BILL ANALYSIS
SJR 6
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SJR 6 (Kehoe)
As Introduced March 20, 2007
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :23-13
JUDICIARY 7-3
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|Ayes:|Jones, Evans, Berg, | | |
| |Krekorian, Laird, Levine, | | |
| |Lieber | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Berryhill, Duvall, Keene | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Urges the President and Congress to adopt the Military
Readiness Act of 2007 (H.R. 1246) to end the discriminatory
federal policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Specifically, among
other things, this resolution :
1)Makes various declarations relating to the discharge of "a
great number of lesbian and gay service members" from the U.S.
military, resulting in the end of service members' careers and
giving them a "lifelong stigma."
2)Declares the impact of the involuntary discharge of competent
and qualified lesbian and gay service members from military
duty on the capacity of the Armed Forces to carry out its
missions, such as the Global War on Terror.
3)States that 24 other nations, such as the Great Britain,
Australia, Canada and Israel, allow lesbian and gay service
members to serve openly.
4)Adds that there are at least 65,000 gay and lesbian service
members on active duty today and another one million gay and
lesbian veterans who have proudly served the United States.
5)States that more than 11,000 service members have been
discharged under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, including
nearly 800 service members in critical occupations, such as
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counterintelligence experts and medical specialists.
6)Details statistics culled from the GAO report, such as 323 of
those discharged were language specialist; including 55 Arabic
and 9 Farsi translators.
7)Reveals that the American taxpayer has paid between $250
million and $1.2 billion to investigate, eliminate, and
replace qualified and patriotic service members who have been
dismissed as a result of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.
8)Details findings from a study conducted by the Center for the
Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military that the Don't Ask,
Don't Tell policy increases gay troops' stress and lowers
their morale, in addition to other hindrances.
9)Declares that every Department of Defense authorized study has
shown that there is no correlation between sexual orientation
and unit cohesion in the Armed Forces, that the majority of
American citizens support keeping trained and skilled openly
gay and lesbian service members in the military, that a 2006
study (by the Michael D. Palm Center) found that nearly three
in four troops say they are comfortable in the presence of
gays and lesbians and the resolution further adds that the
United States military's readiness to protect and defend the
nation is severely compromised because of the discriminatory
Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.
10)Then focuses on California: that it has 26 military bases,
that there are an estimated 137,000 gay and lesbian veterans
who live in the state, and that the Legislature and the courts
have extended equal protection laws based on sexual
orientation and gender identity to lesbians, gays, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) citizens in order to prevent insidious
discrimination.
11)References SJR 11 (Kehoe), Chapter 108, Statutes of 2005,
that the California Senate resolved and the Assembly
concurred, that the California Legislature urged the President
and the United States Congress to adopt the Military Readiness
Enhancement Act of 2005 to end the discriminatory policy of
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and the resolution further declares
that military readiness is enhanced when every qualified,
capable American, regardless of sexual orientation, is
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welcomed into the Armed Forces and has their talents utilized
in the best interest of our national security.
EXISTING LAW generally prohibits, under the Don't Ask, Don't
Tell federal law, anyone from disclosing his or her sexual
orientation, or from speaking about any homosexual
relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes,
while serving in the armed forces.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This resolution, sponsored by Equality California,
addresses the controversial military policy enacted during the
Clinton presidency called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Instituted
in 1993, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy replaced the outright
ban of gays and lesbians from United States military service.
Unless one of the exceptions under federal law applies, this
discriminatory policy prohibits anyone who has sexual bodily or
romantic contact with a person of the same sex from serving in
the armed forces of the United States, and prohibits any
homosexual or bisexual from disclosing his or her sexual
orientation, or from speaking about any homosexual
relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes,
while serving in the military. The policy also requires that as
long as gay or bisexual men and women in the military hide their
sexual orientation, commanders are not allowed to investigate
their sexuality. This policy was introduced as a compromise
measure in 1993 by President Bill Clinton who, while campaigning
for the Presidency, had promised to allow all citizens
regardless of sexual orientation to serve openly in the
military, a departure from the then complete ban on those who
are not heterosexual. The actual policy was crafted by
then-Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell, and has been
maintained by Clinton's successor, George W. Bush throughout his
presidency.
In a study of the impact of the policy on the armed services,
the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) made
the following statements based on information gathered from 1994
to 2003:
1)9,488 service members separated for homosexual conduct;
2)Of those, 757 held critical occupations that qualified for
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selective reenlistment bonuses;
3)322 of the separated service members had some skills in
foreign language such as Arabic, Farsi, or Korean;
4)The estimated cost of recruiting replacements for the
separated members is $95 million; and,
5)The estimated combined cost to the Army, Navy, and Air Force
of training replacements for the separated service members is
another $95.1 million.
As noted by the sponsor, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is not
practiced in the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the
National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, or
other federal departments handling national security. The
sponsor and other proponents state that it is time for the Don't
Ask, Don't Tell policy to be repealed. They argue that "In the
thirteen years since Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the Armed Forces
have discharged nearly 11,000 able-bodied and willing service
members, simply because of their actual or perceived sexual
orientation." The sponsor states that not only are the results
of the federal policy "an egregious violation of our
Constitutional notions of liberty and justice, the exclusion of
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) service members is
a true menace to our national security."
Another supporter suggests that repealing the Don't Ask, Don't
Tell policy is necessary because "The rationale for the policy
is no longer valid." [Letter from Log Cabin Republicans, dated
April 9, 2007.] The sponsor and supporters point to the fact
that "Since post September 11th combat operations ensued in
Afghanistan and Iraq, discharges under the "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" policy have plummeted to their lowest level since 1994,
when the policy was first implemented." [Letter from Equality
California, dated April 10, 2007.] The sponsor adds that the
drop in the number of discharges signals the tacit recognition
by the Armed Forces that LBGT service members can serve both
capably and honorably.
Finally, proponents of SJR 6 note that not only is the rationale
behind the federal policy no longer valid, but even 50% of
junior enlisted service officers surveyed by an Annenberg poll
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believe that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve
openly. [Letter from Log Cabin Republicans, dated April 9,
2007.] The sponsor and proponents conclude that "Public
opinion, the experience of our allies, and the national security
interests of our nation all lead to the inescapable conclusion
that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly and
honestly in the United States Armed Forces." [Letter from Log
Cabin Republicans, dated June 1, 2005.]
Analysis Prepared by : Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0001571