WASHINGTON -- Wednesday in the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), the Military Personnel Subcommittee met to consider the new 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.

As we advised last week, this was a moment during which a harmful amendment to derail or even "repeal the repeal" of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) could arise. This week, SLDN sent a letter from a group of veterans discharged under DADT to HASC members to oppose such an action.

Indeed, the bill reported out of subcommittee today attempts to lay a foundation for an anticipated hostile repeal amendment, taking a page out of the 1993 DADT debate by citing the "unique nature, demands, and hardships of military service" and the "forced intimacy and little privacy" inherent in some military working conditions. The opposition set the stage, and the subcommittee approved this thinly veiled homophobic language lifted almost word-for-word from the 1993 statute authorizing DADT.

Though the subcommittee did not take a vote on a hostile amendment today, the full House Armed Services Committee will meet and will likely vote on such an amendment next Wednesday, May 11th.

We cannot sit idly by as repeal opponents cook up their latest scheme to turn back the clock and keep discrimination on the books. We still have time to call HASC members and tell them to oppose this dangerous obstructionism.

Some of the members below are new to the House and have not voted on this issue; others have voted for repeal in the past but still need to hear from constituents. They need to hear from YOU.

Call the representatives below and tell them not to stand in the way of DADT repeal.

Click here for suggested talking points, and to report your calls.

- Rep. Chris Gibson (NY-20): (202) 225-5614

- Rep. Joe Heck (NV-3): (202) 225-3252

- Rep. Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2): (202) 225-6572

- Rep. Todd Platts (PA-19): (202) 225-5836

- Rep. Jon Runyan (NJ-3): (202) 225-4765

- Rep. Bobby Schilling (IL-17): (202) 225-5905

Stand up for equality and call these representatives today.

Thank you for staying in the fight and making your voice heard. Let's hold this line together.