[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 160 (Tuesday, December 7, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H8073]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE NATION IS READY FOR IT: REPEAL ``DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL'' NOW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, 69 years ago today, the U.S. naval base at 
Pearl Harbor was attacked. In the epic 4-year war that followed, 
millions of Americans served with honor and courage, and more than 
400,000 lost their lives. I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that many of 
them were gay.
  Nearly seven decades later, it appears we are finally prepared to 
acknowledge publicly what we have known for so long: That gay and 
lesbian Americans have been part of the military, making invaluable 
contributions to our Nation's security, for as long as there has been a 
Nation to secure. We appear to be finally on the cusp of repealing the 
Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that has asked those who wear the uniform 
to lie about their very identities as a precondition of their service. 
As if we don't ask enough of them already.
  Those who have continued to back this dreadful policy said earlier 
this year that they wanted to see the results of the Pentagon review 
before reconsidering their position. Well, that sober and empirical 
review was released last week, and it quite clearly concluded that 
repealing the policy would have minimal impact on military readiness or 
cohesion. But guess what, Mr. Speaker, that wasn't enough for the small 
minority of Don't Ask, Don't Tell supporters. Clinging to a fringe, 
reactionary, extremist position, they are unmoved by the Pentagon's 
findings. They say repeal would be premature, that to do anything but 
maintain the discriminatory status quo would be an irresponsible rush 
to judgment.
  A rush to judgment? Gay soldiers have been forced into the closet for 
the entirety of American history. How much longer do we need to wait 
for fundamental fairness and equal treatment? How much longer must we 
endure a policy damaging our national security and hostile to American 
values?
  Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is anything but premature. It's long 
overdue. Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell is also overwhelmingly 
popular. The President of the United States, the chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff, a bipartisan congressional majority, veterans groups, 
not to mention most of the American people all support repeal. And now 
we know from the Pentagon report that 92 percent of servicemembers say 
the presence of a gay person would not affect their unit's ability to 
work together. And that last fact really shouldn't be surprising. I 
don't imagine that every single member of our Armed Forces is 
unambiguously enthusiastic about changing the policy, but I don't think 
every single member of our armed services is unambiguously enthusiastic 
about the meal they were served last night or this morning.

                              {time}  1930

  My point is these men and women are dedicated professionals. They are 
sworn to protect the Nation. They follow orders and do their jobs as 
they did during the desegregation of the military. And they do this 
without regard to their personal values.
  We can do this. We must do it. It will be far less daunting than 
President Truman's desegregation of the military. The Nation was far 
more racist in 1946 than it is homophobic in the year 2010.
  It's time to repeal, Mr. Speaker, Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The Nation 
is ready for it. The military can handle it. Justice demands it.

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