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 & Harassment at Record Levels Each Day 3 to 4 Gay and Lesbian Service Members Discharged SLDN Critiques the Pentagon & White House for Failure to Act |
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Compiled by GayToday Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
According to SLDN Executive Director C. Dixon Osburn, "the discharge and harassment numbers are an affront to liberty, unity and military readiness. As lesbian, gay and bisexual service members are fighting to protect our country from terrorism," Osburn said, "they should not be denied their freedom at home. Congress should repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'" According to Department of Defense figures, the Pentagon fired a record 1,250 men and women - or 3-4 service members every day - for being lesbian, gay or bisexual. The figure is the highest number of gay discharges since 1987, seven years prior to the implementation of the Pentagon's current anti-gay policy, known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The current policy requires gay service members to keep their sexual orientation secret, or face expulsion from the armed forces. The discharge figures were published today in 'Conduct Unbecoming,' SLDN's annual report on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The report finds that the discharges were due, in large part, to record high anti-gay harassment. The report cites 1075 incidents of anti-gay harassment in 2001, up from 871 in 2000. The report also finds that the armed forces, throughout every branch, have virtually ignored a July 2000 Pentagon "Anti-Harassment Action Plan." The plan, adopted by then-Secretary of Defense William Cohen, called for annual, rank appropriate training for all personnel, among twelve other recommendations aimed specifically at curbing harassment. The Action Plan was developed in response to the murder of PFC Barry Winchell, in July 1999, by fellow soldiers who thought Winchell was gay. The Bush Administration, the report says, has failed to implement the Action Plan, giving implicit approval for the continued harassment of lesbian, gay and bisexual service personnel. "It is nothing short of scandalous," Osburn said, "that the leaders of our country, through their blatant inaction, have demonstrated such callous disregard for our service members." "Until military officials are held accountable for harassment," the SLDN report says, "and until their jobs are on the line, lives will continue to be ruined. Sadly, it is reasonable to foresee that, as the current Administration continues to do nothing, and bury its head in the sand, there could be yet another anti-gay murder in our armed forces," the report cautions.
While the report gives the base's new commander, Major General Richard Cody, credit for taking proactive steps to improve base climate, it also alleges that "[S]ome Fort Campbell leaders continue to perpetuate anti-gay attitudes within their units by tolerating hateful, anti-gay remarks." SLDN has made specific recommendations to Fort Campbell leaders for curbing harassment and reducing the number of discharges from the base, but it is unclear whether officials have adopted or implemented those recommendations. "The story in the Army this year," the report finds, "is about failed leadership and callous indifference." In FY2001, the Air Force discharged 191 service members (up from 177 in 2000). Navy discharges totaled 314 (down from 358 in 2000). The Marine Corps discharged 115 men and women (up from 114), and the Coast Guard discharges for 2001 totaled 14 (down from 19 in 2000). These numbers do not include discharges during 'Operation Enduring Freedom,' as the Pentagon's fiscal year concludes on September 30th. Though stop-loss orders temporarily suspending some discharges were implemented in wake of the war, those orders explicitly required continued processing of gay discharges. "Ultimately, the ban on gays in the military must be lifted," the report says, "and the United States must join the rest of the industrialized western nations who have abandoned their policies of discrimination. [This policy] undercuts the very liberties and freedoms our military members fight to protect. It is time for discrimination in our nation's military to go." Among the report's other findings:
TAKE ACTION: Write, call or email Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness David Chu and ask that they implement the "Anti-Harassment Action Plan" and take concrete steps to protect the safety of lesbian, gay and bisexual service personnel. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld 1000 Defense Pentagon Room 3E880 Washington DC 20301-1000 Call (703) 692-7100 Fax: (703) 697-9080 or comment online at: http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html#Form Honorable David Chu Under Secretary for Personnel & Readiness 4000 Defense Pentagon Room 3E764 Washington DC 20301-4000 Call (703) 695-5254 Fax: (703) 693-0171 You can also download a sample letter to President Bush, asking the White House to take action to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' on SLDN's web site, at: http://www.sldn.org/templates/join/record.html?section=7&record=472 or email President Bush at president@whitehouse.gov To help underwrite publication of SLDN's report, you can make a tax-deductible gift via our secure, online donation form, by visiting: https://www.digitopia.com/sldn/index.html/support/index.html |
Washington, D.C.-- Pentagon and White House leaders were criticized yesterday by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), an independent military watchdog and legal aid group, for failing to curb anti-gay harassment and discharges, citing a record number of discharges and harassment complaints during 2001.
