Tampa Bay Coalition
Posts this in Support and on Behalf of;
Servicemembers Legal Defence Network
 
Update: "Dont Ask, Don't Tell"
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). 
September 10, 2003
 
*Don't Ask, Don't Tell: 10 Years Later.
*Retired Navy Captain Calls "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" an "Injustice That Cannot Stand"
 
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell: 10 Years Later"
 
Join SLDN for an Upcoming Conference at Hofstra University

Join SLDN Law & Policy Director Sharra E. Greer and attorney Jeffery Cleghorn at Hofstra University School of Law's upcoming conference: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell: 10 Years Later," being held September 18-20 at the university. The conference will examine recent measures to protect LGBT service members from harassment and violence within the military. The conference features military experts, legal scholars and historians discussing the justifications for the current policy, particularly in light of the 10th anniversary of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Panels include service members sharing their experiences in a roundtable discussion; a panel on "Justifications for the Policy"; a forum titled "Legal Challenges to the Policy"; a roundtable discussion on "Experience of Foreign Militaries," featuring speakers from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Israel; and a final discussion titled "Impacts of the Policy on Universities," focusing on the Solomon Amendment. Registration is $100 for both days, $75 for matriculated non-Hofstra students. For more information, call the Hofstra Cultural Center at (516) 463-5669.
 
Retired Navy Captain Calls "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" an "Injustice That Cannot Stand"

Writing in the September 8, 2003 issue of Navy Times, Dr. Michael Rankin, a retired Navy captain and Vietnam combat veteran, calls continued justifications for the military's gay ban "insulting to our service men and women."  Captain Rankin's op-ed, titled "Our Country is Better, and Our Sailors are Braver Than That," was written in response to an August 4th op-ed in the same paper by retired Navy Capt. R.A. Bowling.  Capt. Bowling called on advocates for lifting the military's gay ban to pursue such matters through Congress rather than the court system. 

In his response, Capt. Rankin points to the 1993 Senate hearings on gays in the military, noting that those hearings "were among the most biased in recent memory."  The resulting ban on service by lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans is, Rankin writes, "an injustice that cannot stand forever as a permanent stain on our national life and character.  We are too great a people to be bound by old myths and prejudices.  Sooner or later, whether by court ruling or congressional mandate, this discrimination will end.  On that day, America once again will have lived up to its promise - and we will all be the better for it."

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Lawrence v. Texas, overturning state sodomy laws, has provided new opportunity for challenging the military's gay ban in court.  Rankin writes that "Perhaps the Supreme Court's July ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, which assured Americans they have the right to privacy in their most intimate relationships, will be the vehicle for allowing homosexuals to serve openly.  If so, I have no doubt that all branches of the military will adapt to this new challenge as they have adapted to similar challenges in the past." 

Speaking with Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), where Rankin serves on the organization's honorary board, he noted that "All the old arguments, including unit cohesion and bad effects on morale, have been disproven.  What we are left with - the only remaining 'justification' - is prejudice. It took many painful years to bring African Americans and women into full citizenship in our country.  Let's not let it take years more to do the same for gay and lesbian Americans who want to serve their country in her armed forces."

Capt. Rankin currently serves as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington School of Medicine.  He is a Vietnam combat veteran.  Capt. Rankin is a life member of the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Disabled Veterans of America, as well as a member of the Alexander Hamilton Chapter of the American Legion. 

Capt. Rankin's op-ed also follows a National Law Journal article by Admiral John D. Hutson, president of Franklin Pierce Law Center and a retired Judge Advocate General of the Navy.  Regarding the Lawrence impact on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Admiral Hutson wrote that "It would be a great tragedy if we didn't take advantage of this second chance to correct a flawed policy. Military personnel in 2003 have reached a level of maturity and tolerance that undermines the earlier 'unit cohesion' arguments."

Both op-eds are available online at www.sldn.org.
 
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ATTENTION SERVICE MEMBERS:  Under Article 31 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, you have the right to remain silent and to consult with a defense attorney if you are investigated.  Say nothing.  Sign nothing.  Get legal help.  Call SLDN at 202.328.FAIR (3247).
 
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