Feds face backlash for repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

HONOLULU—With President Barack Obama’s signing off on the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy banning gay men and women from serving openly in the military, an organized campaign condemning the action is underway.

To read the President’s statement on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” click here

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is a group of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations with the mission of “defending the right of people to freely live out their faith.” The group is calling on Department of Defense officials to release reports that justify imposing openly practiced homosexual behavior in the U.S. military.

The action is in response to Obama statement on Friday that dismantling DADT would not impact military readiness.

“Our troops’ religious liberties are in unprecedented jeopardy because the government has caved in to pressure from small groups of activists to impose homosexual and bisexual behavior on our military,” said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Daniel Blomberg. “The first casualty of this disappointing move may well be the religious freedom of chaplains and service members, for whom no formal protections have been adopted despite many having been proposed.”

“No Americans, and especially not our troops, should be forced to abandon their religious beliefs,” Blomberg added. “The reports of the chiefs of the services and combat commanders that supposedly justify this move should be released in full, allowing service members, the public, and Congress to evaluate the situation themselves. This administration cannot expect America to accept its ‘certification’ at face value.”

An open letter by the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty condemned the certification of DADT’s repeal: “It is with deep sorrow and grave concern that we observe that one of the first acts of our new Secretary of Defense will be the certification of the repeal of DADT ... We hope that Secretary Panetta’s decision will not be seen as a government endorsement of homosexual conduct. Americans are deeply divided on this issue, and moral debate and dialogue must be continued in a civil and respectful manner. The rights and views of the many Americans, including a large number of service members, who disagree with the administration on this issue must be respected.  Service members must not be forced to endorse practices or beliefs that violate their deeply held moral convictions.”

DADT looks to be formally abolished on September 20.