Current Actions

• Urge President Obama to End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in 2010

  The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ("SLDN") recently kicked off their campaign urging the President to lead the way for a 2010 repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. 
  
  As part of that campaign, SLDN ran a full-page ad in Roll Call (Capitol Hill's newspaper) urging President Obama to add the Don't Ask, Don't Tell ("DADT") repeal to his defense budget, which is currently being drafted by the White House, the Department of Defense and Congress.

  SLDN is also counting on supporters like you to urge the President to lead the way this year -- not next year or in a second term.  Don't Ask, Don't Tell needs to end now and this is the perfect time and way to do it.  Please read SLDN's letter to the President, call the White House to leave a message for the President and send a message to your Congressional Representative.  Together, we can repeal DADT!

  (1) Read: SLDN's Open Letter to President Obama

  (2) Call President Obama: Call the White House switchboard today.

  (3) Send a Message to Congress: A new study by Congressional Quarterly shows that Congress is more likely to give Obama the votes he wants than any other President in more than last 50 years. President Obama should call upon Congress to join him in ending this discriminatory law. 
  
  Congress needs to know that you want them to end DADT. Contact your Representative in Congress and tell him or her that you support an end to DADT this year.  Ask Your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 1283 and end discrimination in the military.

  
  

• TELL CONGRESS: VOTE ON ENDA NOW!

  No more delays!  It is time for Congress to vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act!

   

  In 38 states, it is legal to fire a transgender person.  In 29 states, it is legal to fire someone because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual - or straight.

   

  Job Protections Matter.
  

   

  It is inexcusable that job discrimination against LGBT people is still not banned by federal law, which currently provides this most basic employment protection on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin or disability. 

  A strong majority of Americans support ending employment nondiscrimination.  Yet Congress has repeatedly failed to pass ENDA, which was introduced in 1994.  Right now, ENDA is stuck in the House and we cannot get a vote on the House floor.

   
  

  This year is our best chance to enact ENDA into law.  But we need your help to get a vote in the House!

   

    

  YOUR OPINION MATTERS!  PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!   Here’s how:

   

  1. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to your Representative.  (If you’re not sure who your representative is, simply give the operator your zip code and they will connect you.)  Then, use this script to leave a message:
  
  My name is _____ and I live at (give your street address) in (give your city/town). I am calling in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017) to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans from job discrimination. Please help get a floor vote on this bill.  Please vote yes on ENDA to end job discrimination. Thank you for your time.

    

   

  2. Send an email to your U.S. Representative.
  

   

  Just enter your zip code & we'll make it easy for your to contact your representatives in Congress!

• Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Now!

  Equality Supporters,

  Repeal advocates have made significant progress this past year, especially in late May, but we could still lose the fight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
  
  The first repeal vote on the floor of the Senate could come the week of July 12^th, just after Congress’s July 4^th recess. And we need your help to show the Senate there is strong support for repeal.
  
  The repeal language in the Defense Authorization bill is at risk of being filibustered, stripped out, or weakened by our opponents when the full Senate votes. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has threatened to filibuster the entire defense budget to stop repeal. SLDN and the repeal coalition is working to secure a filibuster-proof, 60-vote majority so that the defense bill can be acted on.
  
  SLDN and the repeal coalition will work with Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) to fend off these threats to repeal.
  
  But we can't do this alone.
  
  The repeal coalition needs supporters like you in each state to call both of your Senators today. The time to push back on the opposition is now.
  
  Call both your Senators today and tell them to support repeal and follow the lead of Senator Carl Levin on any attempts to strike repeal or weaken the language.
  
  (202) 224-3121
  
  Although the Defense Authorization bill is considered "must-pass" legislation, that won't stop opponents of open service from trying to turn the Senate's upcoming votes on the defense bill into a political showdown.
  
  We have to stand up and tell our Senators we need their votes. Our gay and lesbian troops deserve their support.
  
  Call your Senators today and urge them to support Senator Levin and follow his lead when harmful amendments may be offered by opponents.
  
  (202) 224-3121
  
  Thank you.

  

  Toni Broaddus
  Executive Director, Equality Federation