Roy G. Callahan, USN, Ret.

1529 NW 143rd Street

Gainesville, Florida 32606
Tel: (352) 332-9144
Fax: (352) 332-9144
Call6603@Bellsouth.net

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Open letter to Congress on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:

Don’t ask, Don’t tell is in the news again. Given the staggering level of false information, gross ignorance, or
intentional misdirection on the facts, it is time to set the record straight.

Until the Uniform Code of Military Justice was enacted the Army and Navy operated under laws derived directly from
the British Articles of War, which had been in force since the revolutionary war. World War II was the turning point
because it produced an astonishing 2 million Courts Martials. More than 100 servicemen were executed and 45,000
went to prison. When a public outcry ensued Congress created the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

President Truman signed the legislation on May 5, 1950. More than 15 years before the Supreme Court's historic
Miranda decision, the code gave service members the right to remain silent and to be informed that any statement
could be used against them at court-martial. It also provided free military defense counsel in the most serious court-
martial trials. The code expanded protections for service members.

Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell” bars military commanders from “asking about sexual orientation” absent any evidence of
wrongdoing associated with military code. It also bars gay service members from “telling their sexual orientation,” or
serving in the open. This policy does not make openly serving in the military legal for gays.

Defense Secretary Gates lied when he said, “Failing to repeal the law (DADT) prohibiting openly gay and lesbian
people from serving in the military leaves the services vulnerable to the possibility the courts will order an immediate
and likely chaotic end to the policy. My greatest worry will be that we are at the mercy of the courts and all of the lack
of predictability that that entails."

Gates’ lie stems from the fact that serving openly in the military as a gay was illegal before Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
(DADT). DADT did not make open service in the military legal for gays, it made it legal to serve in the closet, not in
the open. Repealing DADT will not make serving openly in the military legal for gays, quite the opposite - it returns
the issue to long-standing military code on the matter. Contrary to popular belief, the civilian courts have NO
constitutional authority or power over the military or military policy so they have no authority to dictate military code.

If DADT were repealed, long-standing military code denying gays the right to serve in the military in or out of the
closet would return as the law of the land. DADT did not alter military code. It stopped the aggressive pursuit and
prosecution of gays in the military, by military commanders. The UCMJ reads as follows…

“(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same
or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the
offense.
(b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished, as a court-martial may direct.”

The UCMJ allows NO gays in the military in the open or otherwise. Consequently, repealing DADT will NOT make
openly serving in the military legal for gays.

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Furthermore, civilian courts have no authority over the US Military or military code. Congress is the only branch of
government that has the constitutional authority of military oversight and Congress did not pass DADT. It is refusing
to review or repeal DADT at present and neither the judicial nor the executive branch has any constitutional authority
on the subject.

I am concerned that Secretary Gates does not know what the constitution says on this matter or he’s a political
animal that does not care. It is obvious he does not care that analysis of a FY 2009 study found that of all the sexual
assaults in the military, 8.2% of them were same-sex in nature. Comparing that to the general civilian population,
homosexuals in the military are three times more likely to commit sexual assaults relative to their population. Most of
these assaults were men fondling or attempting oral sex on other men while the victim slept or was intoxicated.

Furthermore, a September 2010, CDC fact sheet shows men having sex with men account for 48% of all HIV cases
in the United States. While men having sex with men account for only 4% of the entire population, they are 44 times
more likely to be diagnosed with HIV. In setting public policy, both commanders and politicians must remember that
these are blood-borne diseases. What will commanders do about blood transfusions on the battlefield?

The armed forces represent the last bastion of values and discipline not completely subject to the socialist/secular
mantra. President Barack Hussein Obama is the commander in chief because he is president. He is also the chief
law enforcement officer in this country. He is supposed to enforce the law, not make it.

Congress abrogated its responsibilities and got stupid when it allowed President Clinton who had no morals, ethics
or standards to impose Don’t Ask Don’t Tell on the armed forces. If the Constitution and Rule of Law mean anything
Congress is responsible for rewriting the Uniform Code of Military Justice if Obama is going to have his way allowing
queers to serve.

In closing, I agree with Marine Corps Commandant James Conway who told Congress "At this point, I think that the
current policy works," Conway said. "My best military advice to this committee, to the secretary, to the president
would be to keep the law such as it is.

If you have ethics, morals, or standards I expect you to uphold your oath of office. It is Congresses responsibility to
determine military law, policy and standards, not Obama’s or the courts. Therefore, I expect you to stop Obama and
his fellow travelers and vote accordingly.

Remember, you work for me

Yours in the Bill of Rights,

Roy G. Callahan
Copy to: Florida Representatives, Commandant of the Marine Corps, et al

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