News Archive
Stars and Stripes: Obama Wants to End “Don�t Ask, Don�t Tell”
President-elect Barack Obama will ask Congress to end the Defense Department's ban on gays serving openly in the military, according to incoming White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. Since 1994 the military has discharged nearly 12,500 troops under the rule, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. ...Read More
Obama’s Moves Affirm Commitment to LGBT Rights
President-Elect Obama made two moves this week that went a long way to salving gay American's concerns about him after inviting anti-gay preacher Rick Warren to give his inaugural invocation. His communications director, answering a question in a video on the transition's web site about abolishing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), replied, "You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's 'Yes.' " Former Marine pilot Tom Carpenter, a former Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) board member living in West Hollywood, cautioned that righting the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law will be more complicated than President-Elect Obama's campaign speeches and that video chat reply makes it sound, however. ...Read More
Happy Inauguration, Mr. President
Gay Rights Leaders in Their Own Words: The Washington Blade asked prominent figures in the gay rights movement, including Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's Aubrey Sarvis, to compose welcome messages to President-elect Barack Obama as he takes office. ...Read More
D.C.‘s Countdown to Destiny
When it comes to marking progress by Obama's installation as America's 44th president, Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the D.C.-based organization advocating for gay and lesbian members of the military to serve openly, and Rachel Tiven, of New York's Immigration Equality group fighting for bi-national, same-sex couples, both have good reason to think Obama's taking office is just the beginning. ...Read More
Following Gibbs, Gen. Honor� Comments, SLDN Believes Repeal of “Don’t Ask” Doable in ‘09
Discussions in recent days on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" have focused not on whether the law would be repealed, but when. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) believes repeal of the law is doable this year.
"We were heartened to hear the incoming Obama Administration, as well as the larger-than-life General Honoré, acknowledge that repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will happen," said Aubrey Sarvis, SLDN executive director. "In terms of timing, we think repeal is a practical expectation for 2009 -not in the first 100 days of the new Administration when the economy and foreign policy clearly take center stage - but doable this year."
...Read More
Obama Comes Out Against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, joins KCRW's "To the Point" to discuss President-elect Barack Obama's recent pledge to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Radio host Warren Olney asks if Obama will make the same mistakes as Bill Clinton in the process of trying to ensure that all members of the armed forces can serve openly regardless of sexual orientation. ...Read More
Veterans & Advocates to Rally in Washington for Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
SLDN will host the Freedom to Serve rally and Lobby Day noon Friday, March 13, on the Capitol Hill grounds in Washington, D.C. The Capitol Hill rally will support legislative efforts to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) ban on gay and lesbian service members and show solidarity for all our service members. ...Read More
An Informal Poll
In the Newsweek article "Don't Ask Too Fast" (Jan. 12), Dan Ephron cites a so-called poll conducted by the Military Times. The newspaper admits that its poll abandons professional polling standards. It surveyed only subscribers to its newspaper via e-mail. "The voluntary nature of the survey, the dependence on e-mail and the characteristics of Military Times readers could affect the results," the paper noted. Yet, strangely, Ephron failed to mention these significant caveats and instead unambiguously left the impression the poll is a legitimate measure of public opinion of the military. It is not. ...Read More
Admiral Mullen: U.S. Troops in Afghanistan to Increase by 20,000 in ‘09
In his appearance this Sunday on CBS' 60 Minutes, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the President-elect, indicated the U.S. would be doubling the number of troops in Afghanistan during the first 12 to 18 months of the Obama Administration.
"We're going to add forces to Afghanistan... The exact number isn't known. I [have] talked [before] about a range between 20,000 and 30,000," Admiral Mullen told CBS News correspondent David Martin.
"Repealing ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)' would open up a huge reservoir of Americans to help meet this need laid out by Admiral Mullen," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). "We have a pool of qualified and dedicated men and women in waiting who are willing and ready to fight terrorism in Afghanistan."
...Read More
New York Times: Economy May Delay Work on Obama�s Campaign Pledges
The issue of gay men and lesbians in the military may be the one that echoes most for those who served under President Bill Clinton and remember how he stumbled over the matter early in his tenure and wound up compromising with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that permits them to serve only if they do not discuss or act on their sexual orientation.
Even if there were no economic problems, some Democratic strategists said Mr. Obama would be wise to take his time repealing that policy.
Opponents of the policy said Mr. Obama had a moral commitment to act relatively soon. Many gay rights advocates were already disheartened by his selection of the Rev. Rick Warren, an evangelical pastor who opposes same-sex marriage, to deliver the invocation at his inauguration.
"I'm not talking about a first-100-days initiative," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which represents those kicked out of the military. "I am suggesting this is very doable in 2009."
...Read More
