Latest News
SLDN Highlights What Congress, Pentagon Can Do Now on �Don�t Ask, Don�t Tell�
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2009
CONTACT: Kevin Nix
Director of Communications
(202) 431.5796
SLDN Highlights What Congress, Pentagon Can Do Now on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Proposals Serve as Interim Steps on Road to Full Repeal
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) recommended immediate steps Congress and the Pentagon can take to stop or slow investigations of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" violations. Congress, for instance, can direct the Secretary of Defense to cease investigations of homosexuality in the armed forces through 2010. Or, the Secretary of Defense can instruct all service branches that certain information about an individual's sexual orientation (i.e., information coming from a civilian, anonymous tips, and hearsay) would not trigger a DADT inquiry.
"These are ways to make the application of DADT less draconian," said Aubrey Sarvis, SLDN executive director. "And they could be done tomorrow. Action needs to be taken immediately while Congress debates full repeal legislation. It continues to be remarkable that gay and lesbian service members are fired on a daily basis based often on anonymous or uncorroborated information."
SLDN has drafted the following legislative language for lawmakers in Congress to consider:
...the Secretary of Defense...instructs...there may be no investigation of or inquiry into, or any administrative action relating to, conduct described in 10 U.S.C. § 654(b), "Policy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces," until the end of the 111th Congress; provided that, this shall not limit the authority of the Secretaries of the armed services with respect to conduct that would violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
We have also submitted six specific recommendations to Secretary Gates, who has the legal authority to act on all immediately.
1. To be sufficient to support the initiation of an inquiry into a possible violation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the source of the allegation must be another service member. Information from a civilian is not sufficient.
2. An anonymous tip is not a sufficient basis to start an inquiry into a possible violation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
3. Hearsay cannot support the initiation of an inquiry; the allegation must be based on personal knowledge.
4. The alleged homosexual conduct must have occurred after the service member joined the armed forces.
5. Statements made to chaplains, doctors, psychologists and other health professionals cannot be a basis of an inquiry into a possible violation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
6. The Secretary should ensure that the court's decision in Witt v. Dep't of Air Force is faithfully implemented and applied throughout the armed services. This decision requires the armed services to handle DADT cases in a way that ensures that service members' constitutional rights are not violated.
"It was reported last week that the Pentagon is exploring ways of making ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell' more ‘flexible,'" said Sarvis. "Here are six ways to do this. We hope the Secretary considers all of them."
We encourage President Obama to support the underlying principle for the proposals above: to slow or stop the investigations under DADT. We also urge him to publicly support the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1283).
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.
