Op-Eds
Kansas City Star: Voices from the Heartland
Obama and Congress don't need to study gays in the military. They need to look at what the president from the Show-Me state did and follow his example. ...Read More
Boston Globe Op-Ed: Military Just Catching Up
In a recent Boston Globe op-ed, SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis discusses the urgency and doability of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" sooner rather than later.
...Read MoreBoston Globe: The Writers React to Each Other
SLDN's Aubrey Sarvis refutes Elaine Donnelly's op-ed in Sunday's Boston Globe. ...Read More
New York Times: An About-Face on Gay Troops
GENERALS are scolded for preparing to fight "the last war," but if President Obama intends to keep his promise to allow gays to serve openly in the military, he would do well to study President Bill Clinton's attempt of 16 years ago. ...Read More
Getting Ahead of Congress
Consider "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which proved a political quagmire for Bill Clinton early in his first term. In 1993, just 44 percent of Americans believed gays should serve in the military. Today, an encouraging three-quarters of the public believes gay people should serve openly. Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell will still be controversial. But with significant public support for a repeal, the time is ripe for the administration to signal that it takes the issue seriously. ...Read More
Let Our Willing Citizens Serve Our Country First
The Pentagon must be trying its hand at parody with last week's news, as reported by the Associated Press: Struggling to find enough doctors, nurse and linguists for the war effort, the Pentagon will temporarily recruit foreigners who have been living in the United States on student and works visas, or with refugee or political asylum status. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has authorized the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps to recruit certain legal residents whose critical medical and language skill are "vital to the national interest," AP reported. The services can now start a one-year pilot program to find up to 1,000 foreigners who have lived in the U.S. legally for at least two years. This "solution" is so maddening. Why? "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The counter-productive and embarrassing law continues to hurt our military efforts as it discriminates against those who would honorably serve our country. According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, since the law's 1994 implementation, more than 12,500 women and men have been discharged. ...Read More
Do or Die for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Gay rights activist with an actor-model-author hyphenate, Reichen Lehmkuhl kicks off his Advocate.com column with a blunt look at the state of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," promises made by President-elect Obama, and why gay Americans can't let the passing of Prop. 8 distract us from continuing to fight to overturn the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. One organization, he says, has its arms around all of these issues -- the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. ...Read More
The Defense We Need, And Can Afford
The new defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff must eventually acknowledge what many major corporations, city and county fire and police departments around the country, and 24 of our international military allies already know and practice: Sexual orientation bears no relationship to job performance. ...Read More
