Action Alert from the Human Rights Campaign:
The Senate is scheduled to vote in a matter of days on whether to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" – but anti-equality senators led by John McCain have threatened to filibuster the bill; we'll need every single vote to win.
Years of political groundwork are on the line here, and there's no guarantee this will be a victory.
We need your help to show that a majority of Americans want this discriminatory law repealed – once and for all. Every senator needs to know this is important, whether they're already on our side or not.
We have a chance to make history. Please, send your message today.
Here is the letter I faxed Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, Oregon's two U.S. Senators:
September 20, 2010
The Honorable Ron Wyden
The Honorable Jeff Merkley
Dear Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley:
As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I'm writing to urge you to support the Lieberman/Levin language repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the National Defense Authorization Act. Please oppose any amendments to strike or weaken this language and any procedural maneuvers, like a filibuster, to block the NDAA.
You'll hear voices claiming that a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is immoral. Some will even claim their Christian faith compels them to support further discrimination against gays and lesbians. I believe that good people can disagree over difficult issues. Nonetheless, the United Church of Christ has sought since 1985 "to address the needs and advocate the concerns of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in our church and in society by actively encouraging church instrumentalities and secular governmental bodies to adopt and implement policies of non-discrimination."[1]
The United Church of Christ is not alone. Many Christian denominations - along with other faith traditions- have spoken out in support of full equality for gays and lesbians in American society. " We know, with Paul, that as Christians, we are many members, but are one body in Christ—members of one another, and that we all have different gifts. With Jesus, we affirm that we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves, that we are called to act as agents of reconciliation and wholeness within the world and within the church itself, " the General Synod of the United Church of Christ has declared.
Sadly, there were many religious voices in America that openly opposed the integration of the races in public life - including the integration of the military. That same way of thinking - seeing people as "other" and not deserving of the full rights that should be afforded all Americans - is at work today in many of the voices supporting discrimination against gays and lesbians not only in the military but also in other areas of our civil society. Please repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. A vote to end discrimination is a vote in favor of a more moral America.
Sincerely,
The Rev. Chuck Currie
P.O. Box 18023
Portland, Oregon 97218
[1] Resolution: Calling on United Church of Christ Congregations to Declare Themselves Open and Affirming [Adopted by the Fifteenth General Synod, United Church of Christ, Ames, Iowa, June 28-July 2, 1985. Vote: 98% Majority]
