OutServe-SLDN was a network of
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
military personnel, formed as a result of the merger between OutServe and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. OutServe-SLDN was one of the largest LGBT employee resource groups in the world. OutServe was founded by a 2009 graduate of the
US Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Unit ...
,
Josh Seefried
Josh Seefried (born February 6, 1986) is an LGBT rights activist, a former captain in the United States Air Force, and a former co-chairman on the Board of Directors of ''OutServe-SLDN,'' an association of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ...
(also known as
JD Smith to protect his identity) and Ty Walrod. There were over 7,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide.
On July 2, 2012, OutServe announced that it would merge with
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
OutServe-SLDN was a network of LGBT military personnel, formed as a result of the merger between OutServe and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. OutServe-SLDN was one of the largest LGBT employee resource groups in the world. OutServe was ...
, an organization that advocates on behalf of and provides legal services to gay and lesbian military personnel and veterans, in October 2012. On October 25, 2012,
Allyson Robinson was the first Executive Director of OutServe-SLDN following the merger of those two organizations.
She was the first transgender person to ever lead a national LGBT rights organization that does not have an explicit
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
focus.
As part of an extensive reorganization and a review of the organization's mission and finances, which included some public airing of internal dissension and inability to fund its current operations, Josh Seefried resigned from the Board on July 8, 2013 Less than nine months after hiring Robinson, OutServe-SLDN's board announced it was bankrupt and had to close its Washington D.C. headquarters; on the same day, Robinson announced that her resignation as executive director would take effect the following day, July 12, 2013. The board announced that for at least a year it plans to focus on the financial crisis and the payment of debts, followed by an eventual return to providing "advocacy, development, or other support." Since that time, OutServe-SLDN continued to actively serve its over 7,000 members and in early 2014 engaged with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding Marriage Equality Cases in Oklahoma and Utah.
In May 2019, OutServe-SLDN merged with the
American Military Partner Association
The American Military Partner Association (AMPA) was a non-profit organization for the partners, spouses, and families of America's LGBT service members and veterans.
AMPA traced its roots to the "Campaign for Military Partners," an organization ...
(AMPA) to form th
Modern Military Association of America(MMAA), a united voice for the LGBTQ military and veteran community. MMAA continues the missions of both OutServe-SLDN and AMPA through education, advocacy, and support for LGBTQ service members, veterans, military spouses, family members and allies.
Leadership
Allyson Robinson was the first Executive Director of OutServe-SLDN,
following the merger of those two organizations. She was the first transgender person to ever lead a national LGBT rights organization that does not have an explicit
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
focus.
![OutServe Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/OutServe_Logo.jpg)
There are leaders for each of the 80+ chapters worldwide, whose identities, as well as those of all members, were kept anonymous under DADT. With the expiration of DADT on September 20, 2011, JD Smith revealed his true identity. One hundred and one OutServe members in total came out publicly with the end of DADT.
Membership
![Stuttgart - CSD 2016 - Parade - OutServe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Stuttgart_-_CSD_2016_-_Parade_-_OutServe.jpg)
As of April 2011, OutServe was divided into 42 regional chapters, with a total membership of over 5,000 members. It included personnel from the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
,
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
,
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
,
Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
and
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
, both commissioned
officers
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
and
enlisted
Enlisted may refer to:
* Enlisted rank
An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or ...
. Due to privacy concerns, OutServe's Membership was closely guarded and monitored. Each chapter has an internally selected leader. Several chapters have hosted meetings and social gatherings aimed at improving the morale and quality of life of the members. The structure of OutServe was inspired by the British military's Proud2Serve organization. As of 2014, OutServe has continued to grow and now has a total membership of over 7,000 members in 80+ chapters worldwide.
General
In June 2010, OutServe sent a letter criticizing the Comprehensive Review Working Group's initial decision to exclude
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
and
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
military personnel from the DADT review process.
On July 26, 2010, OutServe was falsely accused of claiming to be the first organization to directly represent active-duty service members, specifically. Walrod said that OutServe was not interested in claiming credit for the work of other organizations and only aimed to give a voice to personnel silenced by the DADT policy.
At the end of August 2011, the DOD approved the distribution of ''
OutServe Magazine'' at Army and Air Force base exchanges beginning with the September 20 issue, coinciding with the end of DADT.
''OutServe Magazine''
''OutServe Magazine'', co-founded by Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan Mills and Capt Edward Sweeney, was a bi-monthly periodical digital and print publication of OutServe, a non-profit, non-government organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members in the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
. It was first published online in March 2011, while OutServe was still operating clandestinely prior to the repeal of the "
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...
" policy that banned open gays from service. The Magazine was later printed and distributed to military bases, the first magazine of its kind to receive DoD approval for distribution, beginning the day of the implementation of DADT repeal. The publication was distributed free of charge to the military, and was available to the public for downloading and redistribution through its website and mobile apps. The Magazine published its final issue in June 2013, one month before the resignation of key OutServe-SLDN leaders. The Magazine's archived issues can be found a
MagCloud
SLDN
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) was founded as a non-profit legal services, watchdog, and policy organization founded in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1993. It was dedicated to ending
discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
and
harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...
of
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
and
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
U.S. military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
personnel negatively affected by the "
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December ...
" (DADT) policy which was established that same year. Before being merged into OutServe-SLDN, SLDN documented over 700 violations in the policy's first two years of operation. As of January 2011, it provided legal aid to more than 10,000 service members.
Lawsuits
In June 2008, the
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Maine
* District of Massachusetts
* ...
ruled against SLDN in ''
Cook v. Gates'', in which SLDN's twelve clients sought reinstatement in the military after being discharged under DADT.
On October 27, 2011, SLDN sued the Department of Defense, challenging Section 3 of the
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...
(DOMA) and two statutes that detail military benefits. In a November 21 filing, SLDN argued:
The case, ''McLaughlin v. Panetta'', was put on hold at the request of both sides in anticipation of the outcome of two other First Circuit cases that were being appealed, ''
Gill v. Office of Personnel Management
''Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management'', 682 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2012) is a United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decision that affirmed the judgment of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts in a lawsuit challe ...
'' and ''
''. On February 17, 2012, the DOJ announced it could not defend the constitutionality of the statutes challenged in the case. The
Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group
The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) has been a standing body of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 that directs the activities of the . BLAG can direct the General Counsel to participate in litigation or file an ''amicus curiae'' ...
(BLAG) of the U.S. House of Representatives sought to undertake the defense, and as of May 2012, the parties were disputing BLAG's right to intervene.
See also
*
USNA Out
USNA Out is an American non-profit organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Alumni of the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. USNA Out is an independent 501(c)(3) organization that does not represent ...
*
Servicemembers United
Servicemembers United (SU) was an LGBT-interest organization dedicated to the repeal of the United States armed forces' gay-exclusionary policy, commonly known as "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT). The organization, formerly known as "Call to Duty", ...
*
OutServe Magazine
*
The American Military Partner Association
The American Military Partner Association (AMPA) was a non-profit organization for the partners, spouses, and families of America's LGBT service members and veterans.
AMPA traced its roots to the "Campaign for Military Partners," an organization ...
References
External links
OutServe official website*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Outserve
Don't ask, don't tell
Government-related professional associations
LGBT military-related organizations
LGBT political advocacy groups in the United States
LGBT professional associations
United States military associations
United States military support organizations