This is an historic moment. The Obama Administration has made a strong statement about its commitment to repealing "don't ask, don't tell"-- a discriminatory anti-gay measure enacted under the Clinton Administration (a wholeheartedly disappointing move during the Clinton years, to say the least). In law school, I was part of the Students Against Military Exclusion (S.A.M.E.) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense. This lawsuit sought to ban military recruiters from Yale Law School's campus because of the military's decision to deny openly gay individuals the right to serve in the Armed Forces. The 1995 Solomon Amendment stated that any law school that refused to allow military recruiting on campus for the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. of military attorneys, would risk losing all federal funding. Yale Law School fought back to honor diversity and to uphold its own non-discrimination policy in the face of military recruiters.
The S.A.M.E. suit, in which I was a plaintiff, was denied a hearing in the U.S. Supreme Court because the Court upheld the Solomon Amendment in the Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (F.A.I.R.) decision. Yet, I (along with many students, university administrators, advocates, and members of the general public), feel strongly that the Court erred in F.A.I.R..
The United States rose to "superpower" status on the backs of countless Native American bodies and on the soil of indigenous territories lost, at the expense of the human rights and labor of scores of African-American slaves and their descendants, and due to the struggles and sacrifices of myriad immigrants who continue to be treated inhumanely and flat out unacceptably. Women in the U.S. didn't get the right to vote until 1920, even though we toiled for, taught, fought for, and gave birth to, this and every other nation. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Americans have likewise been an integral part of U.S. history since this country was a mere blip on the horizon. For too long, we were shamed into hiding our personhood and our light. Subjugating oppressed peoples has unfortunately been nothing but the "American" modus operandi (m.o.). Yet, too many drops of sweat and tears were shed by a rainbow array of heroes and heroines to give each and every person in the U.S. the right to express themself and make an honest living. I hope that by now enough of us recognize that we must make smarter decisions about who belongs here and how to treat each other with respect. It is our responsibility to treat one another just as we would like to be treated. No less.
Many Americans are proud to wake up in a nation where we can exercise free speech when we want to change ideas, actions, hearts, and minds. When we are wronged, we even jump on the lawsuit banwagon because we see it as our birthright. We claim our freedoms every day. Yet, children of the Clinton era learned that telling LGBTQ Americans to "act straight" was the best our President could do for our people. Bush era youth have grown up thinking that leaders of a wealthy democracy can utter homophobic jargon and call it public policy.
The status quo is simply not good enough. It is time to mobilize more strongly than ever to send a clear message about the true meaning of equality and opportunity.
Now is the time to organize and join a cause to ensure that U.S. policy-makers vote to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." The Human Rights Campaign does amazing work. Stay tuned.
Obama endorses 'don't ask, don't tell' compromise in Congress
The Washington Post
By Michael D. Shear
Monday, May 24, 2010; 8:36 PM
President Obama has signed on to a "don't ask, don't tell" compromise between lawmakers and the Defense Department, the White House announced Monday, an agreement that removes a key obstacle to repealing the military's policy banning gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces.
Under the compromise, finalized in a series of meetings Monday at the White House and on Capitol Hill, lawmakers will vote in the next several days on a repeal of the Clinton-era policy. If it passes, that action would not go into effect until the Pentagon completes a study about its impact on the troops.
In a letter to lawmakers pushing for a legislative repeal, the White House wrote Monday that "such an approach recognizes the critical need to allow our military and their families the full opportunity to inform and shape the implementation process through a thorough understanding of their concerns, insights and suggestions."
Gay rights advocates hailed the White House decision as a "dramatic breakthrough" that they predicted would dismantle the policy once and for all. In a statement, Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said the announcement "paves the path to fulfill the President's call to end 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' this year and puts us one step closer to removing this stain from the laws of our nation."
The move also injects a highly controversial social issue back into the national conversation, even as lawmakers begin to gear up for their fall reelection campaigns.
Conservative lawmakers have vowed to fight the effort to end the policy. Arizona Sen. John McCain (R), who had previously supported repeal, said at a recent congressional hearing that "Don't Ask" was "imperfect but effective" and that "we should not be seeking to overturn."
Several conservative Democrats in Congress have said they would oppose a repeal unless military leaders made clear that they approved of such a change. That signal has been on hold as the Pentagon completes its study of the ramifications.
At the same time, liberal lawmakers had been pushing for an immediate repeal. The White House endorsement of the compromise is designed to satisfy both concerns and earn their support for a deferred repeal.
"We can live with this, and we're asking enthusiastically members to support and vote for it," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
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