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SLDN Issues Virginia Action Alert Holding Sen. Jim Webb Accountable for Vote Against Repeal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 2010
Trevor Thomas: (616) 430-2030 or trevor@sldn.org
Paul DeMiglio: (202) 621-5408 or pdemiglio@sldn.org

SLDN Issues Virginia Action Alert Holding Sen. Jim Webb Accountable for Vote Against Repeal
Alert asks repeal supporters to write letters to the editor and opinion pieces holding the senator accountable ahead of Senate floor vote

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), issued a Virginia action alert today to members and supporters urging them to write letters to the editor and opinion pieces holding Sen. Jim Webb accountable for his Senate Armed Services Committee vote against repeal on May 27.

An amendment to allow for the repeal of DADT was successfully attached in committee to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011. The bill is expected to reach the Senate floor for a vote later this month or July.

“We hope that Virginians will not give Senator Jim Webb a pass on his vote in the Senate Armed Services Committee to keep 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' on the books,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “His vote was against equality, and fair-minded Virginians should take loud and strong exception. It is our hope that Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia will do the right thing when the defense bill is debated and voted on the Senate floor.”

Earlier this month, SLDN issued a national action alert urging supporters of repeal to contact their senators ahead of a floor vote. To view the June 8 action alert visit: http://bit.ly/cNO5Tr

"We need repeal supporters to contact their senators and tell them to support repeal and follow the lead of Chairman Carl Levin who will be managing the defense bill on the floor, and will oppose any attempts to strike repeal or weaken the language,” said Sarvis. “It is critical that we beat back any filibuster threat, defeat attempts to strike repeal, and defeat any crippling amendments. Senators need to hear from us now.”

Full text of today’s Virginia alert:

Friend,

In the recent Senate Armed Services Committee vote allowing for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) stood on the wrong side of history. Sen. Webb was the only Democrat on the Committee to vote against the path to repeal and in doing so threatened his legacy. Now, we must hold him accountable.

SLDN is working to drive letters and opinion pieces into the media, and working with our coalition partners and local groups to make sure Senator Webb knows his vote was on the wrong side of history.

As Aubrey Sarvis, executive director for SLDN, recently said: "We hope that Virginians will not give Senator Jim Webb a pass on his vote in the Senate Armed Services Committee to keep 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' on the books. His vote was against equality and fair-minded Virginians should take loud and strong exception. It is our hope that Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia will do the right thing when the defense bill is debated and voted on the Senate floor."

We need your help writing and placing letters to the editor in your local newspapers, calling Senator Webb to task for his vote against equality and demanding that he stand with us when the vote comes to the Senate floor.

Letters to the editor and opinion pieces can range in length and other requirements based on your local paper. Many letters are less than 150 words. Please focus on your personal experience and why repeal must pass the Senate.

Some key points:

--Please use a respectful tone
--Please name Senator Webb so that his office can track it
--Please add your personal story - including if you served - to your letter
--Please do NOT copy and paste the following points as form letters are never published:

Repeal advocates have made significant progress this past year, especially over the past two weeks, but we could still lose the fight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The first repeal vote on the floor of the Senate could come later this month or July.

I urge Senator Webb to strongly support repeal and follow the lead of Senator Carl Levin on any attempts to strike repeal or weaken the language.

Our gay and lesbian troops deserve their support.

The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee both passed a historic roadmap to allowing open military service, but it doesn't end the discharges. We now look to the full Senate to pass DADT repeal by mid-summer and bring the defense bill to the President's desk by October 1.

Repeal is moving forward with the support of the President and the Pentagon, including JCS Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

The repeal provisions in the amendment allowed for Congress to act while respecting the ongoing work by the Pentagon on how to implement open service for lesbian and gay service members. Nothing would happen until the Pentagon Working Group completes its report and the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the President certifies repeal.

Congress and the Pentagon need to stay on track to get repeal finalized, hopefully no later than first quarter 2011.

After your letter is published in your local paper, let us know about your success! Please send us an email at sldn@sldn.org with a copy of your letter.

Now is the time to put pressure on Senator Webb as we approach this momentous vote. Help us hold the Senator accountable for his vote in committee, and ensure that he will do the right thing on the Senate floor.

Thank you,

Elizabeth A. Shirey
Grassroots/Policy Advocate
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network

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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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