Our friends at Servicemembers Defense League put together information for us regarding the recent action around "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell", the military policy which prohibits openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual individuals from serving.
- Tuesday’s announcement that Judge Phillips of the Log Cabin case has ordered a stop to discharges was positive news. However, the government will likely appeal the decision, and it is still not safe for servicemembers to come out. We must keep the pressure up to repeal DADT through Congress during the lame-duck session. SLDN’s most recent release (from last night) about these events is at this link.
- Election season is upon us, and DADT repeal can play a role in local discussion. Organizations can encourage membership to check on where their elected officials and candidates stand on DADT repeal and bring up the issue with these candidates. Here are links to the Murphy amendment roll call in the House, the Senate Armed Services Committee vote, and the Senate floor vote on cloture so people will know where their elected officials stood when it counted.
- These talking points still apply for letters and other communication with senators. They emphasize holding the Senate accountable for the failed cloture vote and looking toward the lame-duck session.
We hope this helps!