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Written by WiG
Feb 21, 2012
Oklahoma House of Representative leaders this week blocked advancement of legislation to implement a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for the state National Guard.
The legislation, introduced by state Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, would have authorized recruiters and others to ask National Guard troops about their sexual orientation.
The bill proposes that “no person ineligible to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States pursuant to 10 U.S.C., Section 654 [Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell], and accompanying Department of Defense Regulations implementing and enforcing this provision as in effect on January 1, 2009, shall be eligible to serve in the National Guard.”
After Reynolds introduced the bill in January, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network warned, “This unprecedented bill would put the Oklahoma National Guard in direct odds with Defense Department policy and with the regulations put in place by the National Guard Bureau governing sexual orientation in the military. It would also, if passed, cause enormous disruption to gay and lesbian Guard members in Oklahoma. As a practical matter, would those who have come out since the repeal of DADT be discharged? Would they be forced to hide their sexual orientation again? Is that even possible if they have already introduced their loved one to friends in their unit?”
The federal “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy ended last fall, allowing for gay and lesbian troops to serve openly in the military.
SLDN, the Human Rights Campaign, the ACLU of Oklahoma and The Equality Network lobbied against the Oklahoma measure.
Earlier this week, Reynolds’ bill was reassigned from a military affairs committee to a rules committee, where the chairman isn’t likely to schedule a hearing. The reassignment essentially killed the bill, according to sources.
TEN chair Laura Belmonte said, “From 1993 to 2011, the U.S. government spent nearly $400 million in administrative, training, and recruitment costs associated with replacing the over 13,000 servicemembers expelled under DADT. Rep. Reynolds’ bill directly violated federal policies and risked the loss of $294 million in annual federal funding to the Oklahoma National Guard. We are relieved that the brave men and women of the Oklahoma National Guard will not have their readiness compromised by the damage this legislation would have created.”
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