterans and those with no military experience, people from all professions and from all over the country were there. On Monday morning, wearing our matching shirts and carrying our handouts, we visited every office on the Hill to speak to staffers and members about Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Military Readiness Enhancement Act. We thanked those who had already cosponsored and tried to persuade those who hadn't. According to an email update sent by SLDN, four more cosponsors signed on as a result of our efforts, and hopefully more will follow.
On Monday afternoon, SLDN held a rally on the lawn of the Capitol building. Representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) spoke, along with several veterans. On the theory that a picture is worth 1000 words, here we are:
This event was a true learning experience. I met some amazing people, and heard some truly heartbreaking stories. Our group included several veterans, from various branches of the service, and with varying experiences. One thread ran through them all, however: their time in the military was marred by the fear, every day, that they would be pulled aside and told that they had been found out. That is, to put it mildly, unacceptable.
Action!
If you made it this far, thank you! Now here's what you can do: contact your Representative and Senators! A list of cosponsors of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act in the House can be found here. If your Rep is on that list, please thank them. If not, please pressure them! A matching bill should be introduced in the Senate soon. But there's no need to wait--make sure your Senator knows that it's time to Lift the Ban!