WASHINGTON, D.C. — Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ( SLDN ) , a national, legal services and policy organization dedicated to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ( DADT ) , released a letter today from Clifton Truman Daniel -- grandson to President Harry Truman -- written to President Barack Obama. The letter calls on Obama to repeal DADT this year because it's "the right thing to do. This year is the right time to do it." In July 1948, Truman announced his decision to desegregate the U.S. Armed Forces despite strong opposition. Read the letter: www.sldn.org/letters .
The letter is the 10th in a series by SLDN and a coalition of online voices in support of repeal. "Stories from the Frontlines: Letters to President Barack Obama" is a new media campaign to underscore the urgent need for congressional action and presidential leadership at this critical point in the fight to repeal DADT. Every weekday morning as we approach the markup of the Defense Authorization bill in the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, SLDN and a coalition of voices supporting repeal, will share an open letter to the President from a person impacted by this discriminatory law. We are urging the President to include repeal in the Administration's defense budget recommendations, but also to voice his support as we work to muster the 15 critical votes needed on the Senate Armed Services Committee to include repeal.
