Text of FL H 1459 (2010)

HM 1459 1House Memorial 2A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging 3Congress to adopt, and the President of the United States 4to sign into law, H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness 5Enhancement Act of 2009, or similar legislation, that 6institutes a policy of nondiscrimination based on sexual 7orientation with respect to service in the United States 8military and repeals the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. 9 10 WHEREAS, the passage into law of the National Defense 11Authorization Act of 1994, Public Law 103-1601, instituted the 12"Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass," policy 13within the United States military that is now commonly known and 14referred to as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and 15 WHEREAS, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has led to the 16discharge of a great number of lesbian and gay military 17servicemembers, thus ending their military careers and burdening 18them with a lifelong stigma, and 19 WHEREAS, the capacity of the Armed Forces of the United 20States to carry out its missions is hindered when competent and 21qualified individuals are involuntarily discharged from the 22military, and 23 WHEREAS, the Armed Forces of the United States have been 24forced to retain reservists and National Guard servicemembers on 25active duty past the length of their standard deployments in 26order to carry out its recent missions, and 27 WHEREAS, the ability of the United States Armed Forces to 28recruit and retain the best and brightest soldiers, sailors, 29airmen, and Marines is hindered by excluding a section of the 30population solely because of sexual orientation, and 31 WHEREAS, lesbian and gay servicemembers have served 32honorably in the military throughout the history of this nation 33and continue to serve with distinction on active duty, and 34 WHEREAS, these men and women have achieved military honors, 35decorations, and promotions to the highest ranks of their 36respective services for their valor and service to the people of 37the United States, and 38 WHEREAS, at least 24 other nations, including Great 39Britain, Australia, Canada, and Israel, allow open military 40service by gays and lesbians, and 41 WHEREAS, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal 42Bureau of Investigation, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the 43National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, the 44Secret Service, and other federal departments handling national 45security allow their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 46personnel to serve openly, and 47 WHEREAS, there are at least 65,000 gay and lesbian service 48members on active military duty today and another 1 million gay 49and lesbian veterans who have served our nation proudly, and 50 WHEREAS, more than 13,000 servicemembers have been 51discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, including 52hundreds of servicemembers in critical occupations, such as 53counterintelligence experts and medical specialists, and 54 WHEREAS, according to a federal Government Accountability 55Office report, 323 language specialists have been discharged 56from military service under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, 57including 55 Arabic translators and nine Farsi translators, all 58of which are vitally important positions to intelligence 59gathering and are positions for which there is a critical 60shortage of qualified personnel, and 61 WHEREAS, it is estimated that American taxpayers have paid 62between $250 million and $1.2 billion to investigate, eliminate, 63and replace qualified and patriotic servicemembers who want to 64serve their country but are dismissed because of their sexual 65orientation under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, and 66 WHEREAS, evidence from a study conducted by the Center for 67the Study Of Sexual Minorities in the Military suggests that the 68"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy increases the stress levels of 69gay troops, lowers their morale, impairs their ability to form 70trusting bonds with their peers, restricts their access to 71medical care, psychological services, and religious 72consultations, and limits their ability to advance 73professionally and their willingness to join and remain in 74military service, and 75 WHEREAS, every study authorized by the Department of 76Defense on the subject of the relationship between sexual 77orientation and participation in military service has shown that 78there is no correlation between sexual orientation and unit 79cohesion in the Armed Forces, and 80 WHEREAS, public opinion polls have found that the majority 81of American citizens support keeping trained and skilled openly 82gay 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 85that nearly three in four troops say they are personally 86comfortable in the presence of gays and lesbians, and 87 WHEREAS, more than 100 retired generals and admirals, 88including the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the United 89States military, have called for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't 90Tell," and 91 WHEREAS, the readiness of the United States military to 92protect and defend our nation is severely compromised because of 93the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that is 94arbitrarily enforced by commanders whose personal beliefs may 95influence their disciplinary action, and 96 WHEREAS, discharges under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" 97policy are historically fewer when troop strength is low, as in 98times of war, which indicates a tacit recognition by the 99military that lesbian and gay servicemembers are fit for and 100capable of military service, thus further illustrating the 101arbitrary enforcement of the policy, and 102 WHEREAS, Florida is home to tens of thousands of military 103personnel and their families, and 104 WHEREAS, according to a 2004 Urban Institute study, an 105estimated 77,000 gay and lesbian veterans live in Florida, and 106 WHEREAS, military readiness is enhanced when every 107qualified, capable American, regardless of sexual orientation, 108is welcomed into our Armed Forces and their talents are utilized 109in the best interests of our national security, NOW, THEREFORE, 110 111Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 112 113 That the Congress of the United States is urged to adopt, 114and the President of the United States is urged to sign into 115law, H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009, 116or similar legislation, that institutes a policy of 117nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation with respect to 118service in the United States military and repeals the "Don't 119Ask, Don't Tell" policy. 120 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be 121dispatched to the President of the United States, to the 122President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the 123United States House of Representatives, and to each member of 124the Florida delegation to the United States Congress. CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.