Tell Congress Obama is Right, End Don't Ask, Don't Tell

In President Obama's State of the Union Address, he directly challenged the Congress and the U.S. Military to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ("DADT") policy. We appreciate that the president seemed to pay attention to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's ("SLDN") recent campaign urging the President to lead the way for a 2010 repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

As part of that campaign, SLDN ran a full-page ad in Roll Call (Capitol Hill's newspaper) urging President Obama to add the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal to his defense budget, which is currently being drafted by the White House, the Department of Defense and Congress.

SLDN is also counting on supporters like you to urge the President to lead the way this year -- not next year or in a second term. Don't Ask, Don't Tell needs to end now and this is the perfect time and way to do it. Please read SLDN's letter to the President, call the White House to leave a message for the President and send a message to your Congressional Representative. Together, we can repeal DADT!

(1) Read: SLDN's Open Letter to President Obama

(2) Call President Obama: Call the White House switchboard today.

(3) Send a Message to Congress: A new study by Congressional Quarterly shows that Congress is more likely to give Obama the votes he wants than any other President in more than last 50 years. President Obama should call upon Congress to join him in ending this discriminatory law.

(4) Make sure to mention in your message a recent poll by Quinnipiac University that found 57% of 2,617 registered voters surveyed nationwide were in favor of the repeal of DADT.

Congress needs to know that you want them to end DADT. Contact your Representative in Congress and tell him or her that you support an end to DADT this year. Ask Your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 1283 and end discrimination in the military.

Thank you for your commitment. Together we can make history for LGBT men and women in uniform.

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Talking Points

Tell the Congress the Obama is Right. Time for Repeal of DADT is Now!

Attitudes toward qualified LGBT troops serving their country openly have changed dramatically in the 17 years since Congress passed the DADT law. Recent polls consistently show the American people, including a majority of conservatives (Gallup, 2009), are ready to see this law go. And younger generations of service members – who make up the bulk of the U.S. military – realize that job performance is not linked to sexual orientation, according to a Zogby poll.

Delaying another year means the daily firing of even more service members merely because they are gay. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is employment discrimination and there is no place for it anywhere in the U.S. government.

The President promised 65,000 servicemebers face-to-face last summer that "We'll get this done." He needs to be held to his promise.

Repealing DADT strengthens our military and is simply the right thing to do.

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]

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