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104 Military Officers Agree: Gay Ban Must Go

Last Monday, admirals and generals representing every branch of the military released a statement calling for the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.  The officers were led by retired Admiral Charles Larson, who had originally supported the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy when it was first proposed in 1993, in the wake of the backlash over then President Clinton’s effort to overturn the ban on gays in the military early in his presidency.  Admiral Larson reportedly changed his mind after he learned that “there were a lot of witch hunts and a lot of people were turned out on that basis.”  He realized that the military was losing valuable talent.  I know this to be true first hand from my friend Brian Muller, who was discharged from the Army under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  Brian had been deployed in one of our two current wars, working as a bomb technician in Afghanistan.  I cannot fathom why homophobia could possibly be more important than protecting our troops (and Afghani civilians) from IEDs and other explosive dangers.  Nor can I understand why someone who literally put his life on the line in service to our country is in any way unworthy to serve.  (You can read the details in my post about Brian’s experiences here.)

Many have said that Clinton’s move was too early.  It’s hard to imagine that it would have been received any more positively at any time during his presidency or during the reign of President George Bush, especially considering the right-wing propaganda campaign to demonize the LGBT community as a Republican base-energizing political ploy.  Now we’re on the eve of the inauguration of Barack Obama, and it will be interesting to see if the spirit of change and hope also brings hope to the LGBT community.  Obama is certainly the most gay-friendly of presidents we will have seen in history.  During the election, Obama told the Philadelphia Gay News that he would repeal the policy, but carefully.

After the release of the letter from the admirals and generals this week, Obama Transition Team Spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to comment to the Associated Press.  And today, Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, told the Washington Times that he has held “informal discussions” with the Obama transition team on how the new president should proceed, and he didn’t expect any action on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell until 2010.  “I think 2009 is about foundation building and reaching consensus,” Sarvis said.

The letter calling for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, signed by Admiral Larson, said in part:

“Scholarly data shows there are approximately one million gay and lesbian veterans in the United States today as well as 65,000 gays and lesbians currently serving in our armed forces. They have served our nation honorably. We support the recent comments of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General John Shalikashvili, who has concluded that repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy would not harm and would indeed help our armed forces. As is the case with Great Britain, Israel, and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion, and sexuality. Such collaboration reflects the strength and the best traditions of our democracy.”

Brian has often told me that the whole idea of LGBT soldiers in some way harming our military’s ability to function effectively is completely absurd.  Most military action our country now undertakes is in concert with our allies–many of whom allow gays to serve openly.  Our troops are already serving with openly gay and lesbian soldiers in the field.   Right now.

You can see the complete list of officers who signed the statement calling for the end to the ban on gays in the military on the Palm Center’s Website.

Thank You Howard Dean

A little over five years ago, my intense but private political interest became an active obsession.  I was frustrated and worried by the George W. Bush “victory” in the 2000 election and by a war of little value and of even less justification..  Early in the 2004 Presidential campaign, I heard a speech by Dr. Howard Dean.  What I want to know, he said, is why so many Democrats are supporting George Bush’s war in Iraq.  I wanted to know too.  Looking into Dean’s record as the former Governor of Vermont, my attention intensified when I learned that Gov. Dean had led the state that gave gays and lesbians a first step toward equal rights via civil unions.  We were facing a gay marriage amendment to the Georgia Constitution, and I was offended and infuriated by the bigotry and hate of my fellow Georgians.

I had never before been active in any political campaign.  But I went to a Howard Dean meetup and found the energy, compassion and company of like-minded volunteers infectious and inspiring.  It was so “un-American” at that time to question President Bush or to be of the opinion that <gasp!> war is neither good nor the answer.  It was cathartic to sit at Manuel’s Tavern and talk about such things over a beer with people who, like me, would ultimately organize and work for Gov. Dean’s campaign.

Gov. Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign started what Sen. Barack Obama and his campaign have now finished.  Dean for America pioneered the idea of a broadly distributed, loosely organized campaign where individual groups around the country operated with autonomy.  The national campaign sent out requests for support on specific campaign strategies, details on positions and appeals for action through canvassing, phone banking, and fundraising events (so many of them “house parties” held in private homes of ordinary people).

As importantly, and perhaps ultimately more importantly, the Internet was exploited as a campaign tool as never before.  Blogging was a brand-new concept back then.  I wrote my first posts ever on the Georgia for Dean blog, and even was honored with a post or two on the national blog.  As you can see, blogging became a habit that I cannot break. Today, the Dean for America community lives on as Democracy for America, as does Georgia for Dean, which is now Georgia for Democracy.

As a volunteer for Georgia for Dean, I met some of the most amazing people I’ve ever encountered.  Many were brilliant.  Most worked hard, sometimes to the detriment of paying work or other basic needs like sleep.  All were committed, sincere and passionate about changing the direction of our country. Many people whom I now consider to be my closest friends were met at Dean meetups and Georgia for Dean activities.  My friend Brian led Out for Dean Georgia.  He does not like this title, but I tell him he is my personal hero.  Brian was discharged from the U.S. Army because he is gay–after serving in Afghanistan (and many other tours of duty) as a bomb technician who protected our troops by defusing and destroying IEDs and other bombs.  (You can read my post about Brian here.)  My friend David was responsible for the blog for Out for Dean Georgia and was active generally with Georgia for Dean.  He is a true friend.  I love him and trust him with my life.  My friend Kimberly is one of the most brilliant PR professionals I’ve ever met.  I respect her greatly and value her insight on both political issues and general PR/marketing issues, where we share a similar vocation.  I have great fondness and respect for many others I first met through Dean for Georgia.  We didn’t all get along all the time.  We disagreed, sometimes heatedly, on strategy and tactics.  But we had a common goal, and today we all celebrate together. More »