Sen. Majority Leader Pens Letter to President Advocating Repeal of DADT; Pentagon Publishes Its Own Critique
October 2, 2009
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has asked the president to bring recommendations on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to congress in a letter dated Sept. 24, The Huffington Post reported on Thursday.
Reid, who supports the repeal of DADT, stressed that barring LGB people from serving openly in the military critically weakens our nation’s forces during a time of war:
It has become clear that a number of individuals with skills essential to winning our struggle against terrorism and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan – such as Arabic linguists and intelligence analysts—have been forced to leave the Armed Forces as a result of the current policy. At a time when we are fighting two wars, I do not believe we can afford to discharge any qualified individual who is willing to serve our country.
Reid went on to say that “the time has come for the military and civilian leadership of the U.S. government to review DADT and evaluate whether the policy is in the best interests of our country.”
Reid’s appeal to President Obama came just days before the Pentagon’s top publication Joint Force Quarterly, the official paper of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, published a 7-page spread criticizing DADT. That article, titled “The Efficacy of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’,” takes Sen. Reid’s evaluation a step further and insists that the time for repeal has come:
It is not time for the administration to reexamine the issue; rather it is time for the administration to examine how to implement the repeal of the ban.
The article takes on DADT from all angles, and ultimately concludes that the policy “has been costly both in personnel and treasure… [and] ultimately more damaging to the unit cohesion its stated purpose is to preserve.”
In an article published in The New York Times on Wednesday, reporter Elisabeth Bumiller noted that the article marks an “unusual show of support for allowing gay and lesbian service members to serve openly.”
Bumiller also clarified that while the article “carries no weight as a matter of policy,” it may, however, “signal a shift in the official winds.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, reportedly reviewed the piece prior to its publication, but had no comment on the article when asked for his opinion by the Times.
Related Posts:Senate Votes to Advance Hate Crimes Bill
July 17, 2009
As GLAAD reported yesterday, the Senate took up the issue of hate crimes this week. Late Thursday night the Senate voted 63-28 to end debate on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Associated Press reports. The act was adopted as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill and broadens hate crimes legislation to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disabilities.
The Advocate reports that President Obama, who supports the Matthew Shepard Act, has threatened to veto the Department of Defense authorization bill because of the $1.75 billion in funding for F-22 fighter jets. White House spokesperson Shin Inouye said:
“The President has long supported the hate crimes bill and gave his personal commitment to Judy Shepard that we will enact an inclusive bill. Unfortunately, the President will have to veto the Defense Authorization bill if it includes wasteful spending for additional F-22s… A Presidential veto would not indicate any change in President Obama’s commitment to seeing the hate crimes bill enacted.”
A Senate aide said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is confident that the legislation will pass. The aide said that the vote on the Matthew Shepard Act was good and that “Senator Reid is hopeful that we can keep this language in the final bill.”
The Department of Defense authorization bill could go up for a vote as early as Monday.
GLAAD will continue to monitor media coverage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Related Posts:Hate Crimes Bill Attached to Defense Bill; Senate May Vote This Week
July 16, 2009
The New York Times reported early this week that Senate Democrats announced that they had attached the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act to the annual defense authorization bill. The Matthew Shepard Act broadens federal hate crimes law to protect the victims of attacks that are based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disabilities.
The Senate approved inclusive hate crimes legislation last year (also attached to defense bill), but it was not reconciled with a similar House passed bill. According to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who is spearheading the bill, the Matthew Shepard Act has been pending in the Senate for more than a decade. At the request of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and the Republican Members of the Judiciary Committee, Leahy held hearings on the Shepard Act last month.
The House passed a similar hate crimes bill, H.S. 1913, in April with a vote of 249 to 175. The Senate’s bill is likely to be passed but faces a veto from President Obama. The President supports the Matthew Shepard Act, but has been urging the Senate to remove provisions to purchase seven additional F-22 fighter jets from the defense bill.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) spoke out in favor of the Hate Crimes Bill. He was joined by Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, who said that anti-LGBT hate crimes are on the rise and passing the bill would show “a great message of respect” to victims of these crimes.
The anti-gay Family Research Council has released a video in which Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) & Sen. Jim Demint (R-SC) denounced hate crimes protections, making the false (and often repeated) claim that the Matthew Shepard Act would impede religious liberties.
The Associated Press reports that U.S. Senators took to the floor to debate the issue on Wednesday, which is said to have its best chances in years because of the current political climate. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Harry Reid got into a brief argument on the Senate floor when McCain said that adding this amendment to the defense bill is an “abuse of power” and called it “extraneous”. Reid asked McCain “where has he been in the past” when the Matthew Shepard Act was attached to the same bill with a Republican President in power.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confronted questions from Senators who reiterated the anti-gay notions of Tony Perkins and Pat Robertson, who say that this bill will somehow stamp on religious liberties. He said that the bill “does not criminalize speech or hateful thoughts. It seeks only to punish violent action that undermines the core values of our nation.”
Senators could vote on this legislation as early as next week. Organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the National Center for Transgender Equality are urging people to contact their Senators to tell them to pass this important hate crimes bill.
GLAAD will continue to monitor media coverage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
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