On June 22, 2010, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress, wrote a letter to a constituent, Jim McKay, stating, “Repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ does not change the composition of our armed forces–it merely allows troops to continue to do their jobs without fear of dismissal or blackmailing because of their personal life.”
Six days later, Senator Robert Byrd, 92-years old, died.
Senator Robert Byrd has a unique history, having initially fought against the civil rights battles of the 1960’s, but later worked to support civil rights. While he can’t be described as a gay rights supporter, his work on repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should not be ignored, especially as he opposed allowing gays into the military when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was being debated in 1993.
Senator Byrd definitely was a man of thought, and wasn’t afraid to reconsider his positions over time, including on issues like “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Surely, if in the last days of his life, a conservative Democrat like Senator Robert Byrd felt repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a sufficiently important cause to work on, our United States Senators in the last days of this session can take the time to repeal it. And Republicans like Mitch McConnell should never again diminish the work their body undertakes as “a waste of time,” even if it means investing time.
The people of this great country deserve it. Senator Byrd, no doubt, would have agreed.
Robert Byrd Supports DADT Repeal
http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=44773352&access_key=key-a86p72fg1lv7ywbxjlw&page=1&viewMode=list
My sincere thanks to Jim McKay for allowing us to publish this letter the late Senator personally write to Mr. McKay. He writes, “No one would have blamed him for not getting involved in DADT, especially with his earlier conservative positions, but he was actively working to advance legislation to do the right thing. My hope is that Senator Manchin would do the same thing.”
Jim McKay is State Coordinator of Prevent Child Abuse WV, a non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent the abuse and neglect of West Virginia’s children.
Previously, Jim was Program Coordinator of a crisis shelter for runaway youth, and worked for The Education Alliance, a statewide non-profit promoting private support for public education. Jim served as Legislative Assistant to the Speaker of the WV House of Delegates from 1991-1994. Jim currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance of Children’s Trust & Prevention Funds and is Chair of the WV Legislative Action Team for Children & Families.
Jim McKay has been blogging since 2002 at his personal blog, Wabi-Sabi. He is also a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and wvablue.com and was a credentialed member of the WV State Blogger Corps at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.
(Image: Senator Robert Byrd speaks with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, November 30, 2006)
The New Civil Rights Movement
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