A contingent of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) supporters from the San Diego area joined more than 200 veterans and activists to storm Capitol Hill March 24-27. The group called on elected representatives to support the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR 1247), a congressional bill to repeal the ban on openly gay, lesbian and bisexual servicemembers.

The event was SLDN’s fifth annual National Lobby Day and, according to organizers, it was the largest organized lobbying effort with regard to the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy since its inception in 1993.

Stepping up their grassroots efforts this year, state delegations from nearly every state met with 535 congressional offices – Republican and Democratic, from both House and Senate – compared to last year’s 23 state delegations meeting with 100 congressional offices.

“It was the first time that we’ve had such a rally on the west front center grassy area of the U.S. Capitol Building, which is where the inauguration is held, so it held national importance,” said Tom Carpenter, SLDN board co-chair. “It’s also the first time that we’ve strategically made sure that we spoke with every congressional office in person in an effort to gain stronger support of the repeal. We were really like ground forces storming the capitol.”

This year, law school students and other activists from across the country joined the group, as did a number of speakers, including Congressmember Barney Frank, D-Mass., Patricia Kutteles, mother of deceased servicemember Barry Winchell, and C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of SLDN, who gave lobbyists a rousing pep talk before they headed to Congress.

Honorary SLDN board member, Col. Stewart Bornhoft, from San Diego, also spoke at the rally about Gen. Peter Pace’s remarks. Pace, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently said homosexual acts are immoral, but later revised his statement to say that wasn’t his official view, but merely his personal view.

“[Pace’s] comments insult the 65,000 GLB servicemembers currently in the U.S. military who are serving admirably, often with the knowledge and tacit consent of other members of their unit,” Bornhoft stated. “That’s enough servicemembers to staff all the aircraft carriers in the entire United States Navy.”

Bornhoft is one of seven retired senior officers, each with decades of honorable service, who have come out to speak against Pace’s views, which were the focus of many of the speeches given at the lobbying event.

“It is perhaps ironic that General Pace, who thinks we are immoral, may have sown the seeds for the ban’s ultimate demise. The lawyers defending the ban have craftily argued that the ban is needed for military readiness,” said C. Dixon Osburn, SLDN executive director. “General Pace let slip that illusion and showed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ for what it really is: a law of rank discrimination which ultimately undermines our national security.”

“It was a really exciting time to be in D.C. for this issue,” said Ben Gomez, a local supporter of SLDN. “As we walked through the halls of the capitol wearing T-shirts that called for the repeal and met with members of Congress, there was a mixed response from people, and some were shocked. But we found that many people were very supportive. Some even wanted the shirts for themselves”

The lobby day and rally were only part of the weekend’s events held in conjunction with the organization’s 15th annual National Dinner, where Cybil Shepherd and “The L Word” co-stars Pam Grier and Marlee Matlin, along with series creator Ilene Chaiken, accepted the organization’s Randy Shilts Visibility Award on behalf of “The L Word.” The show includes a storyline surrounding the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and a lesbian character who is actively serving in the military.

Congressmember Marty Meehan, D-Mass., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, who introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act to Congress earlier this year, called the lobby day part of a growing movement to topple the ban.

“The momentum to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is growing, and the days of anti-gay discrimination in our armed forces are limited,” Meehan said. “It is vitally important that veterans and constituents continue to speak out as they have this week and urge their representatives to welcome the talents of every American patriot, regardless of sexual orientation.”

A study conducted last year for the SLDN showed that the U.S. military could attract as many as 41,000 new recruits if gays and lesbians were allowed to serve openly. Under the current policy, every day two servicemembers are fired under the law. Since 1993, the Department of Defense has dismissed more than 11,600 service personnel under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” including nearly 800 with “mission-critical” skills.