Activists going after `don't ask, don't tell'

Activists going after `don't ask, don't tell'
By Patrick Condon
Copyright by The Associated Press
Published August 14, 2006

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- On paper, Haven Herrin seems to be an ideal candidate for military recruiters.

She can easily run 5 miles and was valedictorian of her college class. "Frankly, I'm exactly the kind of person the military says it wants," she said.

But when Herrin tried to sign up recently for the Minnesota National Guard, she was rejected after she told the recruiter she is a lesbian, tripping the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy against openly gay service members.

Her admission was the opening round of a nationwide campaign against the 13-year-old policy. In the next few months, gay men and women in their late teens and early 20s will try to enlist at recruiting offices in more than 30 cities, including Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Wis., Bloomington, Ind., and St. Louis. They also will disclose their sexual orientation.

If rebuffed, the activists plan to stage sit-ins at the offices, hoping to attract media coverage and public support.

Organizers have dubbed the campaign Right to Serve. It was conceived by Herrin and Jacob Reitan, 24, young adult coordinator for the Virginia-based gay rights group Soulforce.

The policy is "as clear-cut an example of discrimination that you could find," Reitan said.

"Don't ask, don't tell" dates to 1993, early in Bill Clinton's presidency. During his campaign, Clinton vowed to overturn the military's long-standing ban on gays. But pressure from religious groups and concern from military leaders led him to endorse "don't ask, don't tell."

As passed by Congress and signed by Clinton, the policy requires gay service members to keep their homosexuality hidden and refrain from same-sex sexual conduct. The military is prohibited from asking recruits about their sexual orientation.

Since the policy was adopted, more than 11,000 gay service members have been discharged, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Supporters acknowledge the policy isn't perfect.

"It's like what Churchill said about democracy: It's the worst system possible, except for all the other ones," said Charles Moskos, a military sociologist at Northwestern University who helped craft the policy and coined the phrase "don't ask, don't tell."

But, Moskos said, allowing openly gay service members would hurt the morale of the military rank and file and make many recruits uncomfortable.

The Right to Serve activists know they are in for a long fight. President Bush supports the policy, and legislation to overturn it has few sponsors from the Republican majority.