A friend of mine chuckled this week when I said I was visiting our Senators' offices this week. "An exercise in futility," he said. He had cause to say, "I told you so," when the Senators joined the filibuster of the National Defense Authorization Act this week. Folks on Facebook, Twitter and blogs expressed outrage and disappointment that our hopes for repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the DREAM Act were yet again deferred.
I disagree with my friend though. In-district meetings are not futile. Neither are telephone calls, letters to the editor or even Lady Gaga rallies. As another friend said to me this week about repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, "It's going to happen...and soon." An estimated 78% of Americans now oppose the discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, President Obama, and even the Wall Street Journal have called for repeal. We have come very far since 1993 when the discriminatory policy was passed (also as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act).
And today we won in court! A federal court ordered the United States Airforce to reinstate ACLU client, Major Margaret Witt, who had been dismissed under Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The court found that Major Witt's sexual orientation did not harm unit cohesion or morale. The victory does not put an end to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, but it does chip away at the policy.
You don't change hearts and minds via silence. The LGBT rights movement stands in stark contrast to the reproductive rights movement, which has lost popular and political support over the last decade. LGBT activists and their allies have consistently voiced opposition to Don't Ask, Don't Tell through the media and in meetings with members of Congress. A member of the ACLU of MAINE Board recalled that when he first met with Senator Susan Collins about repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell in 2005 at an in-district meeting with other ACLU of MAINE members, the Senator said that repeal was not up for discussion in the Congress. She was accurately characterizing the political landscape at the time. Now, Senator Collins supports repeal. We have come a long way even since 2005.
Not convinced? Take time out to visit the ACLU's 90th anniversary exhibit at www.aclu90.org. The United States was a far more discriminatory and unjust country just 90 years ago.
This was a disappointing week in politics. We came so close and are yet so far away from ending discrimination in the military against gays and lesbians, women, and the sons and daughters of undocumented immigrants. But we can't let defeat in the moment discourage us from the pursuit of justice. I'm going to be at the Common Ground Fair this weekend. Meet me at the ACLU of MAINE booth in the Social and Political Action tent. I'll be talking about "Hot Topics in Civil Liberties" at 1 pm in the speaker's tent. If you want to go on an in-district meeting with the ACLU of MAINE this fall, call us at 774-5444. We aren't giving up.
September 24, 2010 - 6:07pm
