Coburn on DADT I Defer to Military Leaders

U.S. senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has whipped up a long, rambling statement on why he defers "in large part to our military leaders" on "don't ask, don't tell."

AmericaBlog posted Coburn's response to a concerned Oklahoman over the weekend. In it, Coburn speaks of the "forced cohabitation of homosexuals with heterosexuals" and says that "the 1993 law does not ban or exclude homosexuals from serving in the armed forces."

The letter ends, "May God bless you and your family!"

Read Coburn's letter in its entirety here.

Thank you for writing me regarding homosexuals serving in the United States military. I appreciate hearing from you again and I apologize for my delayed response.

I am truly grateful for our military men and women who have courageously been defending the country and preserving freedom. I know that active military service, especially when it separates spouses and children is a great sacrifice for everyone involved.

I understand your opinion and perspective on this issue. As you probably know, the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993. I was not a member of Congress at that time.

On June 8th of this year, the Supreme Court announced it would not review a 2008 decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston that rejected a challenge of "don't ask, don't tell" by service members discharged under the current policy. In rejecting a challenge of the policy last June on a first amendment basis, the First Circuit Court said the current law "is justified on a content-neutral, non-speech basis; specifically, maintaining the military's effectiveness as a fighting force." I support the decision of the Supreme Court in upholding the law.

In its brief, the Obama Administration supported the court's decision to uphold the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. "Applying the strong deference traditionally afforded to the Legislative and Executive Branches in the area of military affairs, the court of appeals properly upheld the statute," argued Elena Kagan, who as Solicitor General represents the Administration before the Supreme Court. The brief argued that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy "rationally related to the government's legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion."

Recently, though, according to a New York Times article from October 10, President Obama spoke at a fund raiser dinner for the Human Rights Campaign stating, "I will end 'don't ask, don't tell.' " He did not give a timeline for this decision; however I will continue to monitor the situation.

The primary responsibilities of our military, defending our nation and winning wars, should not be compromised by politics. As I noted, this military policy was created by Congress and the President but is supported by many in our armed forces. While I believe it is imperative that the elected leaders of the people hold all government Departments accountable for their actions and policies, I defer in large part to our military leaders on matters of military readiness and code of conduct. This includes the impact changing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy would have, especially since military leaders note that this issue is fundamentally about military readiness.

The overriding issue that would affect the readiness of the armed forces would be the forced cohabitation of homosexuals with heterosexuals at forward operating bases and deployed ships. This would be similar to forcing female soldiers to cohabit with male soldiers in housing situations that offer little to no privacy. The 1993 law does not ban or exclude homosexuals from serving in the armed forces and some estimate there are currently 65,000 homosexual men and women in the military. Please know that I have the utmost respect for every man and woman who chooses to wear our nation's uniform and accepts the responsibility and sacrifices that come with it.

While we may not agree on every issue, I thank you for writing. I hope to hear from you in the future. May God bless you and your family!