Bush Rewards Anti-gay Army General

[WASHINGTON, DC] ? George W. Bush recently nominated Major General Robert Clark for promotion to Lieutenant General, the Army's second highest rank. Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) opposes MG Clark's nomination, and has asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to reject the nomination. SLDN asks that you call, fax or email members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Secretary of Defense to register your strongest objections to the nomination.

MG Clark was commanding general of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in 1999, at the time Private First Class Barry Winchell was brutally murdered by fellow soldiers on base. PFC Winchell, who was targeted because he was believed to be gay, endured daily anti-gay harassment while stationed at Fort Campbell. A Department of Defense Inspector General's report issued shortly after PFC Winchell's murder found that anti-gay harassment was commonplace and that MG Clark had failed to train his soldiers on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" or the military's anti-harassment policies.

After Winchell's murder, Clark's actions made a bad situation worse. MG Clark issued no statements against harassment, refused to speak with or meet the parents of PFC Winchell or to reassure base soldiers that harassment would not be tolerated. MG Clark also issued a direct order making it a criminal offense to go to a gay bar, in direct violation of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and refused to permit SLDN to place an ad in the base paper alerting soldiers to the fact that they could anonymously report anti-gay harassment at the base to the Army Inspector General.

The Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) has the authority to reject MG Clark's nomination. We must act soon since the senate may confirm the nomination this
Friday.

WE URGE YOU TO IMMEDIATELY PHONE, FAX OR EMAIL THE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE AND EXPRESS YOUR DISMAY AT THIS LATEST ATTEMPT TO REWARD THOSE WHO HARASS, OR CONDONE ANTI-GAY HARASSMENT, IN OUR ARMED FORCES.

Please contact Senator Levin, the Committee's chair, and Secretary Rumsfeld, today.

Carl Levin (D-MI)
Tel
Fax
[email protected]

Also contact Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. You can post your comments to Secretary Rumsfeld online at http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html#Form.

And, if you are a constituent of an Armed Services Committee member identified below, please fax or email their offices to oppose MG Clark's nomination:

Susan Collins (R-ME)
Tel
[email protected]

Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Tel
[email protected]

Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)
Tel
[email protected]

Max Cleland (D-GA)
Tel
http://cleland.senate.gov/~cleland/webform.html

Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Tel
[email protected]

Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)
Tel
[email protected]

Jean Carnahan (D-MO)
Tel
[email protected]

Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Tel
http://dayton.senate.gov/webform.html

Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Tel
[email protected]

For background information on Major General Clark, please visit SLDN at http://www.sldn.org. A synopsis of Clark's tenure at Fort Campbell is available for download in PDF format.

Please remember to contact Senator Levin, or other members of the Armed Services Committee, as early as possible. MG Clark's promotion would place a former commanding general, with a documented history of allowing anti-gay harassment, threats and intimidation among his troops among the Army's highest ranking officers.

Our nation, and PFC Winchell's legacy, deserve better.

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Founded in 1973, NGLTF works to eliminate prejudice, violence and injustice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people at the local, state and national level. As part of a broader social justice movement for freedom, justice and equality, NGLTF is creating a world that respects and celebrates the diversity of human expression and identity where all people may fully participate in society.

To reach the NGLTF Communications department, please call or (pager), or send an email to