Joan Darrah testifing before Congress
credit to: SLDN
Joan Darrah testifing before Congress
credit to: SLDN
Why "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Hurts Us All: Meet Unitarian Universalist Joan Darrah
On July 23, 2008, Joan Darrah, a retired Navy Captain who served as an Intelligence Officer for almost 30 years and a Unitarian Universalist (UU), testified at the House Armed Services Committee Hearing on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” about her experience as a gay service member.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass” (more commonly referred to as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, or DADT) is the nickname given to a law that was enacted in 1993 by President Bill Clinton’s administration. Clinton wanted to end discrimination in the military, but strong opposition led to the current policy, which was enacted as a compromise. At its inception, DADT was celebrated as a step forward for gay rights—but for bisexual, gay and lesbian service members like Darrah, it became readily apparent that the new policy had few changes from the original policy.
Under the current policy, service members can be investigated and discharged if they:
- make a statement that they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual
- engage in sexual contact with someone of the same sex
- marry, or attempt to marry, someone of the same sex
Joan Darrah was able to keep her job with the Navy while also maintaining a relationship with her long term, same-sex partner, but not without consequence. It was only after September 11, 2001, and after 28 years of distinguished military service, that the full impact of DADT came into sharp focus for Darrah.
On September 11, 2001, Darrah left a meeting at the Pentagon just minutes before Flight #77 hit the space that she was just in and 7 of her co-workers were killed. It was then that she realized how much of her life was being controlled by DADT and that her partner, Lynne, would have been one of the last to know if something had happened to her that day because Darrah was unable to list her partner as an emergency contact, and had to pretend that her relationship didn’t exist while at work out of fear of losing her job.
On June 1, 2002—one year earlier than she had originally planned—Darrah retired from the military. In the next couple of years Darrah started to think about how she could help to get rid of DADT and Darrah and her partner joined the UU church. The UU church has empowered her and helped to keep her motivated while working on this issue. Darrah began organizing in her community and church. In 2006, Darrah created and chaired a Mount Vernon Unitarian Church (MVUC) Task Force to repeal DADT. In June 2007, at General Assembly she and several MVUC members collected signatures and advocated for a proposed UUA Action of Immediate Witness (AIW) to repeal DADT, which became one of six passed by the General Assembly that year.
In the past year, Joan Darrah has continued to encourage and organize UU churches across the country to get involved with the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In July, 2008, she testified at the House Armed Services Committee Hearing and was interviewed by a host of radio and television stations, including PBS’ Diane Rehm Show and C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News and Barry Lynn’s Culture Shock. To read more about Joan Darrah’s story, check out the UUA Advocacy and Witness blog.
Since 1994, over 12,000 people have been discharged from the military due to DADT and over 3,000 a year opt not to re enlist instead of living under DADT. Of those discharged, nearly 800 were military specialists in particular areas, including 323 linguists, of whom 55 specialized in Arabic.
Over one million veterans identify as bisexual, gay, or lesbian, and currently, at least 65,000 bisexual, gay and lesbian Americans serve in the military. A 1993 study done by the RAND Corporation found that the US military could lift the ban on lesbian, gay, bisexual people in the military with no harm to readiness. Repealing DADT would also save taxpayers money: a 2006 Blue Ribbon Commission report found that over $360 million was spent from 1994 to 2003 on enforcing DADT.
DADT is a discriminatory policy that affects not only the bisexual, gay and lesbian members of the military, but everyone, whether we are friends or colleagues with those directly affected or taxpayers whose funds support the firing of bisexual, gay, and lesbian service members. As Unitarian Universalists and concerned citizens we must take a stand against DADT. The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1246) would repeal DADT and replace it with a new provision prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the Armed Forces. H.R. 1246 would also allow people who have been discharged because of their sexual orientation to apply to rejoin the military. At this time there is no legislation in the Senate for repealing DADT but there is ongoing dialogue and a bill will likely be introduced in the next Congressional session.
The United States Armed Forces can, with the advocacy of faith communities who affirm the value and worth of all people, be a positive and supportive place for all people—regardless of their sexual orientation—to serve in support of their country. Now is the time to send US Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama a letter asking them to support bi-sexual, lesbian, gay and transgender rights as President. The Military Readiness Enhancement Act will have to be reintroduced to the incoming Congress in 2009, and the new President’s stance on these matters will greatly affect that process. Visit the UUA Washington Office advocacy campaign page to send a pre-written letter to the candidates or, if you wish, add a personal message.
Last updated on Tuesday, October 7, 2008.
