By Krystle Gan

“I’m done asking! And I’m telling,” proclaimed Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, as she addressed a crowd on Capitol Hill this past Friday at the Freedom to Serve Rally. Uniting under the same banner to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy (DADT)-a policy that bans gay and lesbian people from serving in the military-the demonstration brought together just under a hundred individuals from all across the nation.

Amongst the crowd were students, grandparents, former soldiers, military commanders and six University Law students and faculty members. Undeterred by the chilly weather, the crowd chanted with heated passion, “What do we want? The freedom to serve! When do we want it? Now!”

Organized by the Service Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN), the Freedom to Serve Rally occurs every year in March. This year, however, it fortuitously fell upon the cusp of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR 1246) being reintroduced in the House of Representatives, spearheaded by Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California. The bill proposes to repeal DADT by replacing it, and enforcing personal conduct rules in a sexual orientation neutral manner. The bill would also allow previously discharged persons under DADT to reapply for service.

Earlier in the day, demonstrators met with representatives in the halls of the Rayburn House to discuss sponsorship of Tauscher’s bill. Currently there are 144 bipartisan cosponsors. The meetings were geared towards representatives who have not yet signed on to the bill. Two University Law students, Courtney Dewitt and Patrick Paschall met with the legislative aides for New York, representative Paul Tonko and New Hampshire’s Paul Hodes.

“Not only is Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell discriminatory in general, but it is actually wasteful of governmental funds,” said Dewitt in reference to Tommy Cook, an ex-intelligence officer at the rally. After three years of service and $100,000 in training costs, he had been “honorably discharged” under the policy. “Really, the military has made an investment in [training these service members to a high level, and] basically throwing away that money,” Cook said. “You are kicking out people who would like to serve in the military at a time when a lot of people are not signing up.”

Dewitt and Paschall urge other supporters to be active in repealing the “one policy that allows overt discrimination” by contacting their. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of District 4, which includes Nassau County has signed on to the bill.

For updates and a wealth of information on the Military Readiness Enhancement Act and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, visit http://sldn.org and http://glaadblog.org.

(Krystal Gan)