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U.S. military
discharges two gay service members per day

U.S. military
discharges two gay service members per day

Figures obtained by SLDN show that 742 service members were discharged in FY2005 for violating the military's ban on openly gay personnel.

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New data released Wednesday reveals that two gay military personnel are discharged every day under "don't ask, don't tell." The figures, obtained by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group for gay service personnel, show that 742 service members were discharged in fiscal year 2005 for violating the military's ban on openly gay personnel. Although that number was up slightly from the 668 who were discharged in fiscal year 2004, it represents a 40% decrease in discharges from the years prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. An estimated 65,000 gay people serve in the armed forces. "The time has come for the Pentagon to call on Congress to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell,'" SLDN executive director C. Dixon Osburn said in a statement. "The law deprives our nation of thousands of skilled men and women who could be instrumental in fighting the war on terror. Our national security suffers because of [the ban]." Osburn added that "many gay and lesbian service members are out to colleagues, yet 'don't ask, don't tell' still threatens to cut their careers short if they get caught in the crosshairs of this counterproductive law." An additional 41,000 lesbian and gay Americans might enlist in the military if the ban were repealed, according to one estimate. Legislation currently pending in the U.S. House that would repeal the ban has 116 supporters, including five Republicans. (The Advocate)

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