Lift the Ban! Special Chapter Project
Stonewall Democrats chapters nationwide are building coalitions
and work to lift the ban on gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in the U.S. military.
HR 1059, The Military Readiness Enhancement Act, was introduced in Congress in March 2005. This legislation would repeal the current ban on gays in the military, and replace it with a policy of nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation. There are currently 99 co-sponsors of this legislation.
We need to increase the number of co-sponsors, and Stonewall Democrat chapters nationwide can help make that happen by convincing their local or state governments to pass non-binding resolutions in support of HR 1059. Your chapter can be a part of this victory!
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) was key in getting this legislation introduced in Congress, and has worked with local activists in several cities and states on passing local, non-binding resolutions that support HR 1059.
Successes include: New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, the State of California, West Hollywood, and most recently, St. Louis.
How Stonewall Democrats can lead an expanded local resolution effort
1. Have your chapter board or membership discuss and approve action to introduce a resolution supporting HR 1059 with your local governing body (city council, board of aldermen, town council, state legislature)
2. Enlist the support of an allied local politician who will agree to introduce and champion this resolution at a meeting of your local governing body.
3. Contact SLDN to enlist the support of Sharon Alexander ( sea@sldn.org) to assist you in your effort.
4. Visit the SLDN website to view important information that will assist you in crafting your resolution and supporting letter. Links are below:
http://www.sldn.org/templates/action/record.html?section=52&record=2126
http://www.sldn.org/templates/action/index.html?section=52
http://www.sldn.org/templates/law/index.html?section=100
Craft your resolution using the standard boiler-plate articles, but customize figures on local veteran counts in your city or municipality. Craft a supporting letter that will be signed by a member of each co-sponsoring organization who is a resident of your city or municipality.
5. Build a coalition! Contact your allies in other local LGBT organizations, arrange to speak to their membership about your resolution effort, and gain their support and co-sponsorship.
6. Contact progressive allies to enlist their support and co-sponsorship.
7. Contact other political organizations (labor, and yes, even Republicans!) to enlist their support and co-sponsorship.
8. Work with your sponsoring politician on their strategy around introduction and passage of the resolution. This may include, but is not limited to, organized lobbying efforts. Also, work with your sponsoring politician to determine timing of any press releases, stories, interviews, etc.
9. Hold an informal working reception/meeting featuring representatives of the above organizations to discuss your strategy around passage of the resolution. Form committees and assign tasks, deliverables, and deadlines.
10. Contact your local newspaper editorial board to speak with them about writing an editorial.
11. Contact local political or feature writers to interest them in your effort and solicit a story or interview.
12. Hold a public Town Hall-type discussion about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and HR 1059. Invite members of a local gay/lesbian veterans group chapter and allied politicians to speak. See if SLDN will send a member, board member or other resource from their speaker’s bureau.
13. Set the date with your supporting politician to introduce the resolution.
14. Lobby your politicians.
15. Attend the necessary meetings, and be prepared to provide knowledgeable persons who will speak clearly and articulately on behalf of the resolution.
16. Celebrate success!
Two Great Resources!
Thank you to our Gateway Stonewall Democrats chapter in St. Louis for these resources. There efforts garnered the support of the St. Louis Council for this resolution -- and a lot of press for this issue.
Please note the two pdf resources to help your chapter gain support for this effort.
