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 Unitarians Call For End To Anti-Gay Military
Policy
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: July 30, 2007 - 1:00 pm ET
(New York City) The Unitarian Universalist
Association of Congregations is calling for an end to "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
The Association at its annual conference in
Portland, Oregon passed a resolution calling on Congress to repeal the law. It
was approved by an overwhelming number of the 6000 delegates to the conference.
The resolution calls on individual members to
pledge themselves to work for repeal of DADT.
The Unitarian Universalist Association consists
of over 1,010 congregations in the United States, with over 220,000 members, and
is served by more than 1,100 ministers.
"The action of the General Assembly puts the
Unitarian Universalist Association at the forefront of the national effort to
improve our nation’s security by embracing America’s best and brightest,
including lesbian gay bisexual and transgendered Americans who have answered our
nation’s call to duty," said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast
Guard (Ret.) Vincent Patton, a Unitarian minister and member of Servicemembers
Legal Defense Network’s Advisory Board.
Patton was instrumental in the resolution’s
passage.
The United States is the only major Western power
to bar gays from serving openly in the military, under the "Don't Ask,
Don't Tell" policy.
A public opinion poll conducted in the US in May
found that 79 percent support gays serving openly in the military.
In February, legislation was reintroduced in
Congress to repeal DADT. (story)
Two lawsuits challenging DADT are underway. One,
by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is underway in federal court in
Boston and a second, by Log Cabin Republicans, is before a federal court in
California. (story)
©365Gay.com 2007
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