Text of HI SCR 88 (2010)

THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 88 TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR REPEAL OF THE DON'T ASK DON'T TELL POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED SERVICES. WHEREAS, Title 10, United States Code, Section 654 sets out the policy concerning homosexuality in the armed services, which provides in pertinent part that "A member of the armed services shall be separated from the armed services under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense . . ."; and WHEREAS, "Don't ask, don't tell" is the denomination of the policy of the United States Armed Services to stop gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals from serving in the military; and WHEREAS, President Barack Obama, United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen have expressed their preference for ending the ban on homosexual individuals serving in the United States Armed Services; and WHEREAS, in his State of the Union address, President Obama said he would work with Congress and the military to repeal the 1993 law that bars openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military; and WHEREAS, Admiral Mullen testified before the United States Congress on February 2, 2010, that letting gays serve openly in the military is "the right thing to do . . . I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens"; and WHEREAS, it has been reported that since going into effect in 1993, "Don't ask, don't tell" has resulted in the discharge of more than 13,500 service members for being gay, and at the present time when the military is desperately short of foreign-language expertise, it has fired over sixty-five gay Arabic and Farsi linguists; and WHEREAS, anytime there is a restriction on the pool of candidates from which one is recruiting which is unrelated to the task at hand, one ends up excluding outstanding people whose presence would improve the organization's performance; and WHEREAS, allowing homosexuals to serve in the military would significantly augment the nation's military capabilities; and WHEREAS, homophobia has no place in a modern, enlightened society, and the military is no exception; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature expresses support for repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the United States Armed Services, and of the federal law upon which it is based; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States; Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen; the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Don't Ask Don't Tell