How Three Decorated Gay Veterans Are Working to Overturn "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

What do Michael Almy, Anthony Loverde, and Jason Knight have in common? The three are decorated veterans from the U.S. military, all discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. And now all three have joined with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) to challenge the constitutionality of the military policy that continues to prohibit openly gay and lesbian soldiers from serving.

If there are three examples of how "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" harms the U.S. military and threatens our national security, Almy, Loverde and Knight are it. Almy was a 13-year veteran who saw four deployments to the Middle East. He received numerous awards and honors during his time in the Air Force, but that wasn't enough to stop him from being discharged in 2006 for being gay.

Loverde served in the Air Force for seven years, as a trained C-130 Loadmaster and Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory Technician. In 2008, he was booted from the U.S. military because he's gay. Now? He works for a defense contractor doing essentially the same job he did for the military, even working with some of his old coworkers. Yet the military wouldn't allow him to be part of their institution because of his sexual orientation.

And then there's Knight, who served for five years in the U.S. Navy. Think his job was important? Yup, sure was. He was a trained Cryptological Technician Interpretive Linguist, the type of position that many would probably consider critical for the success of U.S. operations abroad. Yet Knight was discharged in 2005 for being gay. Believe it or not, he was then recalled in 2006, and then subsequently discharged again in 2007 -- a double whammy of discrimination.

Now these three, along with SLDN and the law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP, are challenging the constitutionality of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in a California federal court. It's a reminder to the U.S. Senate that if they fail to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the few short days before the body breaks for the holidays and a new Congress takes over, they'll leave the fate of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" up to the courts and an aggressive litigation strategy by repeal advocates.

"This filing is a shot across the bow as we prepare to pursue and sustain an aggressive far reaching litigation strategy if the Senate fails to act this month to repeal the law.  This dispute can be resolved by Congress or by the courts.  With this filing we put Congress on notice that a cadre of service members and our national legal team stand ready to litigate strategically around the country," said Aubrey Sarvis, the director of SLDN and himself an Army veteran. "We are also preparing litigation on behalf of young people who would enter the armed forces to serve our country but for this terrible law.  Another suit we’re working on involves clients discharged under ‘Don’t Ask’ who want to enter the reserves or a guard unit, and we plan to file such cases early next year if Congress fails to act.  Clearly there is an urgent need for the Senate to act on legislation this week.”

Talk about putting Congress's feet to the fire. Sarvis's call echoes that of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who expressed dissatisfaction and disappointment last week after the U.S. Senate punted on a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." As Gates said, and as Sarvis echoes here, Congress can step up to act, knowing full well that three-quarters of the country support a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," as well as an overwhelming number of people in the military. Or they can pack up and go home for the holidays, and leave the future of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the hands of the courts.

Photo credit: U.S. Army

by Michael A. Jones gayrights.change.org