It's fairly unusual for a Democratic-leaning interest group to go hard at the White House this early, so a press release today from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network -- which lobbies against Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- is worth noting.
“We oppose another ‘study’ regarding ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” says Aubrey Sarvis, the group's executive director, in the release. “Commissioning a study is Washington-speak for kicking the issue down the road because ‘we don’t want to deal with it right now.’”...
WASHINGTON, DC--According to the Boston Globe, the Obama Administration is apparently considering or might consider commissioning a study before moving ahead on eliminating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“We oppose another ‘study’ regarding ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “Commissioning a study is Washington-speak for kicking the issue down the road because ‘we don’t want to deal with it right now.’”
During the campaign, the president repeatedly called for the repeal of the law, which forbids gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
“The president didn’t say on the campaign trail that he would re-visit or review or reconsider ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ leaving wiggle room for a future study. He said categorically in public appearances and on his web site that he “will work with military leaders to repeal the current
policy and ensure we accomplish our national defense goals.”
Reams of credible, non-partisan, or bipartisan studies have been conducted on the impact of gays in the military. They include: “Working Group of Retired General/Flag Officers Condemns Gay Ban” (Palm Center, 2008); Blue Ribbon Commission report, co-authored by former defense secretary William J. Perry (UC-Santa Barbara, 2006); RAND report (1993); two official military studies (1989 study by the Defense Personnel Security Research Center and the Navy's 1957 Crittenden report); and academic studies published in military journals. All conclude gays and lesbians serving openly in the military do not undermine military readiness, troop morale, and/or national security.
“There are at least a dozen studies or papers on this topic, and all, without exception, say the same thing,” said Sarvis. “We would, however, support a 90-day implementation study (a review of how to successfully implement a new non-discrimination policy) if the Pentagon thought that was necessary.”
DADT is the only federal law that requires employers to fire employees for being openly gay or lesbian. Since 1993, 12,500 men and women have been discharged under the law.
On Sunday, President Obama told NBC’s Matt Lauer that his administration is “going to roll out in a very formal fashion what our intentions are in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.”
Sarvis: “We wish the president would do the same for ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Let’s hear about his intentions and timetable for repeal.”
SLDN is not rushing repeal; a measured approach to the issue is critical. The economy and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are paramount right now.
“But there will be a window of opportunity later this year for the Administration to really begin tackling the issue. We’re hopeful they will see the upsides to moving ahead this year on repeal.”
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is the only organization in the country dedicated solely to providing quality and free legal assistance to men and women kicked out of the military under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. Established in 1993, we are also the only full-time policy organization in Washington that is pushing for repeal of the law by Congress, the Pentagon, and White House.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0209/Anything_but_another_study.html?showall
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