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RAPID RESPONSE: SLDN Continues Urgent Push for Repeal, Responds to American Legion
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 21, 2010
Contact: Paul DeMiglio
(202) 621-5408 or pdemiglio@sldn.org
RAPID RESPONSE: Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Continues Urgent Push for Repeal, Responds to American Legion
Critical votes in Senate Armed Services Committee and on the House floor days away
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Active Duty, U.S. Marine Writes to the President:
“It was my first deployment, and I had no idea what to expect. It is a strange feeling to say goodbye to someone you know you might never see again…
I looked at my mom and dad, my sister and nephews, and my boyfriend, trying to burn their images into my mind so I would not forget them.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), responded today to anti-repeal voices, including letters sent to the Hill by the American Legion. SLDN sent national action alerts to members and supporters this week asking they contact key Senators on the Armed Services Committee as we approach the markup of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. Advocates have been working to muster the 15 critical votes needed on the committee to include repeal. A similar alert was also sent in support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold a floor vote on repeal next week. Advocates are working with Congressional leadership and allies to offer an amendment on the House floor adding repeal of DADT to the defense budget bill.
“This is our ‘all hands on deck’ moment. For repeal to succeed, it is critical that all proponents for full repeal weigh in now, including the White House. We are only a few days away from this historic vote,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “As a veteran looking at this letter by the American Legion, their slogan is Veterans Serving Veterans; guess they should change that to Veterans Serving Straight Veterans.”
To view SLDN’s action alert click here.
Meanwhile, an active duty U.S. Marine sent a letter to President Barack Obama today advocating for repeal. SLDN has been posting a daily letter to the President from a person impacted by DADT. “Stories from the Frontlines: Letters to President Barack Obama” underscores the urgent need for congressional action and presidential leadership at this critical point in the fight to repeal DADT. More than 50 blogs and websites are currently highlighting the letters. You can read each letter by visiting: www.sldn.org/letters.
“It was my first deployment, and I had no idea what to expect. It is a strange feeling to say goodbye to someone you know you might never see again. When have you hugged enough? How do you know when to let go? How many times do you tell them you love them? How do you convince them everything will be fine when you are not sure it will be? I looked at my mom and dad, my sister and nephews, and my boyfriend, trying to burn their images into my mind so I would not forget them.,” wrote the Marine.
SLDN has been urging the President to voice his support for the legislative repeal of DADT this year. To date, the President and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates have not supported legislative action this year. With the midterm elections approaching, advocates have raised concerns about losing support for repeal in the next Congress. SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis sent a letter to President Obama on April 19 urging him to include repeal language in his defense budget recommendations. Read the letter: http://bit.ly/au1Cmi
Nearly three weeks ago, on the evening of Friday, April 30, the Obama Administration shot a simultaneous salvo – from the Pentagon and the White House – against advocates fighting for repeal this year. In a letter to the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Robert Gates came out against lifting the ban before the Pentagon's Working Group finishes its DADT study in December. Hours later, the White House issued a statement deferring to Gates. In doing so, President Obama appeared to reverse on the commitment he made during his State of the Union Address when he said: “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It's the right thing to do.”
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (www.sldn.org) is a national, non-profit legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” A journalists’ guide is available here.
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