President Obama: stop firing gay service members immediately

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By Geoff Kors
Equality California 

During last night’s State of the Union Address, President Obama included a brief mention of the ongoing struggle against discrimination that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community continues to face under his watch. 

“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. It’s the right thing to do.” 

I appreciate President Obama reiterating his commitment to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but words do not end discrimination – actions do. We must call on President Obama to immediately cease discharging openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members and to take a stand for equality in the military.

Thousands of LGBT service members are bravely serving our nation, and they deserve the same protections as all Americans. We must urge President Obama and Congress to act swiftly to overturn this discriminatory policy. 

Equality California is sponsoring a resolution introduced by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) that calls on the United States Congress to pass and President Barack Obama to immediately sign the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would end the unfair policy and allow gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans to serve openly in the armed forces. The resolution recently passed the State Assembly Judiciary Committee and is now on the Assembly floor.  

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was first authorized in 1994. Since that time, more than 13,500 service members have unfairly been discharged under the policy, including more than 800 specialists serving in 'critical operations,' such as counterintelligence, medicine, and translation. According to a General Accounting Office report, 323 language specialists have been discharged, resulting in a critical shortage of qualified translators in intelligence gathering posts.

Currently, 186 members of the U.S. House have signed on as co-sponsors to the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and replace it with a policy of non-discrimination across the armed forces. Last year, 77 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama requesting he immediately suspend discharges under the discriminatory policy.

More than 24 other nations currently allow gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals to serve openly in their militaries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, alongside whom American forces have served in combat. Recent public opinion polls show that a majority of both the American public and active service members believe the policy should be overturned and that gay and lesbian Americans should be allowed to serve openly in the military. So what’s the hold up? As the president said, “It’s the right thing to do.” 

Notably absent from the president’s remarks during the most important speech of the year was any commitments on passing an Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) or repealing the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In fact, the Department of Justice is still defending DOMA in court, and President Obama continues to stand on the sidelines while minorities have their rights taken away at the ballot box. Almost 100,000 EQCA supporters have asked the president to file a brief in the trial against Prop. 8.  

The president still has a lot to prove to the LGBT community. Last night he promised to use the weight of his station to end discrimination in the military this year. We must all hold him to it. 

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Geoff Kors is Executive Director of Equality California (EQCA), the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California.