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DURING WAR – GOP MUST Support Commander in Chief, Secretary of Defense, and Military …. Stop GOP Mutiny

MELANIE NATHAN, Nov 30-2010 1.57 PM PST – San Francisco:- When does Obstructionism  for the sake of wanting a President to fail become Mutiny? Treason?  What duty do the Senators have now to pass a Repeal of DADT and the National Defense Authorization Bill.   A report released by the Pentagon today found that a large majority of respondents to a survey of active-duty and reserve service members and their families say that ending the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy barring lesbian and gay service members from serving openly would not have an adverse effect on military operations. The House of Representatives has already passed a bill to repeal this unconstitutional policy, and President Obama and Defense Secretary Gates have both called for the policy to be repealed. A federal district court has already ruled that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is unconstitutional. The policy has been allowed to continue while that decision is appealed.

The American Civil Liberties Union calls on the Senate to finally end this law by passing the National Defense Authorization Act.

Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office notes that “With the release of this report, Congress can no longer delay ending this discriminatory policy once and for all. For far too long, this policy has been an affront to our fundamental values of fairness and equality, and has compromised the effectiveness of our military. Our men and women in uniform deserve to serve their country with dignity. It is long past time for the Senate to ensure that this unfair and unconstitutional practice is finally brought to an end.”

LGBT  Activists are hoping that President Obama will take the Report the extra yard by calling for a moratorium on all discharges and that Sen. Harry Reid will set the moment for a vote -  as soon as possible. There is no sense in delaying for a second, in light of Sec Gates’ statement today where he asserted that DADT is detrimental to our forces especially during time of war.    He additionally gave the reassurance to appease critics, that even though the legislation should pass before the end of the year, the transition to new policy will be implemented with caution.

FUNDING and WAR:

In the face of this it would be unconscionable  for Senators on the GOP side to offer any resistance. The House asked for the  study and they got it and it is unequivocal. In  light of this Pentagon study and with a boost of the assertive statement by Secretary Gates, if the GOP  still fail to pass the National Defense Authorization Act with DADT attached, it would be nothing short of treason in my opinion. Seriously – how can obstructing our Defense Funding be anything but just that – especially with the Secretary of Defense, the Admiral etal,  stating that DADT ‘s repeal is in our Country’s  interest – during a time we are at WAR.

James Esseks, Director of the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project notes that “It should be no surprise that allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the military will have no detrimental effect on the armed forces. We know from court cases that the military suspends ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ investigations in order to send suspected gay service members to combat zones overseas, only to re-open the investigations when service members return from deployment. That stark fact highlights that the military doesn’t agree with the very premise of the law – that openly gay service members would disrupt unit morale. It’s time to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and let these Patriots serve their country.”

Mr. President this moment Could define your Presidency ACT TODAY!

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