[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4180 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4180

  To amend title 10, United States Code, to include the disclosure of 
   sexual orientation by a member of the Armed Forces to a Member of 
   Congress as a lawful and protected communication and to prohibit 
 retaliatory personnel actions against members of the Armed Forces who 
 make such a disclosure in a Congressional hearing or who testify, for 
  or against, the policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 2, 2009

   Mr. Hastings of Florida (for himself, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mrs. 
 Capps, Ms. Berkley, Ms. Norton, Mr. Stark, Ms. Watson, Ms. Edwards of 
 Maryland, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Grayson, Ms. Chu, Mr. Meeks of New York, 
   Mr. Cummings, Mr. Hall of New York, Mr. Ackerman, Ms. Speier, Ms. 
     Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Dingell, Mr. 
 Blumenauer, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Ms. Clarke, Ms. 
  Pingree of Maine, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Filner, Mr. Abercrombie, and Mr. 
    Walz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 10, United States Code, to include the disclosure of 
   sexual orientation by a member of the Armed Forces to a Member of 
   Congress as a lawful and protected communication and to prohibit 
 retaliatory personnel actions against members of the Armed Forces who 
 make such a disclosure in a Congressional hearing or who testify, for 
  or against, the policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Honest and Open Testimony Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF RETALIATORY PERSONNEL ACTIONS AGAINST MEMBERS OF 
              THE ARMED FORCES WHO TESTIFY HONESTLY AND OPENLY ABOUT 
              THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION IN A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OR 
              WHO TESTIFY REGARDING THE POLICY CONCERNING HOMOSEXUALITY 
              IN THE ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Protected Communication.--Subsection (a) of section 1034 of 
title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph:
    ``(3) Protected communication with a Member of Congress covered by 
paragraph (1) includes testimony by a member of the armed forces in a 
Congressional hearing regarding the policies set forth in subsection 
654(b) of this title, including testimony by the member that discloses 
or affirms that the member is homosexual, bisexual, or transgender. 
Such communication is lawful and may not be restricted.''.
    (b) Prohibition of Retaliatory Personnel Actions in Response to 
Protected Communication.--Subsection (b) of such title is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) In the case of a member of the armed forces who makes a 
protected communication described in subsection (a)(3), any application 
of the policies set forth in subsection 654(b) of this title (or threat 
to apply the policies) to the member shall be considered to be an 
unfavorable personnel action prohibited by paragraph (1).''.
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