Hours before the chiefs of the armed services testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) announced its support of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the 17-year-old law banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. The New York Times reports consensus amongst veterans groups has been sparse, but IAVA claims to represent 200,000 veterans and civilian supporters.
In addition to supporting a legislative repeal, IAVA surveyed its members and found that most members do not object to gay men and lesbians openly serving in the military. Likewise, the organization believes that repeal should be done legislatively to allow troops and leaders adequate time to prepare for the impact of the repeal.
This article was featured in the December 8, 2010 issue of Diversity Best Practices’ email newsletter, Diversity in the News. To read additional stories from that issue, see the related content section below. To subscribe to Diversity in the News, register on the newsletter page of this website.
