LGBT Issues in the 5th District Primary: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Part 1 of 4: Don't Ask Don't Tell

LGBT folks in the 5th Congressional District are facing a tough choice for the DFL Primary on Tuesday. In an effort to see where the candidates stand on certain LGBT issues, I sent a LGBT candidate questionnaire to each campaign last week to garner some specific responses. Keep in mind I've never done a candidate questionnaire before, so if the questions seem odd, it's just me honing my skills.

The first question was: "Some of our troops are LGBT people, and they often have to hide their sexual orientation, and sometimes their partner or family during their service to our country. Others have been victims of witch hunts and removed from the military, even if they didn't "tell". If elected, would you support a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"?"

Keith Ellison: I strongly support the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” as well as all forms of discrimination based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. The pentagon’s justification for its policy rests in their assumption that anti-gay feeling runs so rampant in the military, that to openly have homosexual service members would undermine unit cohesion and performance. Thus, their problem is not with gay service members, but with heterosexual service members who they assume will have problems with them. Well, these same assumptions were made about African Americans when Truman integrated the Armed Services more than fifty years ago, and this assumption has proven, over time, flagrantly untrue. I believe the same result will occur when gays are allowed to openly serve.

I believe strongly in the words of Dr. King when he says, “All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” This statement crosses the years. The struggles of the past are immutably tied to our current struggles, and we can summon the strength of that history for the battles of today.

I believe we must transcend the narrow-minded fear that shuns difference, and embrace the unique diversity of our population as an incalculable strength. This is why I am proud to have acted as the lawyer for the House DFL caucus in an ethic proceeding against former representative Arlon Linder, who contended that gays were not victims of Nazi oppression during the Holocaust. And why I am proud to have consistently fought any proposed amendment to write discrimination into our most precious political documents.

Paul Ostrow: I absolutely would support a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." This policy is institutionalized intolerance and has no place as official US policy. We must honor the service of all those who serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation.

Mike Erlandson: Yes. I strongly oppose the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and will work to repeal it. I believe that any individual who voluntarily decides that he or she wants to put on a military uniform and take responsibility for the defense of our nation should be allowed to do so regardless of their sexual orientation.

I made my position clear in a statement of support for the “Right to Serve” campaign of four openly gay young adults who have been denied the right to enlist in the Minnesota National Guard.

If elected this fall, I will support legislation introduced by Representative Barney Frank, H.R. 2054, the Anti-Hypocrisy Act of 2005 that would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Please visit my website for my full August 16th statement on the “Right to Serve” campaign.

Ember Reichgott Junge: I would go further than repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). An Executive Order can’t fix this problem. The Uniform Code of Military Justice makes homosexuality illegal and it takes an act of Congress to reform the Uniform Code. In Congress I will work to make sure that everyone who wants to serve their country gets that opportunity. DADT was a compromise that didn’t work and we cannot compromise on human rights.