SLDN Week IN Review: May 14-18, 2012
SLDN Launches Campaign to Spotlight DOMA Harm to Military Families. A week after President Obama announced his support for ending marriage discrimination against same-sex couples, SLDN and Freedom to Marry announced Freedom to Serve, Freedom to Marry, a new national campaign that highlights the stories of military families harmed by the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The campaign launched with the release of an online video illustrating the real injury inflicted on gay and lesbian military families who, because of the federal government’s refusal to recognize their marriages legally, are denied the support and protections that all other military families receive. The video was viewed more than 32,000 times in the first 48 hours. To view the video, sign the petition, and share with your network, click here.
House Passes NDAA with Provisions Harmful to LGBT Service Members. On Friday, SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis responded to the House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), H.R. 4310, that includes provisions adopted in committee last week that seek to limit the use of Department of Defense facilities, affect military chaplains, and undermine successful "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal implementation. The bill passed by a vote of 299-120. To read SLDN's statement and link to the amendments now included in the bill, click here.
Pelosi Calls NDAA Provisions Result of "Manufactured Crisis." House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also had strong words for the House proposal to "protect" military chaplains from performing same-sex weddings, calling the idea a "fraud." To read more, click here.
LGBT Service Members and Families Visit Capitol Hill. OutServe hosted its first-ever Capitol Summit, bringing LGBT service members and their families to Washington, DC for a day of meetings, issue briefings, and networking with one another, followed by a day of visits to key decision-makers on Capitol Hill. To read more about the Summit, click here.
05-18-12 By Zeke Stokes, SLDN Communications Director |
