February 8, 2011

On Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011 Congresswoman Gwen Moore was joined by elected officials and community leaders at a press conference held at her Milwaukee office addressing the proposed Voter ID law that Wisconsin’s new Governor Scott Walker and the State Legislature are trying to push through.

Moore felt that it was fitting to hold such a press conference on the Feb. 3, the Anniversary of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This Amendment states that the right of U.S. citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude- this was ratified on Feb. 3, 1870.

WASHINGTON — A group of Democratic lawmakers urged the Defense Department Thursday to allow all service members discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” to apply for honorable-discharge status, which would make them eligible for veterans’ benefits.

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) sent the letter, signed by 32 of her Democratic colleagues, to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. While many service members discharged under DADT received an honorable characterization, many others did not.

“The most likely deterrent to VA benefits for those discharged under DADT is a discharge characterization of ‘other than honorable,” reads the letter, whose signatories also include the four openly gay members of Congress — Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.). “We urge you to study and implement procedures to make it easier for those who believe their discharge characterization under DADT was inappropriate to make their case to the VA and, if successful, to restore those benefits.”