Friend,
Time is running out to tell your senators to vote for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT).
When Congress returns to Washington, D.C., next week, the full Senate will have its first opportunity in 17 years to do away with DADT when it votes on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contains provisions that would allow for repeal of this law.
Their legislative calendar looks crowded, and the window of opportunity to pass repeal will be narrow. That's why you must keep up the pressure on both your senators until the Senate votes to end DADT.
Call and urge your senators to make passage of repeal legislation a top priority the week of September 20th. And ask them to urge their Joint Leadership (Senators Reid and McConnell) to schedule this vote.
Senate switchboard (can direct you to your senators):
(202) 224-3121
A full Senate floor vote is one of the last major legislative hurdles that stands in the way of repeal. Unfortunately, Senator John McCain has been a vocal opponent of repeal from the start. He has indicated that he, along with other repeal foes, will pull out all the stops in coming weeks - from attempting to strike repeal language from the NDAA to offering weakening amendments or threatening to filibuster the entire defense budget.
We cannot let that happen.
If the defense budget bill doesn't move to the Senate floor by the end of this month, DADT repeal may not happen for several more years.
Call these key senators now. We need a repeal vote the week of September 20th.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
(202) 224-3542
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
(202) 224-2541
Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
(202) 224-2235
This is not the time to let up in the fight to end DADT. With your continued support we will make it clear to the Senate that repealing DADT should be a top priority this month.
Thank you.
Aubrey Sarvis
SLDN Executive Director
Betcha two to one that the Family Research Council and their allies have sent out their action alerts. And THAT is the crux of our problem. John Aravosis of Americablog says that if the DADT repeal fails, it will be a major disaster for President Obama.
I disagree with that for the same reason why I remain perplexed by my lgbt brothers and sisters. In the past two years since Obama has been in office, the lgbt community has protested against him more than we have protested against all of the major religious right groups combined.
Will GetEqual ever protest the headquarters of the Family Research Council for the repeated ugly comments of Peter Sprigg or the lies of Tony Perkins?
What about Candi Cushman, Focus on the Family, and their continued fight against legislation to stop the bullying of our children?
And yet we wonder why the media takes these folks and their lies seriously. It's because we aren't raising enough noise against them. But they certainly pay attention when we raise hell against Obama.
And what's worse, if we aren't raising hell with Obama and calling him names, we attack each other with the same amount of nasty vigor. You heard the names and phrases - "Obamabot," "Obamapologist," "drinking the Obama kool-aid."
It's such irrational, emotional, self-defeating bullshit.
By no means am I saying we should let Obama slide on his promises. What I am saying is that many in our community don't know the fine line between exerting pressure on an ally who won't do right and going overboard on the same ally. And this is costing us. While we rail against Obama, the folks who we should have been raising hell against from day one (i.e. the religious right) will continue to do what they do unchallenged - lie on the lgbt community.
My point is this - many of us have accused Obama of being weak but when it comes to taking on the religious right head on, we are just as weak as we accuse him of being.
Until we engage THEM in loudly and unapologetically, making sure we control the argument by constantly pointing out their lies and hypocrisy, we won't get anywhere. We will stay exactly where we are, kicking up dust online and to each other.
