Why dadt should stay

With limited time left in the lame duck session, there is enormous pressure on senators to pass NDAA. Chairman Levin has been our advocate and we have every reason to believe that he will continue to push to end this unjust and discriminatory law," said Joe Solmonese, president of HRC. This can and must get done. The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. In addition to throwing the entire military community into confusion over whether he could really undo the policy via tweet, it was demoralizing to the trans service members who had so recently been allowed to emerge from the shadows.

But in some ways it also mobilized the community, Fram said. Fram is looking forward to President-elect Joe Biden reversing the Trump trans ban via executive order on day one of his administration. But she said that is only where the work resumes. Support Provided By: Learn more. Wednesday, Nov The Latest. World Agents for Change. Health Long-Term Care. For Teachers. NewsHour Shop. About Feedback Funders Support Jobs. Close Menu. Email Address Subscribe.

What do you think? Leave a respectful comment. But one thing brings about another. But for many advocates, the past two years have pushed back the hard-fought gains they won after And, like in , while the President and Congress work with the politics, thousands of would-be sailors, soldiers, airmen and women, and support personnel wait to see what will become of their futures in the armed forces.

Write to Alejandro de la Garza at alejandro. President Bill Clinton addresses the nation about his decision to lift a year ban on homosexuals in the military on January 29, Between and the Pentagon discharged 14, qualified service members on the basis of only their sexual orientation.

This figure does not include the estimated 4, men and women who refused to re-enlist each year due to the discriminatory policy and the thousands more who refused even to join.

Over the past two years, the military has worked admirably to implement the repeal of this policy. And as the Palm Center study shows, our men and women in uniform have continued to serve their country with responsibility, honesty, and dignity. Still, unequal access to benefits continues to deny gay troops and their families access to many of the services designed to help them weather the stresses of repeated deployments and military life.

The State Department has led the way in providing equal benefits to same-sex couples and their families. Lawrence J.

Korb , Alex Rothman. Winnie Stachelberg , Rudy deLeon. Open service has enhanced our national security Last week the Palm Center—an academic research institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara—released the first comprehensive study of the effects of the DADT repeal on military readiness.

Even with open service, gay service members do not have equal access to military benefits While gay service members can now serve their country openly and honestly, they are still not afforded the same benefits that their straight counterparts receive.

The Pentagon Working Group, or PWG—a commission tasked with developing comprehensive recommendations for implementing DADT repeal—divided benefits into three broad categories for gay service members: Benefits that cannot be extended to same-sex partners. Because of the Defense of Marriage Act, gay service members and their families do not have equal access to these benefits. Benefits that are not prohibited by statute, but are currently not extended to same-sex partners under Pentagon regulations.

The Department can revise current military rules and regulations to redefine who is eligible for these benefits in order to ensure equitable access for gay service members and their families.