LETTER I SENT TO A SENATOR ABOUT OBAMA SAYING NO MORE DON'T ASK DON'T TELL...

Time to lead the world, instead of being led by the blind prejudices of the world. Gay soldiers have always served as well as straight ones; this has hardly hurt the great warriors in the history of this race of ours. The Generals can lead the citizens again, as they have done on integration with minorities and women, to a more sane social viewpoint. A more SCIENTIFICALLY FEASIBLE, REALISTIC WAY OF BEHAVING. Gay Soldiers have died for this country since the first shots were fired. Their blood is worth no less than anyone else who makes such a sacrifice for our country... right? So let them tell people their true selves are not evil, and that they damn well deserve the same respect everyone else gets. Stop forcing senseless dishonesty, it quells the serious discussions about homophobia that the army needs. Gay people need to come out and say, Hey, you are happy to take my blood, unless you find out about my God Given Sexuality? There are so many things wrong with that... As your constituent, I urge both my representative and my senators to move quickly to repeal the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. I would like to thank my representative for co-sponsoring the House legislation to repeal the ban, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1283). I hope that my senators will echo their support of a similar bill in the Senate soon Although the main purpose of this legislation is to repeal the U.S. Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law so that lesbian and gay troops would be allowed to serve openly, the bill is much more than a civil rights bill. It is a bill that would protect national security and strengthen our military, while saving taxpayers and our Armed Forces millions of dollars and countless resources that could be put to better use. Military readiness is enhanced when every qualified American who wants to serve is allowed to do so. It is estimated that at least 66,000 lesbian and gay Americans are currently serving in the U.S. Military. More than 13,000 have already been discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Given the current needs of the Armed Forces, which are already stretched thin and are facing serious problems in recruiting and retaining troops, we must repeal the law that keeps able-bodied Americans from serving. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" weakens our national security. According to a report released by the General Accounting Office, nearly 800 specialists with critical skills have been fired, including more than 300 linguists, more than 60 of whom specialized in Arabic. It has been estimated that enforcement of this law has cost between $290 million and half a billion dollars, although that number does not include costs associated with discharging officers or other highly skilled specialist. Not included in the GAO report are the estimated 4,000 service members who choose not to reenlist each year because of the law, or the effects that ripping a service member away from the unit so unnecessarily can have on cohesion, morale, or combat readiness. The GAO report is further evidence that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" must be repealed. Please support our Armed Forces by making sure this critical legislation passes this year. I look forward to receiving your response.