'Ultimately, the law is being enforced using gay profiling,' GaGa says about 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy which dismisses gays and lesbians from the U.S. military.
- September 18, 2010
AceShowbiz - Lady GaGa has continued her crusade against the U.S. military's anti-gay 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy by calling on former presidential hopeful John McCain to change his stance on the controversial ruling in a new online video.
The "Poker Face" hitmaker has been outspoken in her support for soldiers who have been discharged from the U.S. armed forces for being gay, and turned the spotlight on the issue at last weekend's MTV Video Music Awards by taking fired Air Force members as her dates to the event. She also recently reached out to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, urging him to boost a vote to allow people to serve in the military regardless of their sexuality.
A vote to repeal the ban on openly gay and lesbian soldiers is planned for next week and GaGa has taken to her website to urge the likes of McCain, Kentucky's Mitch McConnell and Oklahoma's James Inhofe - who all oppose plans to repeal the rule - to reconsider and vote in favor of the Defense Authorization Bill.
She says, " 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' is a law that was created in 1993 that prevents gays from serving openly in the military. Since then 14,000 Americans have been discharged from the armed forces, refused the right to serve their country and sent home, regardless of honorable service or how valuable they were to their units... Ultimately, the law is being enforced using gay profiling... In short, not only is the law unconstitutional, but it's not even being properly enforced by the government."
"I am here to be a voice for my generation, not the generation of the senators who are voting, but for the youth of this country, the generation that is affected by this law and whose children will be affected. We are not asking you to agree with or approve the moral implications of homosexuality; we're asking you to do your job, to protect the constitution."
Gaga is even shown attempting to reach Democrats Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand in her native New York. She fails to contact them via phone but promises to continue calling "until I reach them".
She adds, "I will not stop calling until I reach them and I can leave them this message: 'I am a constituent of the senator, my name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also known as Lady GaGa. I'm calling to ask the senator to vote with Senators Reid and Levin to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and oppose John McCain's shameless filibuster. We need to do this for our gay and lesbian soldiers, and finally repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'."
