Leave the don't ask don't tell policy unchanged!
THE ARMY RESERVE ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS AND ENDORSES
HASC CHAIRMAN
IKE SKELTON's POSITION AND ALL FOUR UNIFORMED SERVICE CHIEFS!
Skelton on the FY11 Defense Authorization and “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
Washington, D.C., May 25, 2010
– House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) released
the statement below regarding efforts to attach a repeal of “Don’t Ask
Don’t Tell” to the Fiscal Year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act:
“In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee this spring and
in a recent letter, Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen asked Congress to
defer any legislative action regarding ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ until
after the Department of Defense completes its comprehensive review later
this year. In a statement today, the Pentagon indicated that ideally,
Secretary Gates continues to prefer that the Department complete this
review before Congress considers legislation. This is a reasonable and
responsible request that I respect.
“My position on this issue has been clear – I support the current policy
and I will oppose any amendment to repeal ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’. I
hope my colleagues will avoid jumping the gun and wait for DOD to
complete its work.”
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On Tuesday (25 May 2010) all four uniformed service chiefs-Marine
Commandant Gen. James Conway, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton
Schwartz, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, and Army Chief
of Staff Gen. George Casey-wrote separate letters imploring Congress to
defer any legislation to repeal the 1993 Don't ask don't tell law until
the Defense Department completes its review.
Editors
note: ARA continues to fax our position to each member of the HASC and
we encourage all to call and let your Senator and Congressional
Representative know how you feel about this critical issue. You can
also call the U.S. Capital Switchboard at 1-202-224-3121 and ask to
speak with them.
House approves repeal of gay ban in military
May 27, 2010 9:33 PM EST
By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The House on Thursday delivered a victory to President Barack Obama and gay
rights groups by approving a proposal to repeal the law that allows gays to serve in the military only
if they don't disclose their sexual orientation.
The 234-194 vote to overturn the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy reflected a view among
many in Congress that America was ready for a military in which gays and straights can stand side
by side in the trenches.
"I know that our military draws its strength on the integrity of our unified force, and current law challenges this integrity by creating two realities within the ranks," Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., said.
Republicans, who voted overwhelmingly against it, cited statements by some military leaders that they need more time to study how a change in the law could affect the lives and readiness of service
members.
The House vote came just hours after the Senate Armed Services Committee took the same course
and voted 16-12 in favor of repealing the 1993 law. In both cases the measure was offered as an
amendment to a defense spending bill.
Obama and leading Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had actively supported the repeal so that gays could serve in the military without fear of being exposed and
discharged.
"This is the beginning of the end of a shameful ban on open service by lesbian and gay troops that
has weakened our national security," Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, a
leading gay rights organization, said after the Senate panel's vote.
During an all-day House debate on the bill approving more than $700 billion in spending for defense
programs, Republicans repeated statements by military service chiefs that Congress should not act
before the Pentagon completes a study on the impact of a repeal.
Congress going first "is the equivalent to turning to our men and women in uniform and their families and saying, 'Your opinion, your view, do not count,'" said Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon of
California, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.
Democratic supporters stressed that the amendment was written so that the repeal would not go into
effect until after the Pentagon publishes in December the results of a survey on how service members
and their families view the change, and until the president, the defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs
of Staff certify that the repeal will not affect the military's ability to fight.
The chief sponsor of the amendment, Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., who served in the Iraq War, said
that when he was in Baghdad "my teams did not care whether a fellow soldier was straight or gay if
they could fire their assault rifle or run a convoy down ambush alley and do their job so everyone
would come home safely."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that of the 13,500 members of the military who
have been discharged under "don't ask, don't tell," more than 1,000 filled critical occupations, such
as engineers and interpreters.
He compared the arguments of the opposition to 1948 speeches in Congress when lawmakers
warned that integrating the troops would undermine morale in the military.
The drive to repeal the ban still faces a tough road ahead in the full Senate, where Republicans are
likely to filibuster it.
"I think it's really going to be very harmful to the morale and effectiveness of our military," said Sen.
John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee and a leading
opponent of the repeal.
The Senate probably will take up the bill next month.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he supports repeal but would prefer that Congress wait for
the December report.
Under "don't ask, don't tell," military leaders don't investigate a service member's sexual orientation
as long as the person does not disclose that he or she is gay or has a same-sex relationship, which are
grounds for dismissal.
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Associated Press writer Julie Hirschfeld Davis contributed to this report.
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The bill is H.R. 5136
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Online: Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov
