In the paragraph underlined below, you said the current tempo & demand on our armed forces right now is too great to implement policy change. You even called doing so "difficult [and] potentially dangerous" at this time. Yet there are still plenty of people and resources around to oust and follow through on discharging good soldiers who are openly gay and have done nothing wrong other than be open about how they identify themselves.
Your statements sound like just lip-service to me. You make it seem like you are supportive of implementing the change necessary to overturn "don't ask, don't tell" but really you're just putting it off to an unforeseeable date in the future and hoping that I don't follow up on it. (That is, if my assumption is right that you're trying to appeal to both your Republican and non-Republican constituents.) But if you really are in support of overturning "don't ask, don't tell" please, make me that personal pledge (even better if you also make it public) that you will work towards overturning it and I may be able to look past my cynical view of most politicians (especially Republicans right now) and start to believe that you actually are here, for me and others like me. The fact that you have responded to my emails thus far give me hope that you may, indeed, be different.
I am fairly new to the political process (both of my parents abstain from voting and never discussed politics with me) so when I registered, I did so as a non-partisan. I'd like to vote for someone based on the issues and their actions rather than on party lines.
And though I am not gay, -- I hate to admit, but I even think I have some trouble accepting homosexuality from a personal standpoint, though I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm prejudiced against them-- I firmly believe that the current legal restrictions imposed on a group of people (gays) based on the very personal matter of sexual choice (specifically homosexuality) is wholly unconstitutional and on a level comparable to the Jim Crow Laws.
I believe it so strongly that I am willing to put in the time and effort to petition for a cause that I don't even relate to as my own. I am going to forward this email to several news sources to see if it will create a national discussion so we can hopefully reinstate such honorable soldiers as the decorated Lieutenant Dan Choi, whom I first heard about on the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC, now, while they are desperately needed in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Thank you for taking the time to address my concerns. I hope that I hear more from you very soon.
Sincerely,
Carol Andrade
From: FL16TRIMA@mail.house.gov
To: _________@hotmail.com
Subject: Responding to your message
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:49:27 -0400
Dear Ms. Andrade:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding H.R.1283, Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue and welcome the opportunity to respond.
As you may know, in 1993 the Clinton Administration attempted to permit open homosexuality in the U.S. military.However, U.S. military leaders and the American people rejected this plan. As a consequence, the military put in place the policy referred to as, "don't ask, don't tell." This policy, which has been in place since 1993, holds that open homosexuality presents an unacceptable risk to morale, cohesion, and discipline within the military. Under this policy, service members are not to be asked about, nor allowed to discuss, their homosexuality.The courts have uniformly held that the military may discharge a service member for overt homosexual behavior.
Early this year, Rep. Ellen Tauscher (CA-10) introduced H.R. 1283.This legislation would overturn the "don't ask don't tell" policy and reinstate into the military anyone who had been previously discharged for violation of these policies.
The current operational tempo and demand on our armed forces has never been higher. The challenge of implementing a policy change of this magnitude while forces are deployed in operational missions is not only difficult but potentially dangerous. I look forward to working with my colleagues to discuss the merits of changing this policy and to shed light on secondary impacts such as military benefits and possible conflicts with other federal laws.
Again, thank you for contacting my office. Please do not hesitate to contact me again any time should you have any additional comments about this or any other legislative issue. Also, please visit my web site at www.rooney.house.gov to sign up for my e-newsletter.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Rooney
Member of Congress
