SLDN chief visits Philly to address ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

By Jen Colletta
PGN Staff Writer
© 2008 Philadelphia Gay News

Fifteen years ago this month, the introduction of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to Congress had LGBT people around the country rallying against the legislation. Once Congress approved the military ban on openly gay military members, it became an ongoing hot-button issue in American politics.

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, was in Philadelphia last week to meet with local leaders and enlist their help in SLDN’s latest efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Sarvis was the featured guest at an event June 27 hosted by Garth Weldon, owner of the Prime Rib at the Warwick Hotel, and Tobias Wolff, a University of Pennsylvania professor and the former chair of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s National LGBT Policy Committee. Romulo Diaz, the openly gay former Philadelphia city solicitor and a former SLDN board member, suggested the event as a way for Sarvis to connect with the local LGBT community.

Sarvis, an Army veteran who served in South Korea in the early 1960s, took the helm of SLDN last October. The organization provides free legal help to servicemembers affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and works to overturn the legislation.

SLDN is currently taking a two-pronged approach to the repeal, working both in the courts and Congress.

Former U.S. Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Mass.) introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” in February 2007, and since then SLDN has been working with legislators to garner their support for the bill.

“We’re currently pursuing a strategy on Capitol Hill to repeal the statute. We have a bill in the House with 144 cosponsors, which is a bipartisan bill with support from both Republicans and Democrats,” Sarvis said. “We’re hoping to have a bipartisan bill in the Senate possibly later this year but definitely in the new Congress. We’ll be pursuing that legislative front with the next Congress and, equally important, with the new administration.”

Obama has spoken out against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and pledged to work for its repeal if elected, while presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has indicated that he thinks the policy should remain in place.

“Obviously it would be a lot more difficult if Sen. McCain is elected to get ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repealed,” Sarvis said. “But we would continue to work the legislative front, with a lot of effort and energies before Congress, and educating the congressional staffs and constituents.”

SLDN is also pursuing the issue in court in two separate cases that challenge the constitutionality of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In May, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington ruled that, in the case of Witt v. U.S. Air Force, the military must provide evidence that Maj. Margaret Witt’s sexual orientation was actually damaging to troop morale in order to justify her dismissal. The case, which marks the first time a federal appellate court found that the military cannot base a dismissal solely on an individual’s sexual orientation, was remanded to district court for trial.

The organization’s Cook v. Gates legal challenge, however, experienced a setback last month when a three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled that Congress, not the courts, should rule on the merits of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and that the case would not proceed to trial.

Sarvis said SLDN is currently deciding whether to appeal to the full First Circuit Court or take the case to the Supreme Court, a decision he expects will be made within the next few weeks.

Sarvis said SLDN is also targeting the public through many different avenues, aiming to educate citizens about the damaging effects of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“Part of my reason of coming to Philadelphia is so I can get to talk to real people. Not only do we go into homes of individuals, but we have community forums and talk to the public through the media, foundations, corporations, employers, family and friends,” he said. “I’m a big believer that Congressmen, Congresswomen and senators do listen to their constituents. It’s important that we reach out and talk to those constituents, educating and informing them about ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and trying to persuade them that this is a bad law. This fight can’t just be inside Washington, but we have to go outside, all over the country.”

Sarvis encouraged all local LGBT people and allies, no matter their affiliations or lack thereof with the military, to support the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“Even though you may not be in the military, almost all of us know someone who is in the military, either through family, friends or employers, so there is a connection. But there’s also a bigger connection — ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is about job discrimination, a denial of equality and a denial of our civil rights. If you care about equity, think job discrimination is unfair and think recognition of relationships and partnerships are important, then you should care about seeing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repealed.”

Sarvis noted that while the number of servicemembers being discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has declined since the U.S. began its war on terror seven years ago, as he speculated the military wants to retain all the able-bodied members it can, he said many face “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” conflicts once they return home, which he considers insulting to the dedication and bravery of the servicemembers.

“The irony is that we have men and women, gay and straight, who are dying on two battlefields today for the United States. When they’re there serving, fighting and sometimes dying, no one is pressing them or denying them of their sexual orientation; but when these servicemembers come back to the U.S., they’re often asked about their sexual orientation then, which is just not fair. And I think it’s important that we’re having this debate while the country is at war; if we can’t get this law repealed during the backdrop of war, it’s going to be very, very difficult in peacetime.”

Sarvis also noted that the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” could serve as a turning point in the struggle for LGBT rights, and should be an issue that all Philadelphians, regardless of sexual orientation, recognize as a disparity of the law.

“Many, many countries permit open service in the military, and all of the countries that have [legal same-sex] marriage today or recognize relationships and partnerships of same-sex couples first permitted open service in the military. It’s a very important issue that all of us should care about even if you’re not in the military or don’t have close ties to the military,” he said. “All of us should think about this in terms of discrimination and denial of full citizenship for men and women who are in the military. Joining the military is often an economic opportunity for young men or young women who see the military as a way out of a dead-end job, out of a small town or as a way to build up credit for college; why should they be denied that opportunity just because of their sexual orientation? My hope is that everyone in Philadelphia will think of this as a basic civil-rights issue and join us in this fight.”

Jen Colletta can be reached at jen@epgn.com.