Press Release
July 23, 2008
Congresswoman Susan Davis Holds First Hearing on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in 15 Years
Over 12,000 have been dismissed from armed forces under policy
WASHINGTON – As Chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) held the first congressional review of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy since it was enacted 15 years ago. Enacted in 1993, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” bans gay and lesbian service members from openly serving in the U.S. armed forces.
“Our purpose today is to begin a long overdue review of the various perspectives of this law and policy and to start a conversation about the real life impact on our service members, their families and the operational readiness of our military,” Davis said in her opening statement. “In my opinion, we must carefully review a policy that rejects otherwise well-suited individuals for military service. This is especially true at a time when we are trying to reduce the strain on our military by growing the force.”
Approximately 12,600 men and women have been dismissed from the armed forces under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, including nearly 800 service members with skills deemed "mission-critical" by the Department of Defense.
The hearing was different from the typical hearings conducted by the subcommittee. With two very distinct and strongly held views of the law and policy, both the majority and minority sides were afforded identical opportunities to present to the subcommittee data and real life examples to support their perspectives.
“While the focus of the hearing is to provide a fair and balanced forum for debate, I think it is only fair to share my personal belief that the current policy should be repealed,” said Davis. “I came to this position after talking with many service members, active duty, reserve and retired and concluded that the open service of gay men and women need not present an operational problem. Many Americans who happen to be gay or lesbian want to answer our nation’s call to service, and allowing them to serve in an open and honest manner would uphold the ideals of military service.”
Davis is a cosponsor of H.R. 1246, a bill to prohibit the discrimination against any member of the armed forces or any person seeking to become a member on the basis of sexual orientation.