Frontlines: The Latest from OutServe-SLDN

Spotlight on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal at the Kennedy Center Honors

On Sunday night, I attended the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Kennedy Center Honors. Barbra Streisand was honored for her incredible achievements as an actor, singer, and director, but it was her work beyond the stage that really captured my attention. Actress Glenn Close, speaking to the audience in celebration of Streisand's many achievements, prominently highlighted Barbra's heroic efforts to expose the menace of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law with her 1995 production of "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story."

As is well-known in the LGBT community, Margarethe "Grethe" Cammermeyer was forced to leave the military after 27 years of exemplary service when, during an interview for a higher security clearance in 1989, she honestly acknowledged that she is a lesbian. The Army discharged her, but with the support of her family and her partner, Diane Divelbess, she decided to fight for her right to serve. In June 1994, a federal district court ruled her discharge, and the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military, unconstitutional. She returned to the National Guard and served as one of the few officially accepted openly gay or lesbian people in the military until her retirement in 1997.

In 1995, Col. Cammermeyer's story became well-known with "Serving in Silence" with Glenn Close playing Cammermeyer. But, according to Close, it was Barbra Streisand's persistence in producing the film that ensured that Col. Cammermeyer's story was heard. The film went on to win several Emmys, but more importantly, helped bring light - and a human face - to the dangers of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

I found the prominent focus given "Serving in Silence" during the Kennedy Center Honors particularly significant given the attendees, including President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and former House speaker Newt Gingrich - all of whom still find it acceptable to stick with a law that has caused so much damage, from the economic and security costs to the nation to the very real and personal costs to whose willing to serve and die for their country. I can only hope that continued acknowledgment of the issue on such a prominent stage will move the country one step closer to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

12-09-08 By Scott Mackoul, SLDN Supporter |