Latest News
WARNING: SLDN TO ACTIVE DUTY: DO NOT COME OUT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 10, 2010
Trevor Thomas: (616) 430-2030 or trevor@sldn.org
Paul DeMiglio: (202) 621-5408 or pdemiglio@sldn.org
SLDN TO ACTIVE DUTY: DO NOT COME OUT
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network re-issues warning to active duty, guard, reserves after federal court ruling
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), reissued a national warning to active duty, guard, and reserve service members today after a federal court ruled DADT unconstitutional. The ruling also comes as advocates are urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to schedule a floor vote on repeal the week of September 20. TWEET this warning now: http://bit.ly/dkn9y8
“With ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal sitting before the Senate and a federal district court ruling the law unconstitutional, it is critical that service members do not come out,” said Aubrey Sarvis, Army veteran and executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “DADT remains the law and service members are still being discharged. SLDN is working with clients right now who are in the discharge process. The Pentagon will continue discharging gay and lesbian service members until the law ends. We're very close to a vote in the senate and we need all hands on deck: call your senators now and tell them we need a vote on the floor the week of September 20.”
SLDN issued warnings to gay and lesbian service members before and after the House floor and Senate committee votes on an amendment that would allow for the repeal of the law. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender service members with questions are urged to contact the SLDN hotline: 202-328-3244 x100 or e-mail legal@sldn.org. Any service member with questions about DADT can schedule an appointment for free, confidential legal advice with an SLDN attorney.
Read SLDN’s warning to gay and lesbian active-duty service members, including the reserves and the national guard: http://bit.ly/ds7JAL
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON THE LAW:
Even with the updated Pentagon Instructions, the language does not change the fact that statements, acts, or same-sex marriage, are still grounds for discharge under DADT, including:
A service member can still be fired if outed by his or her parents;
A service member can still be fired for revealing his or her sexual orientation while making a statement to the police that would prevent or help solve a crime;
A service member’s middle school teacher can still out the service member 10 years after he came out to her in social studies class;
A service member can still be discharged if he reports that someone has threatened to kill him for being gay;
A service member can still be fired for hugging someone of the same sex;
A service member can still be fired for getting married; and
A service member can still be fired for saying she would like to return from Iraq to care for her dying girlfriend.
Read SLDN’s warning to gay and lesbian active-duty service members, including the reserves and the national guard: http://bit.ly/ds7JAL
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.
Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.