Text of AZ HCM 2005 (2006)

REFERENCE TITLE: policy rescission; gays in military State of Arizona House of Representatives Forty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session 2006 HCM 2005 Introduced by Representatives Sinema, Gallardo, Lujan, Prezelski: Aguirre A, Alvarez, Downing, Lopes, Lopez L, Meza, Tom A CONCURRENT memorial urging the president and congress of the united states to end the discriminatory "don't ask, don't Tell" policy in the nation's armed forces. (TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE) To the Congress and President of the United States: Your memorialist respectfully represents: Whereas, since the 1994 codification into law by the United States Congress, and by the signature of the President, the policy now known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" (National Defense Authorization Act of 1994; Public Law 103-160) has led to the discharge of a great number of lesbian and gay service members, thus ending their careers and burdening them with a lifelong stigma; and Whereas, the capacity of the armed forces of the United States to carry out its missions, like the Global War on Terror, is hindered when competent and qualified individuals are involuntarily discharged from those forces; and Whereas, the armed forces of the United States have been forced to retain reserve and national guard service members on active duty past standard deployment lengths in order to carry out its missions during the Global War on Terror; and Whereas, the ability of the armed forces to recruit and retain the best and brightest Americans is hindered by excluding a section of the population solely because of sexual orientation; and Whereas, lesbian and gay service members have served honorably throughout United States history and continue to serve with distinction on active duty in the Global War on Terror, including in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom; and Whereas, these men and women have achieved military honors, decoration and promotions to the highest ranks of their respective services for their valor and service to the people of the United States; and Whereas, America's allies in the war on terror, like the United Kingdom, Australia and Israel, all allow lesbian and gay service members to serve openly; and Whereas, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and other federal departments handling national security allow their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender personnel to serve openly; and Whereas, a February 2005 Government Accountability Office report shows that more than 9,488 service members have been discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, including at least 757 service members in "critical occupations," such as counterintelligence experts, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $190 million; and Whereas, the Department of Defense reported that 209 language specialists have been discharged from the military under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, including 54 Arabic and 9 Farsi translators, vitally important positions to intelligence gathering and in critical shortage; and Whereas, evidence from a study conducted by the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military suggests that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy increases gay troops' stress levels, lowers their morale, impairs their ability to form trusting bonds with their peers, restricts their access to medical care, psychological services and religious consultations, and limits their ability to advance professionally and their willingness to join and remain in the services; and Whereas, every Department of Defense authorized study has shown that there is no correlation between sexual orientation and unit cohesion in the armed forces; and Whereas, the majority of American citizens supports keeping trained and skilled openly gay and lesbian service members in the military; and Whereas, the United States military's readiness to protect and defend our nation is severely compromised because of the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that is arbitrarily enforced by commanders whose personal beliefs may influence their disciplinary action; and Whereas, discharges under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" are historically fewer when troop strength is low, as in times of war, which denotes the tacit recognition by the military that lesbian and gay service members are fit and capable of military service, thereby further illustrating the arbitrary enforcement of this policy; and Whereas, military readiness is enhanced when all qualified, capable Americans, regardless of sexual orientation, are welcomed into our armed forces and their talents are used in the best interest of our national security. Wherefore your memorialist, the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, prays: 1. That the Congress and President of the United States adopt the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R.1059) to end the discriminatory federal policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." 2. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this Memorial to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.