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Gay Group Pushes New Repeal Plan


MILITARY SOLDIERS ARMY X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM

In the wake of testimony from the military leadership last week supporting an end to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, a national organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans is advancing a new path forward to achieving full legislative repeal in 2010.

“After the hearing, I think there's been an expectation that we would have a study process in 2010 and a legislative process in 2011,” said Alex Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United. “But a lot of us in the military community feel like that's a grave political mistake and we’re potentially risking the entire issue by proceeding that way.”

As an alternative, Servicemembers United is proposing what it calls a "Set End Date/Delayed Implementation" model that would unfold over an 18-month time frame, locking in a date for full repeal while still allowing the Pentagon working group to proceed with the implementation review process initiated by Department of Defense secretary Robert Gates.

Nicholson said his group decided to make a public push for the strategy because they do not believe the current House bill, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, could garner the necessary support of the Senate by the end of 2010 since it allows only 90 days for DOD to set forth new regulations upon passage.

“A lot of different elements within the LGBT and progressive communities had been holding out for full and immediate repeal which has been embodied in the Military Readiness Enhancement Act,” said Nicholson. “We have been arguing throughout 2009 that that is not attainable right now — that you're not going to get repeal until you get Pentagon support and you’re not going to get Pentagon support unless you briefly delay implementation.”

Servicemembers United is calling for new legislation to be introduced and passed this year, and its outline includes a regular reporting structure in which the DOD reports back to Congress every three months on how its implementation plan is progressing until full repeal is achieved 18 months from when the working group actually began its review.

“I think this pairs very well with the preconditions set by the Pentagon for their support but also the goals of the LGBT community, the progressive community, and the president,” Nicholson said.

Of the several LGBT groups lobbying to end the military’s gay ban, the four-year-old Servicemembers United has been the most low-profile, choosing to work mostly behind the scenes at forming relationships with Congress, the Pentagon, and the White House.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: Rude
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 7:31:13 PM
    Hometown: Oklahoma City

    Comment:

    Have you had any experience with the military? It takes four days and six hours of paperwork for a General to take a goddamn dump!

  • Name: Mark
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 7:26:40 PM
    Hometown: Wappingers Falls

    Comment:

    Why does the military need 18 months to stop wasting our tax dollars and destroying the military by throwing out gay/lesbian soldiers? The Congress must vote to repeal the unconstitutional DADT NOW before the Republicans take control of the Senate in November and this is dead.

  • Name: Mark
    Date posted: 2/10/2010 4:46:39 PM
    Hometown: Seattle

    Comment:

    This seems politically smart, pragmatic, and realistic.



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