Today's letter to the President about what life is like under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law comes from Sara Isaacson, a former United States Army Cadet at North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She received "Excellent” rating last summer at the Leader Development and Assessment Camp, placing her in the top three Cadets in her platoon and top 20% of the nearly 5,500 Cadets who passed through Ft. Lewis.
After realizing she was a lesbian, she faced a painful choice:
I agonized wondering if I could go through my career lying about who I am, living in fear of being outed, and putting up emotional walls between me and my soldiers—the very people I must trust with my life and who would need to trust me with theirs.
Her story stands in stark contrast to nonsense declarations that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is dead. She says:
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” still very much exists and is still very much enforced. This past January with you as my Commander-in-Chief, the opportunity to prove my merit as an Army Officer was taken away simply because I’m a lesbian.
Today's Letter: "Mr. President, I plead with you to do everything possible to end this arcane, discriminatory law."
May 20, 2010
President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Two Saturdays ago – that’s the day I was looking forward to for four years. May 8, 2010: Commissioning Day.
My parents should have pinned on my rank of Second Lieutenant. I was prepared to take the oath. To swear that I’d support and defend our constitution. But instead, I am writing a letter to you. There was no pinning. There was only the sudden reality that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” still very much exists and is still very much enforced.
I wish that I could tell you stories about my distinguished military career, deployments, and awards. I cannot share such stories. This past January with you as my Commander-in-Chief, the opportunity to prove my merit as an Army Officer was taken away simply because I’m a lesbian.
Inspired by my grandfather’s service, I made it my goal when I was 13-years-old to spend a career as an Army doctor. This dream was a driving force for me throughout high school and helped me to be accepted at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a 4-year Army ROTC scholarship.
Being a Cadet has been an integral part of my identity since the first day I stepped foot on campus. I worked hard to be the best Cadet I could, and felt an obligation to my future soldiers to be a great officer. I was one of the most committed and dedicated members of my battalion. My efforts were rewarded with an “Excellent” rating this summer at the Leader Development and Assessment Camp, placing me in the top 3 Cadets in my platoon and top 20% of the nearly 5,500 Cadets who passed through Ft. Lewis.
I had the opportunity to spend three weeks at an internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where I decided that I wanted to see what life was like in the active duty Army before attending medical school. Instead of immediately pursuing my medical degree, I was fortunate to receive my first choice active duty placement working in the Air Defense Artillery.
My service to my country has centered on the Army core values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. My training has instilled these values in me, and I hold them in the highest regard. No one can take them away from me, and without them, I have nothing to fall back on.
In November of last year, I accepted that I’m a lesbian. It was the values of Honor and Integrity that forced me to come out to my Commander. I agonized wondering if I could go through my career lying about who I am, living in fear of being outed, and putting up emotional walls between me and my soldiers—the very people I must trust with my life and who would need to trust me with theirs.
As much as I longed to be an officer, I realized I was not willing to compromise my Integrity to do so.
Mr. President, I tell you this not looking for sympathy but rather to plead with you to do everything possible to end this arcane, discriminatory law. It hurts our military every day to force our men and women in uniform to lie or else face discharge.
You gave me hope that I might be able to serve honestly and openly in your State of the Union Address. If you repeal this law today, I’ll sign up to serve my country tomorrow.
Please do the right thing. Do not let any more service members be fired for being honest about who they are. Please work with Congress and the Pentagon to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” this year.
Mr. President, we can’t wait any longer.
Very Respectfully,
Former Cadet Sara Isaacson
United States Army
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Pretty devastating news yesterday. Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska spoke to reporters on this issue:
In a brief exchange on Capitol Hill, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said Tuesday he would vote against an effort next week to overturn the law. He said he wants to adhere to guidance from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen on holding off on repeal.
Asked whether he would vote in favor of a repeal measure, Nelson replied, “No, I want to follow with the advice and the suggestions of Secretary of Defense Gates to have the study that is underway right now before we make that final decision — because it’s not a question of ‘whether,’ it’s a question of ‘how.’”
It's not surprising. But what's disheartening to me his declaration that he's against it and not moving, despite not actually having seen the bill:
Since then, supporters of repeal — including Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) — have advocated for a compromise in which Congress would vote now to repeal the law but delay implementation of repeal until 2011.
Asked whether he would be open to such a measure, Nelson appeared to be unaware that such an approach to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been under consideration, but was reluctant to support the idea.
“I don’t know,” Nelson said. “I haven’t seen that legislation. I know there’s probably some support for that, but I think it’s been made pretty clear by Secretary Gates that we shouldn’t take any action until the study is completed, and that’s my position. That’s where I’m going to stay.”
Of course, no one will actually challenge the good Senator to actually do his job and read the bills he's presented with and expected to vote upon, or to function as an independent body of the Executive Branch. Well, the LGBT community will, but no one will listen to them. Why would the Senator actually look at the bill that would be a major civil right victory for Americans and the Democratic party before he declares he's an immovable vote against it? Hey, here's another document that Democratic Senator Ben Nelson apparently hasn't read, The Democratic National Platform, from page 36:
Allow All Americans to Serve
We will also put national security above divisive politics. More than 12,500 service men and women have been discharged on the basis of sexual orientation since the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was implemented, at a cost of over $360 million. Many of those forced out had special skills in high demand, such as translators, engineers, and pilots. At a time when the military is having a tough time recruiting and retaining troops, it is wrong to deny our country the service of brave, qualified people. We support the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and the implementation of policies to allow qualified men and women to serve openly regardless of sexual orientation
Ah, such pretty words. Notice how these declarations always leave out key disclaimers, like "someday..." and "later..." and "when we're not too busy with more important stuff..." and "when the Republican Secretary of Defense says it's OK with him?" That was penned in 2008, and the number of discharges is creeping ever closer to at least 14,000. It will also be interesting to see if this paragraph survives into the next draft, or falls to the trend of purging the LGBT community from Democratic Party messaging? (1, 2, 3, 4.)
Despite optimism from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, and others, it's getting very hard to see how we get to 15 votes on the SAS committee with markup scheduled just a week from today. My count shows 8 likely "Yes" and 6 "Uncommitteds," (including more than a few long shots) and the rest almost certainly "Nos." This, under ordinary circumstances may not represent an insurmountable bar. But I'm not at all optimistic even the best efforts of LGBT community have the juice to convince Ben Nelson, Jim Webb, Evan Bayh and Scott Brown to defy Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the Obama Administration's opposition on this issue. The absence of many of the LGBT community's progressive "allies" in this fight is a serious liability. The position of "I'm with Gates," is becoming the standard line.
DEMOCRATS
1. Carl Levin (Michigan)
? Robert C. Byrd (West Virginia)
2. Joseph I. Lieberman (Connecticut)
? Jack Reed (Rhode Island)
? Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii)
? Bill Nelson (Florida)
Ben Nelson (Nebraska)
Evan Bayh (Indiana)
Jim Webb (Virginia)
3. Claire McCaskill (Missouri)
4. Mark Udall (Colorado)
5. Kay R. Hagan (North Carolina)
6. Mark Begich (Alaska)
7. Roland W. Burris (Illinois)
8. Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico)
? Edward E. Kaufman (Delaware)
REPUBLICANS
John McCain (Arizona)
James M. Inhofe (Oklahoma)
Jeff Sessions (Alabama)
Saxby Chambliss (Georgia)
Lindsey Graham (South Carolina)
John Thune (South Dakota)
Roger F. Wicker (Mississippi)
George S. LeMieux (Florida)
Scott Brown (Massachusetts)
Richard Burr (North Carolina)
David Vitter (Louisiana)
? Susan M. Collins (Maine)
So it's looking more an more like George W. Bush's Barack Obama's Secretary of Defense gets to call all the shots on this one.
What about the Commander-in-Chief, what's his position? He said on October 10, 2009:
"I will end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. That's my commitment to you."
And:
"I also appreciate that many of you don't believe progress has come fast enough. I want to be honest about that, because it's important to be honest among friends.
Now, I've said this before, I'll repeat it again -- it's not for me to tell you to be patient, any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African Americans petitioning for equal rights half a century ago."
And in the State of the Union address, January 27, 2010:
“This year — this year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are,” Obama said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Ah, more pretty words. But now that the battle is upon us, how's he following through on his "commitment?" What's the President done to "work with Congress this year?" By all reports nothing. What's he said in public in the last two months? Oh yeah, here it is:
"__________________________________________________________________"
Well, at least he's not telling us to be patient.
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To raise awareness to the need for Presidential leadership, DADT repeal activists have launched “Stories from the Frontlines:Letters to President Barack Obama.”The new media campaign launched in partnership with Servicemember's Legal Defense Network,is intended to underscore the urgent need for congressional action and presidential leadership at this critical point in the fight to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).
Participating blogs: 365 Gay, The Advocate, AfterElton, AmericaBlog , Ameriqueer, AKAWilliam, The Bilerico Project, BoxTurtleBulletin, BrandFabulousness, The Daily Kos, David In Manhattan, David Mixner, Fired Up Missouri, GoodAsYou, HRCBackStory, Kenneth In The 212, Lez Get Real, LGBTPOV, Michael in Norfolk, Mike Gets Real, Mile High Gay Guy, Open Left, Page One Q, Pam's House Blend, RepealNow, SayenCroWolf, Seattle PI Stepforward, Signorile's The Gist, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Queer Times, Towleroad, We Give A Damn.
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• State by State Daily Kos Effort to Shore Up the Votes!
JPMassar, who has been my unsung ally in these efforts providing valuable information and support, has updated his 11 Crucial Senators for repeal diary. In particular, we need the help of Hoosiers, West Virginians, Virginians, First Staters, Bay Staters, Cornhuskers and South Carolinians, so please check it out. Please make the calls, and leave a comment telling us what the staff is saying. Slight changes in the tone and talking points can indicate much about where a Senator stands. Yesterday I noted with a little humor that Bill Nelson is now claiming he's always been a strong supporter of repeal in 2010. Which is news to many who've followed the story closely. This diary contains all relevant contact information.
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CALL TO ACTION! (Pick one or all.)
Fate of repeal will be decided in the month of May. As time grows short, repeal advocates have multiple strategies are in place. One thing they all share is a need to hear from the public the time is now. Now is the time for LGBT allies to get off the fence and call for equality for their fellow Americans.
New Call to Action: Howard Dean and Democracy for America have joined the effort to End Don't Ask, Don't Tell in 2010. Sign the petition here. The Courage Campaign's goal was 100,000 signatures by Monday, they are now at 70,000. Let's help them over-achieve.
• Contact the White House: The Servicemember's Legal Defnese Network has put out an action item: Not Another Year. They are asking people to call the White House and tell our Commander in Chief to call for repeal in 2010, repeal can't wait until 2011. The moment is now. They say: "Our Congressional allies are not giving up. SLDN isn't giving up. Tell President Obama not to give up either. Call the White House today. (202) 456-1414"
• Contact your Senators: Tell them to support adding repeal to the Senate Defense Spending Budget: these Senators are most key: Bill Nelson, Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh, Jim Webb, Robert Byrd and Scott Brown. But call them all. Show them there's a grassroots movement to vote now. SLDN contact tool here.
• Contact your House Representatives: Tell them to support Representative Patrick Murphy's plan to offer DADT repeal legislation as a floor amendment to the military bill. SLDN contact tool here.
• Contact Nancy Pelosi: Tell her to use her authority as Speaker of the House to bring DADT repeal up for a vote in the House. (202) 225-0100
• Contact Senate Armed Services Committee Chairmain Carl Levin (D-MI) and tell him Military Budget Attachment is the way to go. His office in Washington can be reached at: (202) 224-6221
• Become a citizen co-sponsor of repeal at Senator Udall's site.
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Talking point tip: Sens Ben Nelson, Brown, Webb, and others are saying they are deferring to President Obama's Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' recommendation not to act before the Pentagon study is due Dec 1. Here is a possible response:
"I understand the need not to rush the process. But I also understand the current legislation, as proposed, already includes a 180-day delayed implementation from the time of final passage expected in October. So even if approved in committee this month, changes in actual policy would not go into effect until April 2011 or later.
I'd also remind the Senator that Congress doesn't have to take direction from the Executive Branch, it is an indepedent body, elected to express the will of the people, and we expect Congress to lead, not follow, the Pentagon on this issue. Thank you."
This might be helpful, since apparently they cannot be bothered to read the bills on their desk for themselves and are confused about Congress' role in our Democracy.