Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

One of the most important things that came out of the Democratic Convention in Denver this week for me was the convention’s formal adoption of the platform committee’s language on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. The hard work, of course, had already been done behind the scenes by the committees in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and by many of you. To that end, let me again thank Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and all members of the two committees involved, especially Diego Sanchez who was so vocal and eloquent in his advocacy of this language. We owe all of them a big thank you. Now, at long last, the Democratic Party and their presidential nominee have a formal position calling for the repeal of DADT and urging open service without regard to sexual orientation. I am told that Barrack Obama and Joe Biden will run on the platform language and embrace it, not run away from it. (As some of you already know, Joe Biden was one of the few senators in ’93 who voted no on DADT.) This is hugely important. The policy SLDN has been advocating for years is now the official policy of one of the major political parties. Now, we work with the Republican Party to see if we can get similar language in their platform document. Unfortunately, the prospects are not promising right now. The Republican National Convention platform committee did meet recently and it looks like more of the same ’04 platform language; gays and lesbians are to be excluded from serving in the military. I am going to be talking to my Republican friends in the next few days to see if there is any possibility of offering a favorable and friendly DADT amendment in the Twin Cities when the RNC meets. More on this front later. It is critical that both parties call for the repeal of DADT. This change in the law can only happen with a majority vote and we need both parties to make this policy change. It cannot happen without bipartisan support. In the interim, raise a glass and cheer the good Democratic platform language below. It is so good, I thought you should see it in its entirely. Progress is being made. “Allow All Americans to Serve We will also put national security above divisive politics. More than 12,500 service men and women have been discharged on the basis of sexual orientation since the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy was implemented, at a cost of over $360 million. Many of those forced out had special skills in high demand, such as translators, engineers, and pilots. At a time when the military is having a tough time recruiting and retaining troops, it is wrong to deny our country the service of brave, qualified people. We support the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and the implementation of policies to allow qualified men and women to serve openly regardless of sexual orientation” --Aubrey Sarvis