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To: Mr. Neal Puckett Re: CMR E-Notes
– Issue No. 6 (see below) Dear Mr. Puckett, When President
Barack Obama announced his intent to “work with Congress” to
repeal the 1993 law regarding gays in the military—always mislabeled
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”— he may have thought
that he could impose his pre-emptive plan by executive fiat. Last
week, however, the president encountered stiff resistance from the military.
As
reported February 25 on Fox
News’ Special Report with Bret Baier, four-star leaders of the
Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, during testimony before the House
and Senate Armed Services Committees, expressed serious reservations about
the president’s plans for gays in the military. ·
Military
Leaders Divided on Repeal of Gay Ban The
service chiefs also went on record in opposition to Senate Armed Services
Committee Chairman Carl Levin’s plan to accelerate the end of
the law with a “moratorium” on discharges—a move that would
be tantamount to full repeal. CMR Executive Director Tommy Sears has
prepared a summary of the Senate and House hearings that occurred this week: ·
CMR SITREP: Obama
Proposes, Congress Disposes, and the Military Opposes We
appreciate the efforts of Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Sen.
John McCain, who reminded Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen
that we have a Congress for a reason. House Armed Services Committee Ranking
Member Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon also has shown principled
leadership by framing the issue with this specific question: How would
repeal of the 1993 law improve military readiness? In
a statement issued after the February 2 SASC hearing, CMR noted that neither
Defense Secretary Robert Gates nor Adm. Mullen said anything about
possible benefits for the military. Instead, Secretary Gates promised
to “minimize disruption and polarization,” and to “mitigate”
negative consequences for “unit cohesion, recruiting [and]
retention.” Adm. Mullen admitted he did not know what repeal would
mean, but spoke (for himself only) in favor of policies known to be
disruptive. Adm. Mullen called this “leadership,” but it
looked like letting down the troops to us. This
has been a very busy time, and we appreciate the many messages of support.
Our hard work is paying off, but the most critical weeks are still ahead.
You can help by expressing your opinion to your senators and member of
Congress. You can also call and write to media opinion leaders—talk
radio, newspapers, and favorite blogs—to ask for coverage and informed
discussion of the proposed LGBT Law. Finally,
if you support our efforts and want to keep CMR in the fight, please consider
sending a generous tax-deductible contribution to CMR by clicking here.
With your help, we can end this threat to our military for good. Best Regards,
« « « « « 1. The Washington
Times reported that members of the Joint Chiefs did not follow the lead
of Adm. Mike Mullen in pushing for repeal of the 1993 law stating that
homosexuals are not eligible for military service (Section 654, Title 10,
U.S.C.). Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway insisted that the
primary concern should be maintenance of a “combat-ready
force,” while Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz
said, “This is not the time to perturb a force that is, at the
moment, stretched by demands in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere without
careful deliberation.” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary
Roughead also declined to join Adm. Mullen in calling for repeal of the
1993 law, noting that focus should be on America’s military, not the
forces of foreign nations. ·
Military
Chiefs Resist Push to End Gay Ban 2. Military
Times reported that Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey
expressed “serious concerns” about repealing the 1993 law,
and would “recommend against” a legislative moratorium on
discharges for homosexuality. ·
Casey Opposes Quick Change in Policy 3. CBN TV highlighted
the principled position and leadership of Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James
Conway in support of current law: ·
Top
Marine Against Repeal of Military Gay Policy 4. The Washington
Times reported that the American Legion and the Veterans of
Foreign Wars have taken a stand in support of the 1993 law: ·
Veterans
Groups Resist ‘Don’t Ask’ Repeal 5. Meanwhile,
on the liberal website Huffington Post, a militant advocate for gays in the
military pushed for immediate implementation of the LGBT Law, and made his
case for violating sexual privacy in areas where there is none: ·
Ending
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” This Year “..[I]f repeal includes such
ridiculous suggestions as having segregated showers for gay people or the
ability to opt out of rooming with a gay person then the so-called repeal is
in fact no repeal at all. Imagine for a second if the YMCA or your local
Bally’s Total Fitness had separate showers for gays and straights?
That would be outrageous and totally unacceptable… . Here
is what repeal should look like. The Pentagon will have a nondiscrimination
policy regarding sexual orientation. That means gay people are allowed to
serve openly in the military. It also means that gay people are allowed to
eat, sleep, shower and fight alongside straight people. What is more, to live
up to the President's promise, this change needs to happen in a year—not
three years or seven years—but a year.” The views expressed above are
not unusual on the LGBT Left. All the more reason for members of Congress to
ask many specific questions before they vote to repeal the 1993 law. B. CMR
News Conference At
a Washington D.C. news conference during the Conservative Political Action
Conference (CPAC) on February 18, CMR and the leaders of seven other
major groups stood together in support of the 1993 Eligibility Law. With a backdrop of
detailed charts, the speakers emphasized the negative consequences of the
proposed LGBT Law, and raised new questions and serious readiness issues that
Congress must consider. CMR announced and looks forward to working with a
new Military Culture Coalition to defend the culture of the military,
and to protect it from the harmful effects of the proposed LGBT Law.
We
appreciate the support of the distinguished speakers who joined us, and
special thanks go to Concerned Women for America and to Frank
Gaffney, President of the Center for Security Policy, for helping
to make arrangements for the event. CWA has posted on
their website video of their new CEO, Penny Nance, and the other
speakers who joined us in defending the culture of the military. Reinforcing
the theme of the conference displayed on the podium: “LGBT Law -
How Does This Improve Military Readiness?” American Conservative Union
President David Keene said, “I hope that this question will
be asked, and that answers will be demanded.” ·
Stars & Stripes: New
Coalition Vows Fight on “Don’t Ask” Repeal C. Threats to
Chaplains and Religious Freedom in the Military 1. At the
Military Culture Coalition news conference, Jordan Lorence, Senior
Counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund, announced that his widely
respected legal group has sent a formal letter to President Obama and
congressional leaders expressing concern about the effects of the proposed
LGBT law on the religious freedom of chaplains: ·
Change in military policy
on homosexual behavior could affect chaplains The story was
reported in News OK ( ·
Chaplains
Keep Wary Eye on “Don’t Ask” Repeal 2. A recent
incident involving Family Research Council President (and former Marine) Tony
Perkins, who spoke at our news conference, presages what could happen if
the LGBT Law is passed and implemented with “zero tolerance” of
anyone who disagrees for any reason. According to CBN News, an invitation to
Tony Perkins to speak at a prayer luncheon at Andrews AFB was withdrawn
shortly after FRC criticized President Barack Obama’s push for repeal
of the 1993 law: ·
Tony
Perkins 'Disinvited' to National Prayer Luncheon CNS News
reported more about the AF Chaplain Office’s chilling response to the
controversy: This
disturbing story about intolerance in the name of “tolerance” demonstrates
how the LGBT Law would work. Chaplains and military members of most major
faiths have good reason to be concerned about the censorship and career
penalties that would be imposed on anyone who does not support the LGBT
agenda. When faced with commands that conflict with their personal convictions,
many will simply leave. The chaplain office at Andrews AFB jumped the gun,
even though current law remains in effect. But the incident is a cautionary
tale that demonstrates the effect of “zero tolerance” under the
proposed LGBT Law for the military. D. Current
Commentary and Analysis 1. In recent
weeks a number of familiar and new voices have been heard in this important
debate: ·
Gen. Carl E. Mundy, Jr., former Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington
Times, Maintain
Military Gay Ban · Col. Oliver North, USMC: Military Lab Rats ·
Richard H. Black: Danger
to Discipline ·
Frank Gaffney on NewsMax: ‘Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell’ Won’t Change ·
Wes Pruden, Washington Times: Nothing
Gay About This Mission ·
Col. David F. Bedey, who appeared
on ABC’s Good Morning America on Sunday, January 31, makes a convincing
case for the current law: Repeal
of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’: A Clear and Present
Danger ·
Tony Perkins, Homosexuality
vs. the 3 R’s of the Military ·
Peter Sprigg took on Chris Matthews and the SLDN
on Hardball ·
Ted Nugent: Don’t
Change ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ 2. In this
article, CNS News reporter Nicholas Ballasy carefully drew distinctions
between the 1993 Eligibility Law and the administrative policy DADT: The
president’s push for sexual minorities in the military, which was not
added to his State of the Union Speech until very late in the day, may have
backfired. Despite the emotional performance of Adm. Mullen on February 2,
the Pentagon’s official budget proposal did not include a request to
repeal the 1993 law. The
Military Culture Coalition news conference highlighted a rainbow-striped
Pentagon with a white question mark superimposed. The more questions are
asked, the less likely there will be a LGBT Pentagon.
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