Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Co-Sponsored by Congresswoman Niki Tsongas

On Wednesday, the non-profit Servicemembers Legal Defense Network announced that Democratic Congresswoman Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts, who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has become the 137th co-sponsor of The Military Readiness Enhancement Act, a Congressional bill to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on lesbian, gay, and bisexual service members.

Over 12,000 service personnel have been dismissed under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the last 14 years. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), almost 800 of these possessed skills considered 'mission-critical' by the Department of Defense, since they were code breakers, intelligence and medical specialists, and translators among other highly specialized positions. The Pentagon dismisses an average of two service members per day under the law.

"Congresswoman Tsongas continues the Fifth District's proud tradition of support for our men and women in uniform. SLDN looks forward to working alongside Congresswoman Tsongas to continue the fight to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' that was so ably begun by her predecessor, Congressman Meehan," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of SLDN.

"We cannot stand by and allow this unique bigotry to persist. It's great to see another member of Congress stand up in defense of equality and fairness in the military," said Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, the bill's lead sponsor.

The Pentagon's main justification for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", which says that no-one who is open about being gay is permitted to serve in the U.S. military but which permits them to serve as long as they completely conceal their sexual orientation, is that the presence of openly gay and lesbian personnel would interfere with the military's ability to function. Some critics interpret this to mean that heterosexual personnel so dislike gay people that they would be unwilling to serve with them. The Department of Defense has stated that it is powerless to prevent this hostility from interfering with military performance.

However, apologists for the law claim that the military leadership is concerned that homosexuals together in the military would form emotional relationships of the type that could cloud their judgment and interfere with their needed reasoning skills in times of combat.

Critics also point out that two of the toughest military forces in the world outside of the United States'-Israel's and the United Kingdom's-allow openly gay personnel to serve with no adverse effects.

Earlier this month a group of 28 retired generals and admirals sent a letter to Congress requesting the law to be repealed.

"Those of us signing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish," read the letter.

However, in March of this year the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune that he believed homosexuality was "immoral" and the law should be upheld. Defense Department Secretary Robert Gates did not call homosexuality immoral but sided with Pace.

Original Newswire Source:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-12-2007/0004721858&EDATE=