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Pentagon Report Adds Critical Support For Ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’


WASHINGTON, DC–(ENEWSPF)–November 30, 2010.  A report released by the Pentagon today found that a large majority of respondents to a survey of active-duty and reserve service members and their families say that ending the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy barring lesbian and gay service members from serving openly would not have an adverse effect on military operations. The House of Representatives has already passed a bill to repeal this unconstitutional policy, and President Obama and Defense Secretary Gates have both called for the policy to be repealed. A federal district court has already ruled that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is unconstitutional. The policy has been allowed to continue while that decision is appealed. The American Civil Liberties Union calls on the Senate to finally end this law by passing the National Defense Authorization Act.

The following can be attributed to Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

“With the release of this report, Congress can no longer delay ending this discriminatory policy once and for all. For far too long, this policy has been an affront to our fundamental values of fairness and equality, and has compromised the effectiveness of our military. Our men and women in uniform deserve to serve their country with dignity. It is long past time for the Senate to ensure that this unfair and unconstitutional practice is finally brought to an end.” 

The following can be attributed to James Esseks, Director of the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project:

“It should be no surprise that allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the military will have no detrimental effect on the armed forces. We know from court cases that the military suspends ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ investigations in order to send suspected gay service members to combat zones overseas, only to re-open the investigations when service members return from deployment. That stark fact highlights that the military doesn’t agree with the very premise of the law – that openly gay service members would disrupt unit morale. It’s time to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and let these patriots serve their country.”

For more information on the National Defense Authorization Act, please visit: www.aclu.org/ndaa

 

Source: aclu.org


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