Judge me for something more

The Right to Serve Campaign had its attempted enlistment in Madison, Wisconsin yesterday.

Here’s an article from WKOW TV 27:

A national campaign came to Madison on Wednesday, hoping to repeal the military’s policy of not allowing openly gay homosexuals to serve.

It was at the east Madison U.S. Army recruitment office where three local openly gay men tried to enlist. Derek House, John Alaniz, and Justin Hager walked into the office knowing they would be turned away. They also said they were not going to hide their sexuality.

“Judge me because of something much more important,” said Justin Hager before he entered the building. “My character, my drive to serve the ideals of freedom and equality. My passion for my country.”

House and Hager, both UW students, and Alaniz, all say they were trying to follow in the footsteps of relatives who previously served in the military.

Recruitment officers allowed them to take some aptitude tests. When asked their relationship status, all three disclosed they were gay. By the rules of “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” they could not enlist. They say their effort wasn’t a lost cause.

“It’s more for me as well as wanting to serve,” said House. “Just knowing that I do qualify, I am a very qualified individual, and the only reason holding me back is that I’m gay.”

A Minneapolis-based group called Soulforce is staging events like this in 30 cities throughout the nation this fall, including in Milwaukee and Chicago. It’s called the Right to Serve campaign.

The group’s goal is to get more U.S. Representatives to sponsor legislation in the House that would repeal “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” That bill is H.R. 1059. Massachusettes congressman Marty Meehan introduced it in March of 2005. Representatives Tammy Baldwin and Gwen Moore are the only Wisconsin U.S. representatives who have sponsored it. It has sat in a subcommittee on military personnel for more than a year.

Army public affairs officer Patricia Grobschmidt said it knows of the Right to Serve campaign. She went on to say that recruiters were following the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and that it is the job of a recruiter to recruit people based off the written standards of the miltary.

Youc an also find another article and video coverage of the Madison attempted enlistment from WMTV NBC 15.

Another article and video coverage is also available from WISC TV and a few papers have done stories as well (see Google News).

If you live in Greensboro or anywhere in North Carolina and you are interested in finding out how you can get involved in an effort to bring focus to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy this fall, check out the Right to Serve Campaign at the official website, http://www.righttoserve.org/ as well as MattHillNC.com’s Soulforce Youth page (you can also make a donation to the Greensboro Campaign event via the Right to Serve Greensboro site)

Technorati Tags: Soulforce, Right to Serve, Madison, Derek House, John Alaniz, Justin Hager, gay, Military, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

Posted in Civil Rights, Dont Ask Dont Tell, Politics, Soulforce/Right to Serve |