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News Release
For Immediate Release: July 29, 2009
Contact: Diane Gramley 1.814.271.9078 or 1.814.437.5355

Congressman Patrick Murphy Must Have Missed the Memo on Don’t Ask Don’ Tell

(Harrisburg) -- On Monday Congressman Patrick Murphy (PA-8) made Philadelphia his first stop on a nationwide tour to drum up support for a bill repealing the 1993 statute regarding homosexuals in the military, Section 654, Title 10, U.S.C., which is frequently mislabeled “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” (DADT) Congressman Murphy has taken over as lead sponsor of HR 1283. The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA), a statewide pro-family group, noted that apparently the Congressman had not received the 54 page memo containing an Open Letter and the signatures of over 1,000 Flag and General Officers who support the 1993 statute . Today the AFA of PA faxed him a reminder letter.

“Congressman Patrick Murphy’s pursuit of repealing this law is wrong. The 1993 law, affirmed, almost word-for-word, long-standing regulations stating that homosexuality is incompatible with military service. Apparently Congressman Murphy has already forgotten what military life is like,” commented Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA.

Earlier this year The Military Times, a liberal Gannett publication, which supports repealing the 1993 law, reported on a 2008 poll of active duty subscribers. It revealed that 58% of respondents opposed efforts to repeal the law. Asked how they would respond if the law was repealed, almost 10% said “I would not re-enlist or extend my service,” and 14% said “I would consider not re-enlisting or extending my service.”

The Flag and General Officers’ Open Letter delivered on March 31, 2009 to President Obama and Members of Congress notes, “We believe that imposing this burden (repeal of Section 654, Title 10 U.S.C.) on our men and women in uniform would undermine recruiting and retention, impact leadership at all levels, have adverse effects on the willingness of parents who lend their sons and daughters to military service, and eventually break the All-Volunteer Force.”

“Military life creates a unique environment; one which does not need to be further complicated by allowing those who are sexually attracted to the same sex to serve. Perhaps Congressman Patrick Murphy, rather than working to repeal a law which is good for unit cohesion and thus good for national security, should work to educate the nation on what the law actually says. Homosexuals are being misled and used when they are told they can serve in the military as long as they don’t tell that they are homosexual, this is not what the law says,” Gramley remarked.

The 1993 law states in part:

(13) The prohibition against homosexual conduct is a long-standing element of military law that continues to be necessary in the unique circumstances of military service.

(14) The armed forces must maintain personnel policies that exclude persons whose presence in the armed forces would create an unacceptable risk to the armed forces' high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.

(15) The presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.

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