Congress_Letter_to

Take a look at Congress'
Letter to Secretary of Defense Gates

Click here to see the Members of Congress who are supporting the 'Sikh Right to Serve' campaign.

Forty-one Members of the United States House of Representatives wrote to Defense Secretary Gates last week, urging him to permit Sikhs to join the U.S. military. The letter was the result of nearly a month of intense lobbying efforts by Sikh Coalition staff, McDermott, Will & Emery attorneys, volunteers from SCORE and hundreds of community members across the nation. Our hope is that the letter will reach the Secretary's desk before he has made a decision about the case, so that his decision takes into account the broad-based support for Sikhs in the military.

Click here to see the Congressional letter to Secretary of Defense Gates.

The letter tells the Secretary "We do not believe that any American should have to choose between his religion and service to our country, and urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure that these two officers -and other Sikhs that may wish to serve -are able to maintain their articles of faith."

It goes on to recognize the special role that Sikhs can play in the military. "Including Sikh Americans will enrich the military's understanding of diverse cultures, languages, and religions, thereby allowing us to fully appreciate not only the rich fabric of our own country but also the lands where we send our soldiers into harm's way."

Community Efforts
Over the past month, we repeatedly requested Sikhs from around the country to reach out to their local representatives, asking them to sign on. Over 1,300 of you took action by emailing or calling your Congress member, and your voices were heard. Specifically, Representatives Matsui, Eshoo, Burton and Stark came on board only because of the tremendous constituent action asking them to sign the letter. Thank you to each and every Sikh who took the time to reach out to his/her representative on this issue.

While this letter shows great support for our community on Capitol Hill, this effort also reminded us of the many challenges we face. Several congressional representatives with sizeable Sikh constituencies or who have been longtime friends of the community, such as Dan Lungren (R-CA) and Joe Wilson (R-SC), refused to support us on this issue.

Plan of Action
Our 'Sikh Right to Serve' campaign will continue until the Army changes its exclusionary policy towards Sikhs. In the coming weeks, the Sikh Coalition will continue to engage with legislators in the House and Senate on the Army issue. In particular, we hope to garner support from members of the Armed Services committees in both houses and release a Senate-side letter on the issue.

If you know of a legislator who would like to support this issue, please feel free to reach out to him or her with the talking points provided in our Advocacy Toolkit. Ask the legislator to send their own letter to Secretary Gates along the lines of the one already sent by Congress. You can also ask them to follow up with us once you have made the initial connection, by emailing us at legislative@sikhcoalition.org.

Thank you for your support.

The following Congress Members Spoke Out for Sikh Soldiers
Rep. Keith Ellison
Rep. Mike Honda
Rep. Jerry Connolly
Rep. Howard Berman
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen
Rep. Carolyn Maloney
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy
Rep. Gary Ackerman
Rep. Joseph Crowley
Rep. Joe Sestak
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee
Rep. Mazie Hirono
Rep. Robert Wexler
Rep. Lois Capps
Rep. Dan Burton
Rep. Bobby Scott
Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard
Rep. Jim McDermott
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks
Rep. Wally Herger
Rep. Brad Sherman
Rep. Steve Rothman
Rep. Judy Chu
Rep. Frank Pallone
Rep. David Price
Rep. Jim Costa
Rep. Rush Holt
Rep. Michael McMahon
Rep. Lance Leonard
Rep. Anna Eshoo
Rep. Mike Doyle
Rep. Ted Poe
Rep. George Radanovich
Rep. Bill Pascrell
Rep. Daniel B. Maffei
Rep. Gwen Moore
Rep. Nita Lowey
Rep. Maurice Hinchey
Rep. Doris Matsui