Gay veterans, anti-gay advocates among witnesses at congressional hearing on military policy this week in Washington, D.C.

Pepe Johnson says the military’s anti-gay “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is much more restrictive than its name makes it sound.

LULAC Council 4871 member Pepe Johnson served in the Army for three years as a sergeant before he was discharged because of “homosexual admission.”

“I came out to myself while I was in the military, so the first two years it was never really an issue,” he said.

But as time went on, Johnson knew “Don’t ask, don’t tell” would do him in.

“I realized I had violated the law by even telling my mother that I was gay,” he said. “A lot of people hear the phrase and think it literally means that. But there are a lot more restrictions on the gay solider than that.”

Johnson eventually got tired of leading “two lives,” so he wrote a statement to the Army about being gay. Shortly after that he was discharged.

Since that time, Johnson has become an advocate for abolishing DADT. In March, he encouraged LULAC’s Dallas Rainbow Council to advocate for passage of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act that would end DADT and add sexual orientation to the nondiscrimination clause for the U.S. military.

The proposal passed at the district and state level before being passed by an overwhelming majority at the national LULAC assembly.

“It needs to be a priority for our community,” he said. “If you look at the civil rights movement for African-Americans, the civil rights legislation took place after the desegregation of the military.”

Johnson and LULAC President Jesse Garcia lobbied Congress in early July to repeal DADT. LULAC is not alone in this cause. A study by The Advocate found earlier this month that 75 percent of Americans support gays in he military.

Congress this week held its first hearing on DADT in 15 years.

At opening arguments Wednesday, July 23, the first solider wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom, former Marine Staff Sgt. Eric F. Alva, spoke up saying that most of the people in his unit knew he was gay and it wasn’t a problem.

The committee also heard from an Army major general and a Navy captain who both joined the call for an end to the ban.

But the president of the conservative Center for Military Readiness, Elaine Donnelly, spoke in favor of the ban.

“Equal opportunity is important, but the needs of our military must come first,” she said.

But, according to an article in The Washington Post by Dana Milbank, Donnelly probably did more to hurt her own cause with outrageous accusations.

According to Milbank’s article, “Donnelly treated the panel to an extraordinary exhibition of rage. She warned of ‘transgenders in the military.’ She warned that lesbians would take pictures of people in the shower. She spoke ominously of gays spreading ‘HIV positivity’ through the ranks.

“‘We’re talking about real consequences for real people,’ Donnelly proclaimed. Her written statement added warnings about ‘inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community,’ the prospects of ‘forcible sodomy’ and ‘exotic forms of sexual expression,’ and the case of ‘a group of black lesbians who decided to gang-assault’ a fellow soldier.”

Milbank said Rep. Vic Snyder, an Arkansas Democrat, called Donnelly’s statements “just bonkers” and “dumb.” Rep. Chris Shays, a Connecticut Republican, was visibly aggravated, asking Donnelly why he “should give one twit” about a soldier’s sexual orientation.

Others said they were embarrassed and ashamed by Donnelly’s comments.

Gay former Marine Eric Alva, who was the first U.S. soldier injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom, testified in favor of repealing DADT during a congressional hearing July 23.

The committee will not make recommendations to the rest of Congress until after the hearings finish.

The hearing comes after 143 members of the House of Representatives have co-sponsored the bill, H.R. 1246, to repeal the ban and ensure non-discrimination within the armed forces.

“This hearing begins an important national conversation on the national security impact of losing qualified, capable service members for no other reason than their sexual orientation,” said in a press release Aubrey Sarvis, the executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a national organization that aims to repeal the ban.

“The existing ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ law not only hurts military readiness when our troops are stretched too thin, it also discriminates against patriotic Americans who want to serve when they are needed most.”

Removing the ban is also one of the main goals of the Log Cabin Republicans. They have been lobbying Republican Congressmen who support the current ban.

“ ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ weakens our national security by preventing qualified men and women from serving our country,” Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Sammon said in a press release. “There is growing Republican support for repealing this law. Log Cabin Republicans is committed to gaining additional GOP support for repeal.”

But Stonewall Democrats National Executive Director Jon Hoadley says the hearing might not mean a lot with the current legislators in office.

“Some politicians prefer to support the outdated agendas of special interest groups rather than the current sacrifice of our service members. That is one reason why, as Democrats, we are campaigning for change at this crucial point in our national history. Honoring those who wear the uniform requires us to elect public servants who will honor their sacrifice as well,” Hoadley said.

Regardless of what ends up happening, Garcia said he is just happy to see an open dialogue.

“I am happy that it is finally getting a hearing,” Garcia said. “It’s the first one in the 15 years that DADT has been around, and it’s a big step that has been much needed.”

Johnson agrees. He feels the gay community has focused too much on marriage rights, and needs to take care of DADT first.

“We need to prioritize our battles,” he said. “That way when we go and ask for rights like marriage, we have also shown that we are willing to take the responsibilities like defending our country, too. It would help our case substantially.”




This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition July 25, 2008.