Fresh Loaf

For the first time since the law was enacted in 1993, a Congressional committee will hear testimony tomorrow on the status of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

According to Jeff Cleghorn — an Atlanta lawyer who serves on the national board of directors of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network — the House Armed Services Committee is tackling the issue. There is pending legislation in the House co-sponsored by 143 representatives to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

The hearing will be at 2 p.m. in the Rayburn Building. The committee will hear from four retired military officers and Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a conservative group that opposes revoking “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

As our July 2 cover story, Pride & Patriotism, mentioned, a recent Gallop poll revealed that 79 percent of Americans think gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve. Even former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, who pushed through the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, has said it is time to review it.

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Sam Nunn’s name is certainly out there as a potential running mate for Barack Obama. On the other hand, his name has been bandied about by almost every Democratic nominee since Dukakis. And, typically, Nunn has either withdrawn from consideration altogether, or put a chill on the vice-presidential talk.

This time around, however, there are indications he wants to be on the Obama ticket.

One of Nunn’s biggest perceived drawbacks is that he championed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law in 1993, as chronicled in last week’s cover story, “Pride and Patriotism.” He recently suggested the law should be reviewed.

Yesterday, the AJC’s Jim Galloway reports, Nunn went even further. He told a group in Aspen that open service for gays and lesbians is inevitable; it’s just a matter of when. View it here.

For the guy who pushed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” into place, that’s a major shift in position.

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This week’s cover story delves into the issue of gays serving in the military, and the hope by gay activists that the days of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” are numbered.

Their position got a boost yesterday when a report by three retired military leaders concluded that Congress should repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

“Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion,” the report says. It points to other countries — such as Great Britain and Israel — that have allowed gays and lesbians to serve openly without incident.

The report was written for the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara, an advocacy group that supports the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

It was authored by three retired officers: a lieutenant general from the Army, a general from the Marines and a lieutenant general from the Air Force. Two are Democrats, one is a Republican.

While John McCain supports keeping the law in place, Barack Obama wants to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” If Obama is elected, and if the Democrats retain control of Congress, gay activists will make a major push in the next two years to have the law repealed.

“We have great optimism,” says Jeff Cleghorn, an Atlanta lawyer who is on the board of directors of the national organization Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “A significant number of people both inside and out of the military now think gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve.”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” seems to be the position of some of the candidates in this year’s U.S. Senate race when it comes to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Of the seven qualified candidates, only four have stated a clear position on the proposed repeal of the law. With Pride scheduled for the 4th of July weekend, CL surveyed the field for this week’s cover story: “Pride & Patriotism.”

For Georgia Democrats, the issue carries some risk: By taking a position, they’ll either offend rural conservatives or alienate gay voters, who have become an important part of the party’s base.

Here’s what the candidates say (or don’t say) about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”:

Saxby Chambliss (Republican) – Against the repeal.

Allen Buckley (Libertarian) – Advocates a “Don’t Ask, Can Tell” policy, and leaving any disciplinary action up to the military’s discretion.

Dale Cardwell (Democrat) – It is time to review “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Vernon Jones (D) – Against “persecution” based upon sexual orientation. No specific position on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Rand Knight (D) – A spokesman said he supports the repeal.

Josh Lanier (D) – Supports repeal and points to the shortage of Arabic linguists as a reason.

Jim Martin (D) – Wouldn’t respond to CL inquiries.

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