Two
gay
college
students
discovered
that
the
U.S.
military’s
doors
are
literally
closed
to
them
after
trying
to
enlist
at
a
District
recruitment
center
this
week.
Mandy
Craig,
a
24-year-old
bisexual,
and
Alexandra
Douglas-Barrera,
an
18-year-old
lesbian,
attempted
to
enlist
Sept.
26
in
the
U.S.
Navy.
But
the
Naval
recruiting
office
at
1099
14th
St.,
NW
was
closed
when
Craig
and
Douglas-Barrera
arrived,
and
calls
to
a
posted
telephone
number
went
unanswered.
Adam
Bink
of
the
Right
to
Serve
Campaign,
which
organized
the
enlistment
attempt
as
part
of
a
nationwide
protest,
said
he
wasn’t
surprised.
“They
knew
we
were
coming,”
he
said
as
he
stood
outside
the
locked
office.
“They’ve
shut
their
doors
to
two
young
Americans
who
want
to
serve
their
country.”
U.S.
Army
Sgt.
1st
Class
Eric
Reed,
whose
nearby
recruiting
office
was
open
at
the
time,
said
the
Navy
office
was
closed
because
its
staff
members
were
off-site
administering
a
test
to
new
recruits.
The
snag
didn’t
deter
the
protesters.
Craig,
Douglas-Barrera
and
14
other
students
from
American
University,
the
University
of
Maryland
and
other
local
colleges
sat
in
the
recruitment
station’s
lobby
for
four
hours.
Two
more
protesters
distributed
fliers
to
people
outside
the
station.
The
fliers
implore
Congress
to
repeal
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell,”
the
1993
policy
that
bans
openly
gay
people
from
serving
in
the
military.
Douglas-Barrera,
a
former
Washington
Blade
editorial
intern,
said
it
was
appropriate
that
the
protest
occurred
at
a
recruiting
station
blocks
from
Capitol
Hill.
“What
better
place
to
do
this?”
she
said.
“It
is
Congress’
responsibility
to
overturn
this.”
‘Motivated
by
patriotism’
The
protest
was
part
of
a
national
campaign
to
overturn
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell.”
Started
this
summer
by
Soulforce,
a
gay
religious
advocacy
group,
the
Right
to
Serve
Campaign
has
sought
to
enlist
23
openly
gay
adults
at
11
recruitment
stations
across
the
country.
Organizers
say
all
such
potential
enlistees
“are
motivated
by
patriotism,
family
tradition,
ambition
and
a
sense
of
duty.”
Although
the
Sept.
26
enlistment
attempt
and
protest
occurred
without
incident,
similar
events
elsewhere
have
led
to
arrests
of
gay
supporters.
Police
took
three
people
into
custody
Sept.
12
in
Shreveport,
La.,
after
they
refused
to
leave
a
U.S.
Marine
Corps
recruiting
office.
The
three
were
among
nine
who
tried
to
enlist
that
day.
In
a
statement
released
earlier
this
year,
the
Department
of
Defense
defended
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
as
fair,
and
noted
the
policy
is
federal
law.
“It’s
not
just
a
DoD
policy,”
said
Air
Force
Lt.
Col.
Ellen
Krenke,
a
department
spokesperson.
“For
it
to
be
changed,
there
must
be
a
change
to
the
law.”
At
a
news
conference
Sept.
26
outside
the
recruitment
center,
Bink
called
on
Congress
to
change
a
law
he
said
has
cost
the
nation
more
than
52,000
service
members.
“Is
this
policy
a
good
one
for
our
military?”
he
said.
“Is
this
a
good
policy
to
have
in
wartime?”
Bink
encouraged
people
to
support
the
Military
Readiness
Enhancement
Act,
which
would
overturn
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell.”
“This
policy
is
hurting
the
military,
this
policy
is
hurting
the
country,
and
it’s
wrong,”
he
said.
“It’s
just
plain
wrong.”
Craig
said
the
recruitment
center
protests
are
drawing
new
attention
to
the
military’s
discriminatory
policies,
and
that
attention
is
spurring
new
conversations.
“Those
conversations
spark
other
conversations,”
she
said,
“and
that
creates
change.”
Iraq
veteran
backs
protest
Among
those
who
supported
the
protest
was
Craig’s
partner,
a
former
Navy
sailor.
Chance
Thomas,
a
26-year-old
lesbian,
served
more
than
five
years
in
Iraq,
Afghanistan
and
Cuba
before
being
honorably
discharged
in
December
2005.
Thomas
said
she
served
openly
without
a
problem
and
that
her
commander
knew
she
was
a
lesbian.
She
left
the
Navy
due
to
injury.
“Their
only
argument
to
keep
‘Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell’
is
to
maintain
unit
cohesion,”
she
said.
“I
proved
that
wrong
for
five
and
a
half
years.”
Will
Cobb,
an
independent
candidate
for
D.C.
City
Council
from
Ward
6
and
former
member
of
the
U.S.
Coast
Guard,
also
supported
the
protest.
“We’re
supposed
to
be
the
most
ardent
defender
in
the
world
of
freedom
and
liberty,”
he
said.
“We
can’t
be
concerning
ourselves
with
people’s
sexual
orientation.
We
should
be
focused
on
whether
or
not
they’re
qualified
to
defend
this
country
—
period.”
The
Servicemembers
Legal
Defense
Network,
a
Washington
group
that
seeks
to
end
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell,”
said
in
a
prepared
statement
that
the
protests
are
helpful.
“The
Right
to
Serve
Campaign
challenges
the
federal
government
to
end
its
prohibition
on
open
and
honest
service
by
gay
Americans,”
it
says,
“at
a
time
when
America
can
ill
afford
to
turn
away
even
one
bright,
capable
recruit
in
the
fights
against
terrorism.”
Douglas-Barrera
said
she
and
other
protesters
appreciated
the
support
as
they
work
to
overturn
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell.”
“I
think
it’s
important
because
people
in
the
military
are
giving
up
their
lives
to
serve
the
country,”
she
said.
“If
they’re
doing
that,
they
should
at
least
be
afforded
the
ability
to
be
true
to
who
they
are.”
