I received the letter below from Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass)
yesterday.  He also enclosed a reprint from the Congressional Record
(Vol. 139, No. 129) containing his remarks to the House during the
final debate, but it was too long for me to type.

Mr. Studds mentions the RAND report.  It still angers me that this
well-documented and balanced report (that was paid for with taxpayer
money) was not made available to the public in time to be received,
to be read, and to become part of the debate.  I believe the Pentagon
should be required to send at least the RAND chapter on Unit Cohesion
to everyone who received its own in-house study!! -- Lois

Letter from Mr. Studds:

Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
October 21, 1993

Dear Ms. Morrison:

Last January, President Clinton ignited a firestorm when he affirmed
his intention to permit lesbians and gay men to serve openly in our
nation's armed forces.  I wrote to you some weeks ago as the battle
still raged and promised to be in touch with you again when the smoke
cleared.  Now that that moment has come, I would like to share some
thoughts with you about the experience we have been through and to
speak about the future.

Those of us who have fought to overturn the ban cannot fail to be
deeply disappointed at the action taken by congress.  The majority
has chosen to enact into law a policy of overt discrimination that
rests on a single unsubstantiated claim:  that the mere presence of
lesbians and gays men in the military will provoke such hostility
against them as to destroy unit cohesion and morale.

That claim is flatly contradicted my a mountain of objective
evidence -- much of it assembled at the behest of Congress and the
military itself. Indeed, the latest report, a $1.3 million RAND
Corporation study commissioned by the Department of Defense,
concluded that the ban could be lifted with minimal disruption to
military life, provided that the policy change was communicated
clearly and consistently from the top and reinforced throughout the
chain of command.

In other words, the answer is *leadership*.  Leadership means standing
up to prejudice -- not surrendering to it.  The actions taken by the
House and Senate show how rare such leadership is.

I would have preferred to see this matter left in the hands of the
President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  The policy they endorsed
last July was far from the result for which I had hoped, but it was a
beginning.  It offered modest improvements in the lives of lesbian
and gay service members and held out the hope of further progress as
our society continues to advance its understanding and toleration of
human differences.

The vote by the Congress to codify an even more restrictive version
of that policy is a cruel setback, but a temporary one.  The great
national debated we have witnessed during these months has set in
motion a process from which there is no turning back.

While that debate was not always as thoughtful and constructive as
one might have hoped, it provided a forum for the most sustained,
frank and open discussion in our history of what it means to be a gay
person in America.  Members of Congress and the public alike heard
the brave testimony of patriotic men and women who have served their
country honorably and well, enduring insults and hysteria with
dignity and pride.

In the past few weeks, there have been hopeful signs that the
message is finally getting through.  Three federal district courts
have questioned the constitutionality of the ban and restrained the
government from enforcing the policy pending a final decision on the
merits.  In one of these cases, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth
District has rejected the efforts of the Department of Defense to
block enforcement of the order of the district court.

I hope the courts will ultimately finish what the President began by
striking down the ban.  But whatever happens in these cases, we must
not lose heart.  *Every* civil rights movement has been an
incremental progression, with setbacks and compromise along the way. 
We will lose some battles, as we have on this occasion.  But our
cause is just, and we shall prevail.  Our country shall yet rise up
and live out the true meaning of its creed.

Through your willingness to stand up and be counted, you have hastened
that day.  Thank you, once again, for your support.

Kind regards,
Sincerely,
Gerry Studds