On July 23, Elaine appeared before the House Military Personnel Subcommittee to testify against a bill to end the practice known as “Don’t ask, Don’t tell,” that last gasp of sanity that keeps sexual tension away from men’s barracks and women’s barracks.
The Democrats in the subcommittee couldn’t challenge her on the merits, so they disdained her with irrelevant comments, such as these from Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H. “When did you decide to become a heterosexual?” and “I may be straight, but I am not narrow.” (How’s that for your tax dollars at work?)
The military did not show up to defend itself or even to back up Donnelly’s testimony. Instead, a written statement from the Department of Defense said that it would comply with any change in military policy although it opposes changing this one.
One could get cynical here and say that careers are at stake. Who can afford to be labeled a “homophobe” and ex-pect that next promotion? But there is also the military DNA that requires orders to be followed, not questioned. This combination leaves the military wide open to social re-engineering from the political Left, which is salivating to get at it.
But it’s hard to run over Elaine Donnelly. She has credentials, and she knows her subject. In 1984, Defense Secre-tary Caspar Weinberger appointed her to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services; in 1992 Presi-dent George H.W. Bush appointed her to the Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces. Her articles have been widely published, and she has appeared on many national news programs.
But hers is a small organization, and she needs reinforcements. She needs to know that she is not the only civilian willing to defend the Defense Department. Let me ask you to do three things:
1) Find excerpts of her testimony on the Internet and watch the nastiness leveled at her. It will make you mad, and that will get you energized for points two and three.
2) Find your way to her Web site, CMRlink.org, and read her testimony—all of it, including her highly-detailed footnotes, and you will get an expert’s analysis of the problem of homosexuality in the military as well as the growing reality of women in infantry combat units.
3) Make a generous donation to her Center for Military Readiness—it’s tax-deductible—and then keep on making them, and from time to time enclose a personal note about your pride in participating in this particular battle. It is one we must win.
Elaine Donnelly is indeed a hero to a lot of us at Focus on the Family, including Dr. Dobson. We’ve supported her work every way we know how, for a long time. Now it’s your turn to step up.
Tom Minnery is senior vice president of government and public policy for Focus on the Family and author of Why You Can’t Stay Silent: A Biblical Mandate to Shape Our Culture. Order a copy by using the envelope at the middle of this magazine, by calling (800) A-FAMILY (232-6459), or by logging onto www.focusonthefami ly.com and entering the code BL148 in the search field.
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