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Senate Committee Delays Review of DADTby Kilian MelloyMonday Nov 23, 2009 The Senate Armed Forces Committee has pushed back hearings on the military’s anti-gay troops ban, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), in order to focus on an investigation of the shootings that took place at Fort Hood.
The chairman of the committee, Sen. Carl Levin, told a C-SPAN interviewer that he is still determined to have the hearing, which was initially set for next month, but that the investigation into the shooting rampage would mean putting off the hearing until February of 2010, reported a Nov. 21 article at The Navy Times.
Levin pointed out that the hearing delay would not mean that repeal of the ban would also be delayed: it is expected that language to end the ban on openly gay troops will be included in a bill for the military’s 2011 budget. "This time is not being lost," Levin reassured the interviewer.
Levin also said that a "careful review" of the issue was warranted in order to determine the best course for repealing the ban and then implementing that repeal. Levin believes that such a review is already being conducted, based, the article said, on talks the senator has had with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In addition to hearings in the Senate, the ban’s repeal is also due to be addressed by hearings conducted in the House of Representatives. Such hearings would probably not take place until after the Senate hearings, according to aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Levin had earlier expressed optimism that the ban would be ended. During an Oct. 11 appearance on Meet the Press, Levin said that President Obama "will and... can" oversee the end of the ban. During his campaign last year, Obama spoke strongly against the ban and other inequities faced by GLBT individuals and their families, but over the course of the year LGBT equality leaders have begun to make their impatience known at Obama’s apparent lack of focus on GLBT issues.
The night before Levin’s Meet the Press appearance, at an Oct. 10 Human Rights Campaign event, Obama vowed once again that, "I will end ’Don’t ask, don’t tell," an Oct. 11 article posted at The Hill reported.
Obama has said that while he intends to see DADT retired, he is unwilling to do so through an executive order, preferring that Congress--which instituted the ban in 1993--pass legislation to fully integrate the United States armed forces.
That has not set well with some GLBT equality advocates, who charge that the White House is neglecting GLBT issues. However, in an interview with Pam Spaulding, who blogs at Pam’s House Blend Brian Bond, the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, whose job it is to keep the public informed about the Obama Administration’s stances and progress on GLBT issues, told Spaulding that the fears voiced by GLBT equality advocates are groundless.
"I don’t see this administration, I certainly don’t see my boss, the President of the United States, backtracking on any of his commitments to our community," Bond told Spaulding. "I think some are issues of timing, clearly when we got in here there were a lot of issues that needed to be addressed, including fixing the economy, but that did not mean that LGBT issues went put on the back burner. I think just the recent final passage after over a decade of hate crimes shows that some things don’t move as fast as they should. But we’re getting there. I think a little bit here is going to have to be a leap of faith."
Bond acknowledged the frustration of GLBT bloggers, but added that his hope as for "the bloggers and the readers there" to "trust this president and work with him, work with us to achieve true equality." Bond pointed to the recent progress of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act [ENDA], saying, "We’re working on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell...we’re working on ENDA; you’re going to see mark up in the House next week on ENDA. These are important pieces of equality legislation for our community.
"I would go back to hate crimes," Bond went on, referring to the enactment of the Matthew Shepard James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the first federal law to extend protections to GLBT Americans. Bond noted that, "it took over a decade to get this done. This is the first gender identity-inclusive [federal] piece of legislation in the country. It makes it a little easier now to get ENDA."
Noting that he is "an HIV-positive gay guy that grew up rural Missouri," Bond told Spaulding that, "my goal and part of the reason I work for and value working for this President, is I know where we’re going to end up. Some of this is going to have to be a little bit of a leap of faith. At the same time, I own some of this," Bond went on, referring to the sense in the GLBT community that the Obama administration is less than committed to GLBT equality, "and maybe I should be doing a better job of communicating some of the issues and how we’re tackling certain issues out there and I will certainly work on that."
In the meantime, however, critics of DADT note that U.S. fighting forces are spread thin, given the ongoing military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. Repealing DADT, they say, could mean a much-needed influx of uniformed troops to boost the number of military members in active service. Moreover, advocates of full military integration maintain, the professionalism of United States soldiers will outweigh and lingering personal animosity individual servicemembers may harbor toward gays; once given their orders to work and fight alongside openly gay and lesbian colleagues, advocates of ending the ban say, American troops will adapt as easily and professionally as soldiers in other nations such as Britain, where there is no such service ban.
The ban itself creates the very problems of eroded morale and damaged readiness, say ban advocates, noting that the military loses the talents and skills of soldiers possessing mission critical skills such as a knowledge of Arabic languages by discharging gay troops. Moreover, critics claim, the ban serves as a threat to be used by male officers when female servicemembers refuse their sexual advances: investigations sparked by charges of lesbianism could be used to punish heterosexual women who do not accede to demands for sexual services.
In at least one instance, the anti-gay climate that critics say is caused by the ban has led one servicemember, Bethany Smith, to desert. Smith, who fled to Canada rather than face what she says was ongoing harassment due to her sexuality, claims that although she came out as a lesbian, she was not discharged. The military, Smith says, has too few troops to fill its uniforms for overseas service. Smith was due to be deployed to Afghanistan when she deserted; she has appealed to the Canadian government for asylum, saying that she will face steeper penalties and harsher treatment due to her sexuality if she is court-martialed.
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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