The Military Readiness Enhancement Act, HR 1059, which would allow gays, lesbians and bisexuals to serve openly in the U.S. military, was the topic at a June 28 forum held at The Center.

Fifty-seven members of Congress introduced the legislation in March 2005, which seeks to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that bans gay, lesbian and bisexual service members from serving openly.

To continue the dialogue, The Center, Momentum San Diego and the LGBT Community Leadership Council held a town hall meeting to discuss the measure. Speakers included U.S. Army Reserve veteran Bridget Wilson, retired Colonel Stewart Bornhoft and discharged Coast Guard service member Michael-Todd Kilmer.

“From the day you walk in to the day you walk out, they can get you,” said Wilson, a local attorney who said she has spent the past 30 years fighting anti-gay policies.

Wilson opened the forum with her views on the principles of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). She commented that prior to 1993, service members could be discharged because they were gay, lesbian or bisexual, but under DADT service members can only be separated from the military if they engage in “homosexual conduct.”

“The only difference today,” said Wilson, “is that they can’t kick you out just because they think you’re gay.”

According to Wilson, DADT is a military policy of “we don’t like gay people.” She said a service member today can be discharged for three reasons: “homosexual statements,” which means any words or acts that imply homosexuality, “homosexual acts,” which are defined as any action a reasonable person could perceive as being “gay,” and “homosexual marriage,” or attempting to enter into a same-sex marriage.

“What has changed due to activism is the witch hunts,” Wilson said. Instead, she continued, there are long, drawn-out legal battles over the reasonability of reasonable people or the gayness of a gay statement.

“At the end of the day,” she concluded, “really not a lot has changed.”

Following Wilson was Michael-Todd Kilmer, who spoke about being discharged after coming out in the military. Kilmer, who spent 15 years in the Coast Guard, told his commanding officer in 2001 that he is gay. Two days later, the paperwork to discharge him was being processed, he said.

Kilmer said he thought the Coast Guard was the perfect place to attempt to overturn DADT because the Coast Guard had been at the forefront of the racial discrimination movement as well as the advancement of women in the military.

He spent hours explaining to his commanding officer his need for a fully integrated life, he said, and to his surprise was met with support and understanding. Nevertheless, he claimed the men and women in Washington did not feel the same, and in the end the Coast Guard told Kilmer they could not fight his cause.

“I was tired of wearing a straight, white-boy mask,” Kilmer said. “How can you live in the family/community culture of the military if you can’t fully participate?”

Kilmer gave examples of gay, lesbian and bisexual service members’ inability to fully participate under DADT, such as not talking about their sex lives, home life, weekend activities or who’s at home with the kids.

“People had pictures of their wives and husbands on their desks, and I had a picture of my dog,” observed Kilmer. “I told them I’m gay and I want to serve and I don’t want to do it closeted, and I was discharged.”

Stewart Bornhoft, a retired colonel with 26 years of military service, also spoke at last week’s forum. A graduate of West Point and a seasoned veteran, Colonel Bornhoft spoke on the issue that banning gays, lesbians and bisexuals from serving openly hurts military readiness. He argued that there is a triple impact to the DADT policy: discharges, recruiting and retention.

Foreign militaries such as Italy, France, Israel and Great Britain have integrated gay, lesbian and bisexual service members, and America works side by side with these countries without a problem, Colonel Bornhoft said. “The British not only allow open service; they go to gay pride and recruit!” he said.

The CIA, FBI and National Security Agency all have policies of non-discrimination. It is only the Department of Defense that has the DADT guidelines, Bornhoft maintained.

A 2005 Government Accountability Office report estimates the Department of Defense has spent more than $200 million to replace gay, lesbian and bisexual service members who have been discharged under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy since 1993. According to military watchdog organization Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, that figure does not take into account “the costs of investigations, counseling, pastoral care, separation functions and discharge reviews.”

Bornhoft said the $200 million figure is a “mild number” because the war on terrorism has muted the issue of gay, lesbian and bisexual service members.

“[Politician Barry] Goldwater said you don’t have to be straight to shoot straight, and the hypocrisy is some planes fly into some buildings and the discharges stop,” he said. Additionally, he said it’s important for the military to get rid of the DADT policy because it is a rule of dishonesty. “In a military where duty, honor, country are valued, where’s the honor in telling a half truth about the essence of your being?”

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act seeks to lift the ban that prevents gay, lesbian and bisexual service members from serving openly in the military, and also seeks to allow veterans discharged under the policy to re-enlist.

Currently, 117 members of Congress support the act.

For more information about DADT and the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, visit the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network at www.sldn.org.