Equality California: California Legislature Calls for End of Discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Military Policy
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 27, 2007
11:43 AM
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CONTACT: Equality California
Ali Bay, Communications Manager
Phone: (916) 284-9187
Email: ali@eqca.org
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California Legislature Calls for End of Discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Military Policy
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Sacramento - JUNE 26 - Assembly legislators on Monday approved a resolution urging Congress to end its discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prevents lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans from serving openly in the military. SJR 6, authored by Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, is the first measure sponsored by Equality California to pass the full Legislature this year.
SJR 6 asks Congress and President George W. Bush to lift the long-standing ban on allowing LGBT service members to be open about their sexual orientation. The measure urges the adoption of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2007 (H.R. 1246), which would prohibit discrimination in the military based on sexual orientation. The Assembly passed SJR 6 with a 43-29 vote.
This is the second time the California Legislature has passed a resolution asking for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." In 2005, California became the first state in the nation to ask the federal government to end stop this unnecessary discrimination.
"Don't Ask Don't Tell is an absurd policy that tolerates gay and lesbian Americans to servie in the military but then tosses them out if they even talk about it," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "Throughout history there have been gays and lesbians in the military. The question is: are we going to treat them with dignity and fairness."
In the past 14 years, "Don't Ask Don't Tell" has prompted the discharge of more than 11,000 service members, the equivalent of an entire army division. At least 800 of those discharged soldiers held occupations that were considered critical by the pentagon. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, more than $190 million in tax money has been used to recruit and train their replacements.
“We have written prejudice into our federal military policy, discriminating against thousands of discharged and retired service members and countless others who identify as LGBT and continue to serve in secrecy,” said Sen. Kehoe. “In addition to this blatant prejudice, we have allowed this misguided policy to threaten the country’s military readiness, waste tax dollars and hinder national security.”
Last week, discharged service members testified before the Assembly Judiciary Committee detailing the hardships they faced as LGBT soldiers. Andy Holmes, a Sacramento resident who served in the California Army National Guard for eight years, told lawmakers that his superiors threatened to court marshal him and out him to non-commissioned officers simply for supporting former Pres. Bill Clinton and the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Eventually, Holmes, a veteran of Desert Storm, was forced to lie to other officers and hide his sexual orientation in order to save his career.
"I sold my dignity down the drain and all the core values that I've held by looking people in the eye and lying to them," Holmes said. "After that, I decided I couldn't continue in the military under that type of environment. All I ever wanted to do was serve in the military. To have that taken away from me was personally devastating."
SJR 6 is co-authored by 10 California lawmakers and is part of EQCA's "Empowering Our Communities" legislative agenda. Because it is a resolution, it does not require a signature by the governor.
Equality California is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots-based, statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to achieve equality and civil rights of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians. Please visit our website at eqca.org.
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