Bravo: Rep. Heinrich Signs on to Co-Sponsor Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Great news! As of Friday, Representative Martin Heinrich (NM-01) is a co-sponsor of H.R. 1283, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009, which would repeal the U.S. Department of Defense’s policy commonly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). There are currently 150 co-sponsors of the bill -- and they now including Rep. Heinrich as well as Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03), who informed us of his support last week. Every single member of Congress who is publicly supportive of DADT repeal provides a powerful stimulus to the movement to get it passed.

Rep. Heinrich just released the following statement about the bill:

“Serving in the military is one of our most honored and sacred traditions as Americans. To ban someone from serving their country because they are gay only weakens our nation’s security and jeopardizes the prosperity of our country. Thousands of loyal Americans are currently being told that they cannot fight for their country that they love. The current policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is unfair, counterproductive to the advancement of the armed forces and gays and lesbians, and simply must be changed.”

Yesterday, President Obama held a reception at the White House to celebrate LGBT Pride Month and had this to say about repealing DADT:

... I want to say a word about "don't ask, don't tell." As I said before -- I'll say it again -- I believe "don't ask, don't tell" doesn't contribute to our national security. In fact, I believe preventing patriotic Americans from serving their country weakens our national security.

Someday, I'm confident, we'll look back at this transition and ask why it generated such angst, but as Commander-in-Chief, in a time of war, I do have a responsibility to see that this change is administered in a practical way and a way that takes over the long term. That's why I've asked the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop a plan for how to thoroughly implement a repeal.

I know that every day that passes without a resolution is a deep disappointment to those men and women who continue to be discharged under this policy -- patriots who often possess critical language skills and years of training and who've served this country well. But what I hope is that these cases underscore the urgency of reversing this policy not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it is essential for our national security.

Nice words, but many of us want the President to freeze discharges under DADT until new legislation is passed to repeal it. We also want the President to strongly advocate on behalf of the House bill and get things moving on the Senate side. As we've learned by now, the Senate is where so many necessary and progressive pieces of legislation meet their doom. It's up to the President, once again, to push.

Take Action: Please urge President Obama to be more proactive in pushing this and other initiatives aimed at obtaining equal civil rights for all. And be sure to thank Rep. Heinrich for co-sponsoring the bill to repeal DADT.