News Archive
SLDN Calls for Dismissal of Recruiter Who Sent Anti-Gay and Racist Emails to Potential Recruit
Washington, DC - Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) today strongly condemned the anti-gay and racist emails sent by Army Recruiter Sergeant Marcia Ramode to Corey Andrew, a potential recruit. In her emails with Andrew, Ramode said, among other things, that Andrew, an openly gay African American man, should go back to Africa and do your gay voodoo limbo tango and wango dance and jump around and prance and run all over the place half naked there and practice your gay morals over there... SLDN demanded SGT Ramode's dismissal. ...Read More
Veterans & Activists to Rally in Washington for Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
WHAT: A Capitol Hill rally in Washington, D.C., to support legislative efforts to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service members. The rally coincides with Servicemembers Legal Defense Network’s (SLDN) fifth annual lobby days, organized to support The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1247), a Congressional bill to repeal the ban on open service. ...Read More
Retired Military Officers ‘Come Out’ and Demand Apology from General Peter Pace
WASHINGTON, DC – A group of seven high-ranking military veterans today responded to recent remarks by General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who earlier this week called lesbian, gay and bisexual service members ‘immoral’ and re-iterated his support for the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service members. The officers, who are all lesbian or gay, called on Congress to repeal the law, and demanded that General Pace apologize for his remarks. ...Read More
Retired Officers Come Out to Protest “Don’t Ask”
Seven retired military officers publicly came out of the closet Friday, hoping their actions will stir Congress to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and force Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to apologize for calling gays "immoral" this week. ...Read More
Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson Endorses Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
WASHINGTON, DC – Former Senator Alan K. Simpson (R-WY) writes in this morning’s Washington Post that he now supports repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel. Simpson, who supported the law in 1993, writes in an op-ed that “I believe it is critical that we review – and overturn – the ban on gay service members in the military. I voted for ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ But much has changed since 1993.” ...Read More
SLDN Statement on Congressman Marty Meehan
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Marty Meehan (D-MA), chair of the House Armed Services Sub-Committee on Oversight and Investigations, and lead sponsor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, today announced in the Associated Press he will leave Congress to become Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. Below is the statement of C. Dixon Osburn, SLDN’s executive director: ...Read More
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Dismissals Decline to Record Low
The Department of Defense dismissed 612 service members under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel, Pentagon officials confirmed late Tuesday evening. The number of troops dismissed last year is less than half the total number of discharges in the fiscal year preceding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Pentagon officials released the data today following remarks by General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, supporting the ban and referring to lesbian and gay personnel as ‘immoral.’ ...Read More
SLDN Condemns Joint Chiefs Chairman and Demands Apology for Remarks About Gay Personnel
Washington, DC – Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) today strongly condemned remarks by General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, calling lesbian and gay personnel “immoral.” In an interview with The Chicago Tribune, Pace said that "I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts.” He went on to reiterate his support for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by saying that “I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way.” SLDN demanded that General Pace apologize for his remarks. ...Read More
First Circuit Hears ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Appeal
BOSTON, MASS. – The First Circuit heard oral arguments today in an appeal filed by veterans dismissed under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service members. The veterans, who all served during the current war on terror, asked the Court to reverse a lower court ruling dismissing their constitutional challenge to the law. The lawsuit, Cook v. Gates, was filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and the law firm of WilmerHale. ...Read More
First Circuit to Hear Oral Arguments in “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Case
WHAT: The federal First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, Mass., will hear oral arguments in Cook v. Gates, a constitutional challenge to the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service personnel. ...Read More
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