American Veterans for Equal Rights has partnered with Servicemembers United and Human Rights Campaign, plus a coalition of dozens of other veteran, military, and civilian organizations from all around the nation for Veterans Lobby Day in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, 11 May 2010.
Category Archives: Press Releases
Pentagon Changes to DADT Investigations and Enforcement
In a press conference on Thursday March 25th, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, outlined immediate changes to the enforcement and investigations of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” violations.
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Repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: End is Near, But Battle Continues
I arrived last Thursday in Washington, DC to attend my annual pilgrimage to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Lobby Days. I’ve participated in every single SLDN Lobby Days since the beginning. But somehow, this year was different. I arrived energized and optimistic because both houses of Congress have bills that would effectively repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
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SWAN launches new DADT telephone helpline for servicewomen, veterans
NEW YORK – The Service Women’s Action Network is launching a new telephone helpline to provide peer counseling for servicewomen and veterans, who are serving or served under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.
“The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is a discriminatory law that hurts military readiness and national security,” said Anuradha Bhagwati, SWAN Executive Director and former Marine captain.
For The Record
The following official statement concerning the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and the statute banning “homosexual acts” by service members has been submitted for the record by American Veterans for Equal Rights to the Senate Armed Services Committee. A duplicate version has also been submitted for the record to the House Armed Services Committee.
Lift the Ban Now
Harry S. Truman did not survey white soldiers to determine if they felt comfortable serving with African-American soldiers before he integrated the US military in 1948. America’s soldiers are not asked if they mind serving with women, Jews, Catholics, Blacks, Muslims, or any other group. They are not asked if they want to serve with wiccans, foreign nationals, or convicted criminals, or if they mind serving under NATO officers, gay or straight, from countries overseas. Soldiers serve with whomever they are ordered to serve with, and if they are too immature to do so, they don’t belong in the military.