Lady Gaga is militant about gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honorably in the United States military. Last Sunday, the provocative performer attended the MTV Video Music Awards with former military personnel who had been ousted because of their sexual orientation.
Then there was her stand on Twitter: Lady Gaga, the most followed user on the microblogging service, tweeted to her fans to demand that the U.S. Senate schedule a vote to repeal the odious "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy that has been in place since 1993 and which has been used to end the military careers of more than 14,000 men and women. A response came back from @HarryReid, presumably the tag of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (it turns out that the tweeted response came from the Senator's reelection campaign), informing the singer and all of her millions of fans:
Today, Lady Gaga released a video (below) in conjunction with the Serviceperson's Legal Defense Network (SLDN) denouncing DADT, calling out the Senators (particularly John McCain, R-AZ) who want to keep the policy in place, and urging everyone to call their Senators before Monday, September 20, and ask them to vote to repeal that egregiously discriminatory policy. The video is moving for a number of reasons: its straightforward presentation of the harm caused by DADT; Lady Gaga's candor and clear, unwavering support for the repeal; her use of her real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta; and, perhaps most of all, for her inability to get through on the telephone to either Senator Chuck Schumer or Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Lady Gaga says she'll keep trying until she gets her message across. Will you?
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