SLDN Frontlines: The Time to Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is Now
A casual observer of politics might conclude that the onerous federal law mandating the firing of lesbian and gay service members is all but gone. In the past month, the President of the United States, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Colin Powell and even Dick Cheney have all stated that it is time to repeal or revisit the 17-year old ban known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Repeal advocates have the momentum, but there is a lot more work to do. We are nowhere near the finish line.
Until the President puts his pen to paper and signs repeal legislation, the current law remains in effect and adversely impacts the 66,000 gay and lesbian troops. And, unfortunately, there is still no clear path to final repeal. Secretary Gates and Chairman Mullen announced a year- long study to review how best to implement repeal. This is the how; we have not heard from the Obama Administration, or key members of Congress, on the when.
A new Washington Post/ABC poll conducted earlier this month after the hearings where Gates and Mullen came out in support of open service showed 75 percent of Americans favored repeal, including 64 percent of Republicans. A dramatic 81 percent of young people support open service. What’s the problem here? Why aren’t Republicans and Democrats jumping at the chance to support something that vast majorities of Americans support?
Webster defines leadership as the ability to guide or the action of leading a group of people or an organization. After all the soaring rhetoric, Congress and the White House have simply failed to lead on the issue. The Republicans don’t want to rock the boat lest they offend the tiny minority in their party that opposes gays serving openly. Democrats are afraid to tackle another so-called controversial issue just in time for the mid-term elections. DADT is not controversial at all! Talk about a disconnect between Washington and the rest of the country.
Although Servicemembers Legal Defense Network – the non-profit organization dedicated to repealing the law and providing free legal counsel to troops impacted under DADT – recently reported a 30 percent decline in the number of discharges in 2009, the fact remains, every single day at least one servicemember is kicked out for being gay or lesbian. The time has come for our political leaders to stand up and begin to finally walk the talk and do the right thing.
There are two options for repeal. The first and best option would be for repeal language to be inserted into the Defense Authorization Bill currently under consideration in Congress. This is one of the only must-pass bills in Congress, unlikely to get bogged down and stall (like so many other bills in Congress do.) This way would allow the hated 60-vote rule in the Senate to work in favor of repeal because opponents of repeal would have to muster 60 votes to take the language out. It also allows for members of Congress who support repeal but fear the political backlash to vote for open service within the context of funding the troops and defense department operations.
The second option is for the Congress to pass H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act sponsored by Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA) and enthusiastically supported by San Diego’s own Representatives Susan Davis (D-CA) and Bob Filner (D-CA). The bill currently has 187 co-sponsors with nearly two dozen additional commitments for support in the House. The problem with this option lies in the Senate where the bill simply does not have 60 votes to break an inevitable filibuster. We have seen how the President’s signature healthcare initiative fared when faced with filibuster.
Opponents of repeal are going to use every trick at their disposal to stop repeal legislation from moving forward. We have seen this already in the hateful remarks used by San Diego’s own Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA) to conjure up old-school and ugly stereotypes. Opponents would have us believe that young men and women joining the military today are not professional enough or capable of serving along side their gay and lesbian counterparts. The facts are simply not on their side because the American military throughout its history has been highly efficient and successful in adapting to cultural change in the ranks. When President Harry Truman pushed for racial desegregation, the services pioneered integration years before Congress passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
To state that today’s military, which is arguably the best in the world, would be unable to address open service is simply an insult to our troops as a whole. The British, Israeli and Australian militaries each report that open service has been a non-event for them. In fact, at a recent anniversary celebration honoring the 10th anniversary of the British implementation of open service, gay and lesbian soldiers were invited to the home of the Prime Minister to be honored for their service.
Over the next 90 days SLDN’s campaign focuses on lawmakers who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the entire Senate to move repeal forward this year. Congressional hearings in March dedicated to DADT will keep the momentum we have in place. Right now is the perfect time for advocates of open service to stand and be heard. We need everyone to reach out to their friends and families in those states where Committee members are elected from and ask them to join in the fight. Log on to www.sldn.org and click on the action center tab to find out what you can do to help.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen explained it best last month when he said this debate is about “integrity.” It is not just about the integrity of the individuals serving who have to live a lie each day but about the integrity of the military as an institution. How we address DADT will speak volumes about who we are as a nation and the character of our people. And like Admiral Mullen said, “everybody counts” which is why all of us must stand up now to defend those who defend us but are unable to speak for themselves.
Michael Magee is currently the National Board Co-Chairman for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Prior to his work with SLDN, Magee served on the campaigns of a myriad of elected officials including a Governor, US Senator and President of the United States. For nearly eight years he served on the staff of the Governor of California primarily as the Director of the Governor’s District Office in San Diego. In the private sector he served as the Senior Vice President for Public Policy of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce where he worked to bring together the city’s diverse business community to develop a cohesive regional growth strategy for one of the nation’s fastest growing regions. Presently, Magee is in business for himself as the owner operator of a successfull real estate holding company with properties located in San Diego, Malibu, Ventura and San Luis Obispo, CA.As a volunteer for SLDN for more than a decade, Magee has chaired numerous events and outreach efforts to benefit SLDN as well as to raise the profile of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell at both the local and national levels.
