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National tour to repeal gay policy begins

Two groups hoping to overturn the law banning open military service by homosexuals launched a national tour in Washington Wednesday aimed at raising awareness of the issue and building public support for change.

The tour, a tandem effort by the activist groups Human Rights Campaign and Servicemembers United, will feature gay, lesbian and straight speakers, all veterans whose service either was ended as a result of the law known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” or who want to speak out on behalf of gay service members.

The tour will begin with a program in Philadelphia slated for July 21. Stops are scheduled for Trenton, N.J.; Virginia Beach, Va.; Phoenix; Kansas City, Mo.; and Orlando and Tampa, Fla. Planners say they hope to add more cities and extend the tour into October, according to Trevor Thomas of Human Rights Campaign.

“Our troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, and are stretched dangerously thin,” said Rep. Patrick Murphy, a two-term Pennsylvania Democrat, Iraq war veteran and former West Point professor, who came to the National Press Club in Washington to announce the tour launch. “These men and women in our military understand what it takes to serve our country — and the values that our military and our nation holds dear. They take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

“Yet, the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy … has discharged over 13,000 troops — honorable men and women,” said Murphy, now chief sponsor of a House bill, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, that would repeal the law. “That is the equivalent of 3½ combat brigades. They have been discharged not for any kind of sexual misconduct, but because of their sexual orientation. The policy is not working for our armed services. And it hurts our national security.”

Referring to recent polls, Murphy said attitudes in the military and the public at large have softened over whether to allow open service by homosexuals.

Proponents of change often point to critical skills, such as language translation, they say the military has lost as a result of the law. Human Rights Campaign estimates that at least 323 linguists have been discharged since 1993. One such troop was Alexander Nicholson, who was discharged in 2002 after his sexual orientation was uncovered.

“I was trained by the Army as a human intelligence collector, one of the most critical intelligence fields within the U.S. military today,” Nicholson said Wednesday. “And I speak five languages, including Arabic. Yet this law forced my command to fire me, and barred me from re-entering the military, depriving our armed forces of yet another critical asset, when that asset was needed most.”

Army Staff Sgt. Genevieve Chase, an intelligence specialist and reservist not currently activated, said she has served with “countless gays and lesbians” during her six years of service, which included a 2006 stint in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division.

“Our team consistently functioned effectively and cohesively, even when [it] included openly gay soldiers,” said Chase, who describes herself as heterosexual and will take part in the tour along with Nicholson and others. “Those who oppose repealing the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy have taken that phrase, ‘unit cohesion,’ and turned it into something that did not match or align with our generation’s understanding of cohesion in our modern military.”