Congratulatons!
Partlty as a result of our efforts, The White House and The Congress are hammering out a legislative deal to finally end the failed and discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell military policy.
According to The New York Times,
President Obama, the Pentagon and leading lawmakers reached agreement Monday on legislative language and a time frame for repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, clearing the way for Congress to take up the measure as soon as this week.
Related
Times Topic: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
Blog
The Caucus
The latest on President Obama, his administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion.
More Politics News
It was not clear whether the deal had secured the votes necessary to pass the House and Senate, but the agreement removed the Pentagon’s objections to having Congress vote quickly on repealing the contentious 17-year-old policy, which bars gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the armed services.
House Democratic leaders were meeting Monday night and considering taking up the measure as soon as Thursday. But even if the measure passes, the policy cannot not change until after Dec. 1, when the Pentagon completes a review of its readiness to deal with the changes. Mr. Obama, his defense secretary and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff would also be required to certify that repeal would not harm readiness.
Read the Article Here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/us/politics/25tell.html?th&emc=th
However, the compromise is not acceptable. We must immediately demand that the following four provisions be included in the language of the repeal bill:
We must demand full equality. The repeal language should include:
1-Timeline with firm implementation date, no later than six months after the conclusion of the study in December 2010.
2-Non-discrimination language be included to protect LGBT members from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
3-Stop-Loss halt on all discharges under the current DADT law and return of previously discharged troops.
4-No separate barracks or facilities for gays. This proposed homophobic segregation is not acceptable, and is just as discriminatory as putting blacks in separate quarters and units. The existing Military Code of Conduct should be adequate, and possibly cited in the DADT repeal bill. Separate is not equal.
From Dan Fotou:
Hi All,
As most of you know by now DADT repeal language will very likely be inserted into the Defense Appropriations Bill in both the House and Senate with the President’s backing.
Sounds good, right, except, the repeal language is far from equal and removes any accountability to the people, among other things. I’ve recently hung up with David Fleck and Alan Bounville and we believe TAKING ACTION TODAY AND EVERYDAY THIS WEEK is paramount if we want to see a full repeal with specific timeline implementation, non-discrimination and stop-loss language included. Please see specific information below.
TIMELINE:
Rep. Patrick Murphy, who introduced the Bill in the House and met with Administration officials yesterday, has until
5pm EST today (Tuesday, May 25) to include the compromised repeal language, including the points above, into the House version of the DAB.
Senators Lieberman and Levin: Timeline is currently unknown when language needs to be included, but expect within the week
CALL TO ACTION – WHAT TO DO ASAP:
SWARM – CALL, EMAIL, FAX THE BELOW NOW DEMANDING THE FOLLOWING THREE PROVISIONS BE INCLUDED IN THE REPEAL LANGUAGE:
Timeline with firm implementation date, no later than six months after the conclusion of the study in December 2010
Non-discrimination language be included to protect LGBT members from discrimination based on sexual orientation
Stop-Loss on all discharges under the current DADT law
WHO TO CALL ALL WEEK – PLEASE MAKE LOTS OF CALLS AND SEND LOTS OF EMAILS AND FAX WHEN ABLE:
House Member – Patrick Murphy – Pennsylvania
Washington Office
1609 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
PH: 202-225-4276
Fax: 202-225-9511
Bristol Office
414 Mill Street
Bristol, PA 19007
PH: 215-826-1963
Fax: 215-826-1997
Doylestown Office
72 North Main Street
Doylestown, PA 18901
PH: 215-348-1194
Fax: 215-348-1449
Senator – Joe Lieberman – Connecticut
Email: http://lieberman.senate.gov/index.cfm/contact/email-me-about-an-issue
Washington DC Office
706 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-4041
Fax: 202-224-9750
Connecticut Office
One Constitution Plaza
7th Floor
Hartford, CT 06103
PH: 860-549-8463
In CT: 800-225-5605
Fax: 866-317-2242
Senator – Carl Levin – Committee Chairman – Michigan
email: http://levin.senate.gov/contact/
Washington DC Office
269 Russell Office Building
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510-2202
Ph: 202-224-6221
Fax 202-224-1388
TTY 202- 224-2816
Sen. Levin has seven district offices, click here for the listing:http://levin.senate.gov/contact/offices.html
President Obama – www.whitehouse.gov
Email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500-0004
Ph:(202) 456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TTD: Comments: 202-456-6213
HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN (HRC)
Joe Solmonese – President, Human Rights Campaign
h[email protected]
202-216-1500 – x1
HRC Front Desk: 202-628-4160
TTY: 202-216-1572
Toll-Free: 800-777-4723
Fax – 202-347-5323
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN)
Aubrey Sarvis – Executive Director -
PH: 202-328-3244 or 202-328-FAIR
Fax: 202-797-1635
[email protected]
[email protected]
Servicemembers United (SU)
Alex Nicholson –
PH: 202-349-1125
[email protected]
[email protected]
PLEASE NOTE WHEN SPEAKING TO SLDN, SU and HRC:
Demand they represent the community and our LGBT servicemembers by NOT compromising, but insisting that the above three provisions be included in the repeal language. Let them know that it is unacceptable to agree to the current terms knowing the political parties and pentagon officials involved are not working in our best interest.
I set up a Facebook Event Page called “SAY NO TO DADT REPEAL COMPROMISE” and have invited those who are on my friends list. Please send me a friend request if you are not on my friends list or look for the event on David Fleck’s or Alan Bounville’s Facebook page.
PLEASE FORWARD TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE SWARM.
A little background from the Advocate:
“LGBT groups met with officials at the White House while legislative affairs representatives from the White House and the Department of Defense met with the House and Senate leadership offices on Capitol Hill along with those of Rep. Patrick Murphy and Sens. Carl Levin and Joseph Lieberman.”
What we now know is that the repeal language will do several things that are EXTREMELY UNFAVORABLE for our LGBT servicemembers. It will:
Eliminate any kind of timeline to implement the repeal
Put the decision-making power solely in the hands of the President, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense
The decision as to “when” will presumably become a matter of “if”
Repeal will be based on certification that the new law will not have a negative impact on readiness, recruitment, retention and other key factors that affect the military. (what one considers “negative impact” is subjective and leaves plenty of room for indefinite delay on repeal)
Putting the decision making power solely in these hands will eliminate any oversight and accountability, as the Pentagon is not an institution that can be lobbied or voted out of office – WE LOSE ALL POWER TO PERSUADE
The President can now pass the buck and blame the Pentagon
This repeal provides cover for November elections as the buck has now been passed, and those running for office can say “I voted to repeal DADT” and that’s all it will take to get the “gay vote”.
Worse of all, and the greatest concern is the REMOVAL of any non-discrimination language from the repeal language – essentially, returning authority for open service by gays and lesbians back to the Pentagon (this is code for allowing discrimination based on sexual orientation to factor into discharge but to effectively deny that it played any part for the discharge. Ironically, DADT at least provides a reason for discharge, whereas this absence of a discrimination policy will afford the military the right to discharge because of sexual orientation, but cloaked in a lack of “readiness” excuse.)
We must do all we can to insist that the repeal be a full repeal – not a bogus attempt at pacifying our community.
Thanks.
In solidarity,
–
Dan Fotou
The time to act is now!
Take Further Action Here:
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Action Page
http://www.sldn.org/action
