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Shhh: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Might Be On Its Way Out
For more than a decade, the Clinton-era “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy has left gays in the military to navigate a murky netherworld: able to serve only so long as they keep their sexual orientation secret.
Now a move is gathering in Congress to rescind that policy and replace it with a clear statement that gays and lesbians are welcome to wear the uniform.
A bill to do just that is being championed by Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., who takes over once original sponsor Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., leaves the House in July.
With 126 cosponsors, the legislation picked up backing earlier this month from one of the most conservative voices in American politics: former Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Barr said ”don’t ask, don’t tell” is an invasion of privacy that is hurting the military’s ability to recruit, at a time when forces are stretched thin by war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
By one estimate, there are 65,000 gays and lesbians in active and reserve military units. Barr wrote that more than 11,000 have been fired under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” including more than 1,000 service members with critical skills like the ability to speak Arabic.
Tauscher hopes to begin hearings on the matter in the fall.
“We realize that things like this take time,” said Tauscher’s spokesman, Kevin Lawlor. “It’s not going to come to the floor anytime soon.”
Advocates for gays and lesbians, however, were heartened by Barr’s endorsement of the legislation.
“When you get Bob Barr with you on a lesbian/gay issue, you’re come a long, long way,” said Steve Ralls, spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a Washington-based advocacy group pushing for the legislation. Its passage, he said, would mean that “lesbian and gay service members will not have to hide;” new doors would open for gays and lesbians in the military; and the fear many live with of having their careers ended by the revelation of their sexual preferences would come to an end.
By one estimate, there are 65,000 gays and lesbians in active and reserve military units.
Barr wrote that more than 11,000 have been fired under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” including more than 1,000 service members with critical skills like the ability to speak Arabic.
Tauscher hopes to begin hearings on the matter in the fall.
“We realize that things like this take time,” said Tauscher’s spokesman, Kevin Lawlor. “It’s not going to come to the floor anytime soon.”
Advocates for gays and lesbians, however, were heartened by Barr’s endorsement of the legislation.
“When you get Bob Barr with you on a lesbian/gay issue, you’re come a long, long way,” said Steve Ralls, spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a Washington-based advocacy group pushing for the legislation.
Its passage, he said, would mean that “lesbian and gay service members will not have to hide;” new doors would open for gays and lesbians in the military; and the fear many live with of having their careers ended by the revelation of their sexual preferences would come to an end.
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