HM 1459

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3	Congress to adopt, and the President of the United States
4	to sign into law, H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness
5	Enhancement Act of 2009, or similar legislation, that
6	institutes a policy of nondiscrimination based on sexual
7	orientation with respect to service in the United States
8	military and repeals the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
9
10	WHEREAS, the passage into law of the National Defense
11	Authorization Act of 1994, Public Law 103-1601, instituted the
12	"Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass," policy
13	within the United States military that is now commonly known and
14	referred to as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and
15	WHEREAS, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has led to the
16	discharge of a great number of lesbian and gay military
17	servicemembers, thus ending their military careers and burdening
18	them with a lifelong stigma, and
19	WHEREAS, the capacity of the Armed Forces of the United
20	States to carry out its missions is hindered when competent and
21	qualified individuals are involuntarily discharged from the
22	military, and
23	WHEREAS, the Armed Forces of the United States have been
24	forced to retain reservists and National Guard servicemembers on
25	active duty past the length of their standard deployments in
26	order to carry out its recent missions, and
27	WHEREAS, the ability of the United States Armed Forces to
28	recruit and retain the best and brightest soldiers, sailors,
29	airmen, and Marines is hindered by excluding a section of the
30	population solely because of sexual orientation, and
31	WHEREAS, lesbian and gay servicemembers have served
32	honorably in the military throughout the history of this nation
33	and continue to serve with distinction on active duty, and
34	WHEREAS, these men and women have achieved military honors,
35	decorations, and promotions to the highest ranks of their
36	respective services for their valor and service to the people of
37	the United States, and
38	WHEREAS, at least 24 other nations, including Great
39	Britain, Australia, Canada, and Israel, allow open military
40	service by gays and lesbians, and
41	WHEREAS, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal
42	Bureau of Investigation, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the
43	National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, the
44	Secret Service, and other federal departments handling national
45	security allow their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
46	personnel to serve openly, and
47	WHEREAS, there are at least 65,000 gay and lesbian service
48	members on active military duty today and another 1 million gay
49	and lesbian veterans who have served our nation proudly, and
50	WHEREAS, more than 13,000 servicemembers have been
51	discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, including
52	hundreds of servicemembers in critical occupations, such as
53	counterintelligence experts and medical specialists, and
54	WHEREAS, according to a federal Government Accountability
55	Office report, 323 language specialists have been discharged
56	from military service under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy,
57	including 55 Arabic translators and nine Farsi translators, all
58	of which are vitally important positions to intelligence
59	gathering and are positions for which there is a critical
60	shortage of qualified personnel, and
61	WHEREAS, it is estimated that American taxpayers have paid
62	between $250 million and $1.2 billion to investigate, eliminate,
63	and replace qualified and patriotic servicemembers who want to
64	serve their country but are dismissed because of their sexual
65	orientation under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, and
66	WHEREAS, evidence from a study conducted by the Center for
67	the Study Of Sexual Minorities in the Military suggests that the
68	"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy increases the stress levels of
69	gay troops, lowers their morale, impairs their ability to form
70	trusting bonds with their peers, restricts their access to
71	medical care, psychological services, and religious
72	consultations, and limits their ability to advance
73	professionally and their willingness to join and remain in
74	military service, and
75	WHEREAS, every study authorized by the Department of
76	Defense on the subject of the relationship between sexual
77	orientation and participation in military service has shown that
78	there is no correlation between sexual orientation and unit
79	cohesion in the Armed Forces, and
80	WHEREAS, public opinion polls have found that the majority
81	of American citizens support keeping trained and skilled openly
82	gay and lesbian servicemembers in the military and repealing
83	"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and
84	WHEREAS, a 2006 study by the Michael D. Palm Center found
85	that nearly three in four troops say they are personally
86	comfortable in the presence of gays and lesbians, and
87	WHEREAS, more than 100 retired generals and admirals,
88	including the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the United
89	States military, have called for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't
90	Tell," and
91	WHEREAS, the readiness of the United States military to
92	protect and defend our nation is severely compromised because of
93	the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that is
94	arbitrarily enforced by commanders whose personal beliefs may
95	influence their disciplinary action, and
96	WHEREAS, discharges under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
97	policy are historically fewer when troop strength is low, as in
98	times of war, which indicates a tacit recognition by the
99	military that lesbian and gay servicemembers are fit for and
100	capable of military service, thus further illustrating the
101	arbitrary enforcement of the policy, and
102	WHEREAS, Florida is home to tens of thousands of military
103	personnel and their families, and
104	WHEREAS, according to a 2004 Urban Institute study, an
105	estimated 77,000 gay and lesbian veterans live in Florida, and
106	WHEREAS, military readiness is enhanced when every
107	qualified, capable American, regardless of sexual orientation,
108	is welcomed into our Armed Forces and their talents are utilized
109	in the best interests of our national security, NOW, THEREFORE,
110
111	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
112
113	That the Congress of the United States is urged to adopt,
114	and the President of the United States is urged to sign into
115	law, H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009,
116	or similar legislation, that institutes a policy of
117	nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation with respect to
118	service in the United States military and repeals the "Don't
119	Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
120	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
121	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
122	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
123	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
124	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.