Statement from Human Rights Campaign on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” U.S. Senate Hearing

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/02/02-3

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2010
2:04 PM


CONTACT: Human Rights Campaign
Brad Luna | Phone: 202/216.1514
Trevor Thomas | Phone: 202/216.1547

Statement from Human Rights Campaign on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” U.S. Senate Hearing


WASHINGTON - February 2 - The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, released the following statement today from HRC President Joe Solmonese:

"Today is a historic step forward in repealing a shameful law that has harmed the military, discharged thousands of talented and patriotic Americans and prevented thousands more from serving their country.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been unworkable from the start. When the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense, who also served under President Bush, direct the military to mitigate the pace of discharges while moving toward implementation, we know that Don't Ask Don't Tell is on its way out.

Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen made clear today that this military review is about how, not if this policy will be repealed despite the protest from vocal opponents on the Armed Services Committee. As the Secretary said in his opening statement, "The question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how best we prepare for it."

We applaud Chairman Levin's suggestion that the discharges be halted while this review is underway, and we urge the President and Congress to move quickly on this important first step.

We acknowledge and appreciate President Obama's leadership in bringing the military into line with his ideal. Make no mistake -- this would not have happened without his insistence. And we'll need more of that commitment in the months ahead.

Today's announcement blunts the day-to-day damage of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but we call on Congress to rescind this law and give the Pentagon the full authority to close the books on this stain of discrimination. Finally, while we respect the view of our military leaders to limit this review to the military itself, we encourage the Secretary to include outside repeal advocates as well.

We will -- as we always have -- work in partnership with the Obama Administration and our allies on the Hill as we continue to work toward full and final repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
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The Human Rights Campaign represents a grassroots force of over 750,000 members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, HRC envisions an America where LGBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

That's a strong statement. I believe when the Human Rights Campaign makes this statement, it shows a great deal of confidence that the policy will end.

One thing that has always struck me about DADT is its oddness. Blacks were discriminated against in the military for many many years -- but there could never have been such a bizarre, half-measure policy as "don't ask, don't tell" with regard to this group: you can't hide being black. (Well, don't tell me about the one-in-a-million case of the black person who "passed" for white). It was either discrimination or no discrimination. And so the discrimination had to be maintained or dropped.

My father still wonders whether he was discriminated against in the military, back in WWII. He was Jewish, and you can kind of hide being Jewish in lots of ways, but it was pretty clear from his name and his nose what he was. It bothers him to this day that although he received the highest score of any of his large group taking the test for Officer Training School, his opportunity to go was yanked away from him at the last minute. He suspected it was because of his "race." It's easier to hide being Jewish (or Muslim even) than being black, but it's still pretty hard.

Only gay people have been asked to purposefully "hide" who they are. It's not just wrong. When you think about it, it's just plain bizarre.