|
Happily, the first waves of the 2,600 Minnesota National Guard troops
deployed to Iraq are returning home safely. Unhappily, any National
Guard soldier who is openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual must suppress who
they are in order to serve their country.
"Don't ask, Don't Tell" is a policy which has failed since its
inception," says Ann DeGroot, OutFront Minnesota Executive Director.
"As we welcome these National Guard troops home, let's remember the
service members who can no longer serve and those who are forced to be
dishonest about who they are," says DeGroot.
According to the
Service Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN), the House bill to
repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is currently in the House Armed Service
Committee's Subcommittee on Military Personnel. Introduced in February
2007, the "Military Readiness Enhancement Act" has 126 cosponsors
including Minnesota Representatives
Jim Oberstar,
Betty McCollum,
and Keith Ellison.
The SLDN also says a companion bill in the U.S. Senate could be
introduced by late fall.
An estimated 12,000 gay and lesbian veterans currently live in
Minnesota, according to the
Williams Institute out of UCLA. "These
veterans have clearly already served our country," says DeGroot. "They
and all the presently-serving military who are gay, lesbian, and
bisexual deserve the respect that should come with openly serving in the
military."
The original author of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal bill,
Representative Marty Meehan, resigned from congress in July 2007, but
the SLDN says the legislation is now being spearheaded by Representative
Ellen Tauscher of California, who's beginning to rally support for
having hearings, which could happen late this year or early next year.
"We hope for a continued national momentum favoring repeal," says
OutFront Minnesota Public Policy Director Monica Meyer. "Our service
members, our military, and our country deserve better."
|
