Religious group challenges 'don't ask, don't tell' policy

The Norman Transcript

August 25, 2006 12:38 am

— Recruiting office sit-ins planned throughout August and September
By Melissa A. Wabnitz
Transcript Staff Writer
Members of the group Soulforce, an interfaith group seeking to end religious and political oppression of gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgendered individuals, is tackling a nearly 14-year-old law that bans gays from military service.
The organization, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, sent out a press release earlier this week, indicating dismissals under the policy increased from 668 in 2004 to 742 in 2005. Fort Sill, based in Lawton, discharged 27 soldiers last year, compared to eight dismissals the year before. Nationwide, 742 servicemen and women were dismissed, the release stated.
According to statements released on the Soulforce group's Web site, www.righttoserve.org, the policy enacted by President Bill Clinton is "inherently discriminatory" in that "a gay soldier must lie or hide his or her true identity on a daily basis."
Gay servicemembers who do live openly risk investigation and involuntary expulsion, said Pamela Disel, member of Oklahoma's Soulforce.
To combat the discriminatory practices of the military, and to put political pressure on the U.S. House of Representatives, which is considering repealing don't ask, don't tell, activists across the country, and in Oklahoma, have decided to attempt to enlist in the U.S. military at various recruiting offices. Once they receive an official rejection letter, the activists intend to respond with a sit-in at the recruitment site.
Wednesday, a group of such activists sat in as a form of civil disobedience at a recruiting center located at 6401 Northwest Expressway. And, on Sept. 13, they intend to do the same at Norman recruiting offices at 3625 W. Main St., if candidates receive a rejection letter, said organizers.
Volunteers are still sought to participate in the sit-ins or provide support outside the recruitment offices, in Norman and throughout Oklahoma, joining more than 30 other cities in protest of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
According to the organization's Web site, among the 11,000-plus servicemembers discharged under the policy were more than 800 personnel with skills critical to national security, including at least 55 Arabic speakers, 9 Farsi speakers, and over 244 doctors, nurses and medical specialists.
For more information about Soulforce, visit the Web site www.soulforce.org or www.righttoserve.org.