(i support them!)





Dear VoteVets.org Supporter,

I wanted to take a moment to let you know the status of our work on repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and what we’ve got planned.

Last week, we asked you to write letters to your local papers, and you came up huge. Now, your letters are starting to pop up in newspapers from coast to coast – from The Tennessean, Norwich Bulletin and San Antonio Express News, to the Courier News in New Jersey and the Seattle Times.

You can still take a moment to pen your own letter to the editor, if you haven’t already.

On Friday, VoteVets.org will be taking part in the Freedom to Serve rally at the Capitol in Washington, DC, along with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. There, we’ll be calling for a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” If you are in DC, or know of someone who is that would like to attend, it will be at Noon on Friday, March 13, on the West Lawn of the Capitol Grounds.

We’ll have even more planned in the future, because we take this issue very seriously. In just the past couple of weeks, we’ve heard stories from gay and lesbian veterans that demonstrate just how this ridiculous policy has hurt our military and security:

· One woman, who was an Arabic translator, was discharged for being found to be a lesbian, robbing military intelligence of a much needed translator.

· One Army veteran, who was discharged under the policy, wants to get back in and go fight. But, the military won’t let him back in until he gets a letter from someone of authority to swear that he is no longer gay (which would be a lie).

· A Marine was discharged for an offense that ended up outing him, while another Marine who was straight and committed the same offense was given a slap on the wrist.

We cannot afford to dismiss any more qualified, honorable, able, and needed members of our military. It only hurts our military and security. Additionally, at a time when our military is so overextended, allowing members of the military to serve openly, without being discharged, will alleviate the strain so many of our service members feel from repeated deployments.

We hope you’ll continue to stand with us, as we fight for a stronger military, and stronger America.

Sincerely,

Brian McGough
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
Vice Chairman, VoteVets.org

And Jon, Brandon, Peter, and the entire VoteVets.org team

Paid for by VoteVets.org