Today the Pentagon released the full results of their report assessing how to implement the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Within the report comes this interesting tidbit: The Pentagon met for months with the Family Research Council (FRC,) now a recognized anti-gay hate group, according to the highly-regarded Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC.)
It should be noted that the report fully supports repeal, despite the efforts of the FRC.
From the report (I have placed in bold the anti-gay groups):
“Consistent with our Terms of Reference, the Working Group engaged a large number of interested and relevant organizations for their advice and viewpoints, including those who are prominent advocates for and against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. These meetings spanned nearly the entire period of our review, beginning with an initial round of meetings, at our invitation, not long after the Working Group was first stood up. The advocacy groups and organizations with which we met included:
- Alliance Defense Fund
- Center for American Progress
- Center for Military Readiness
- Center for Security Policy
- Family Research Council
- Focus on the Family
- Heritage Foundation
- Human Rights Campaign
- Liberty Counsel
- OutServe
- Palm Center for the Study of Sexuality in the Military
- Service Members Legal Defense Network
- SLDN Military Outreach Committee
- Service Members United
- USMA Knights Out
“We attended most of these meetings personally. We learned much from these organizations, and appreciated the many diverse views provided. These views did much to inform the assessments and recommendations in this report. (These meetings with the Working Group, however, should in no way be interpreted as participation by these organizations in the Working Group, or endorsement by them of the Working Group or our assessments and recommendations.)”
(These are not the only organizations the Pentagon met with, just those listed in this section.)
This involvement by so many anti-gay groups gives greater credibility to the study’s positive outcome.
The New Civil Rights Movement
<!–
google_ad_client = “pub-6759057198693805”;
/* 468×60, created 10/21/10 */
google_ad_slot = “8507588931”;
google_ad_width = 468;
google_ad_height = 60;
//–>