Five LGBT
advocacy groups placed 12,000 flags on Washington's
National Mall on Friday in an effort to recognize the
12,000 men and women who have been kicked out of the
military because of the "don't ask,
don't tell" policy.
The three-day
tribute, "12,000 Flags for 12,000 Patriots,"
was organized by the Human Rights Campaign, Log Cabin
Republicans, Servicemembers United, Liberty Education
Forum, and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network in
hopes of showing that the policy, enacted in 1993 under
President Bill Clinton, wastes valuable resources available
to the U.S. military.
"Every
year, thousands of highly skilled gay, lesbian, and bisexual
service members are discharged simply because of who they
are," HRC president Joe Solmonese said in a
press release. "We must repeal this
discriminatory policy and ensure that the U.S. military can
recruit and retain the best and the brightest troops
regardless of their sexual orientation."
HRC has also
approached Democratic presidential candidates to ask how
they would overturn the policy. The statements that have
been released to date -- including those from Hillary
Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama -- are
available below.
Fifty-five
percent of Americans support repealing the policy, according
to a recent Harris poll. A December 2006 Zogby poll of
soldiers returning from service in Iraq and
Afghanistan found that 73% of soldiers were
"comfortable...in the presence of gays"
and that only 37% were opposed to repealing the
policy.
The
"12,000 Flags for 12,000 Patriots"
installation will be on display Friday, November 30,
through Sunday, December 2, on the National Mall,
corner of 14th Street and Constitution Avenue.
The following
statements were provided by Democratic presidential
candidates to the question "If you are elected
president, what concrete steps would you take to
overturn 'don't ask, don't
tell?'" Republican candidates declined to
respond. (A statement from Gov. Bill Richardson has
yet to be released.)
Sen. Barack Obama
Fourteen years
ago, the Democratic Party faced a test of leadership, and
our party failed that test. We had an opportunity to be
leaders on the world stage in eliminating
discrimination against gay and lesbian service
members, to recognize the patriotism and heroism of the
hundreds of thousands of gay and lesbian citizens who
have served our country. Instead, we bowed to fear and
prejudice. We were told that American soldiers
weren't ready to serve next to gay and lesbian
comrades. We were told that our airmen, sailors, and
marines would lose their "unit cohesion"
if we implemented a policy of equality. And so, rather than
embracing leadership and principle, we embraced
"don't ask, don't tell" -- a policy that
is antithetical to the values of honor and integrity
that our military holds most dear. Patriotic gay and lesbian
Americans are now told that they may serve their country
only if they hide their true identities. They are
forced to live a lie as the price of risking their
lives for their country.
Fourteen years
later, the United States of America lags far behind. We
lag behind our military allies, who are repudiating
discrimination against lesbian and gay soldiers in
ever increasing numbers -- in Great Britain, Canada,
Israel, nearly every NATO member in Europe -- all with
no impact upon military readiness and performance. And our
politicians lag behind the American people, who now
call for the repeal of "don't ask, don't
tell" in super-majority numbers. It is time for a
change.
As president, I
will work with Congress and place the weight of my
administration behind enactment of the Military Readiness
Enhancement Act, which will make nondiscrimination the
official policy of the U.S. military. I will task the
Defense Department and the senior command structure in
every branch of the armed forces with developing an action
plan for the implementation of a full repeal of
"don't ask, don't tell." And I will
direct my secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security
to develop procedures for taking re-accession requests from
those qualified service members who were separated from the
armed forces under "don't ask, don't
tell" and still want to serve their country. The
eradication of this policy will require more than just
eliminating one statute. It will require the implementation
of anti-harassment policies and protocols for dealing
with abusive or discriminatory behavior as we
transition our armed forces away from a policy of
discrimination. The military must be our active partners in
developing those policies and protocols. That work should
have started long ago. It will start when I take
office.
America is ready
to get rid of the "don't ask, don't tell"
policy. All that is required is
leadership.
--
Sen. Joseph Biden
I would end
"don't ask, don't tell." It is antiquated,
unworkable, and wrong.
I've been
to Afghanistan. I've been to Iraq. Other countries --
our allies serving alongside U.S. forces in Iraq --
permit open service. It has had no negative impact on
force morale or the performance of our brave
soldiers.
We don't
have enough troops to fulfill our current missions. But more
than 300 language experts have been fired under
"don't ask, don't tell"
including more than 50 who were fluent in Arabic. More than
9,000 soldiers have been dismissed since the policy
took effect in 1993. The idea that we turn away brave
and patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve solely
because of their sexual orientation is ridiculous and
totally irrational.
--
Sen. Christopher
Dodd
Tolerance,
fairness, and opportunity are fundamental American values.
From my strong support for civil unions and work to fight to
extend equal benefits and rights to same-sex couples,
I believe we should all approach issues facing the
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community as if
they affected their own children and grandchildren --
because it might.
That includes
"don't ask, don't tell." Right now we need to
be encouraging, not discouraging, as many good people
as possible to serve in the military. And I believe
excluding people from service based on their sexual
orientation is counterproductive and does a great disservice
to our men and women in uniform and our country. Heroes like
Marine staff sergeant Eric Alva, the first American
wounded in the war in Iraq, should be treated like any
other brave soldier who risks his or her life
defending our nation.
That is why I
believe the time to put an end to the military's
"don't ask, don't tell" policy has come
-- a change I called for some time ago. As
president, I would call for a meeting with the Joint Chiefs
of Staff to draw up plans that put an end to this policy
within six months.
I know some
remain opposed to this idea -- it was only a few months ago
that Gen. Peter Pace, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, made comments regarding gays and lesbians
serving in our military that I believed were
completely out of line.
But presidential
leadership isn't about taking the easy path --
it's about bringing people together to get
results. For a quarter century, I have been turning
Democratic principles into national policies. And
ending "don't ask, don't tell" will be one
policy I insist upon. At a time of war, when we are
having a hard enough time recruiting people -- good
people who could go on to serve our country honorably --
that is the kind of leadership we need in the White
House. With so much at stake, we simply cannot afford
to spend another second or dime discriminating against
anyone who wants to serve in our nation's
military.
Honor, integrity,
and the willingness to sacrifice ought to be the
determining factors as to whether or not men and women can
wear the uniform of the United States military -- not
sexual orientation. As Marine staff sergeant Alva
knows, repealing "don't ask, don't tell"
is an idea whose time has come. And with the right
leadership in this election, it
will.
--
John Edwards
It is long past
time to end the military's "don't ask,
don't tell" policy and to allow openly gay men
and women to serve in the military. It is critical to
our national security that we have the best people in
our military. Gay men and women have continually served our
country with honor and bravery, and we should honor their
commitment and never turn away anyone who is willing
to serve their country because of their sexual
orientation.
This is an issue
of fundamental fairness -- and our military ought to
treat everyone fairly. "Don't ask, don't tell"
did not become wrong. It was always wrong.
Instead of fumbling when people question the morality
of the 12,000 gays and lesbians who have unjustly lost
military careers, we must repeal "don't ask,
don't tell."
--
Sen. Hillary
Clinton
I strongly
believe that anyone who has the courage, strength, and valor
to serve our country should be able to do so. We are at war
and our top generals are warning that America's
military is stretched to the breaking point, yet we
have a policy that dismisses good people from our ranks.
Even service members with critical skills such as Arabic
language skills are being discharged because they are
gay. Senior retired military officials who can speak
freely say this law does not serve our national
security interests. These same military leaders are
confident that repealing "don't ask,
don't tell" won't lessen standards of
behavior or lower morale.
As president, I
will work with high-profile military leaders, such as
former Joint Chiefs chairman John M. Shalikashvili and
retired lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, the first
woman to achieve the rank of three-star general in the
Army, who have called for repeal of the law. I will
stand with soldiers like retired Marine staff sergeant Eric
Alva, the first American soldier to be seriously
wounded in Iraq, and retired Army sergeant Jose
Zuniga, former Army Soldier of the Year, who are
shining examples of why this law no longer makes sense.
Over the last
seven years in the Senate, and as a member of the Armed
Services Committee, I have built relationships with members
of Congress and senior military officials through my
work on the Armed Services Committee. When I am
president, I will bring this strength and experience
to bear to end this outdated and outmoded policy. (The
Advocate)
