The following statement by Wages Due Lesbians was given at an October 20th event in Philadelphia (US) featuring Gloria Pacis, the mother of imprisoned US Marine refuser Stephen Funk.
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Gloria was on a speaking tour in support of her son who is currently in jail for 6 months on bogus charges of "unauthorized absence". Gloria spoke of the need to join together against the war and occupation which Steven, a gay man of Filipino and Native American descent, opposed and called on other soldiers to oppose. She also read part of a letter Stephen wrote to her from prison to say he's doing fine, but would like to see supporters protesting to military authorities over the disproportionate length of his sentence.

Other speakers were Payday, American Friends Service Committee's National Youth and Militarism Program and Philadelphila ANSWER (Act Now To Stop War and End Racism). A representative from the Every Mother is a Working Mother Network spoke from the floor about how many mothers and their children are entering the military as one of the few options left since welfare benefits have been cut. As a military veteran in the audience summed it up, when soldiers' mothers come out against their children being sent to war, it's the beginning of the end.

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International WDL is glad to be part of this event, and are delighted to meet Gloria to hear firsthand about the fight you are making on Stephen's behalf. So many mothers, sisters, wives and partners internationally are working to get justice for their loved ones as you are, but this vital work so often done by women is usually hidden and invisible.

IWDL, a grassroots multi-racial lesbian and bisexual women's org, has been organizing in the US and in London and Barcelona, Spain against the war and occupation of Iraq and before that the war on Afghanistan. We were very glad when we first heard about the stand Stephen took in refusing to go to Iraq and immediately got involved in support work alongside Payday. Our organizing has focused on getting the word out and building support in lesbian and gay communities, including lesbian/gay press and organizations. In London for example, WDL fought together with Payday to get a feature article on Stephen in the Pink Paper, the main national weekly lesbian and gay newspaper. The PP now has regular updates on Stephen's case and opened a correspondence about gays in the military. (Copies on your seat)

It's way past time that debate opened up. One of the more visible demands of some mainstream lesbian and
gay organizations has been the right to join and be out in the military. We know that as with other low- income people, many lesbian women and gay men join the military to get the healthcare, housing, education or job training not otherwise available. We appreciated Stephen's comment that: "I believe that homosexuals should be able to serve if they choose, and that Don't Ask Don't Tell is an awful policy that only helps the military perpetuate anti-gay sentiment among its ranks. However, I am not an advocate for gay inclusion in the military because I personally do not support military action."

Many activists in the grassroots lesbian and gay movement say that we haven't fought long and hard for the "equal right" to kill. Having an integrated military that bombs, tortures and maims people is not a victory anyone should celebrate. Those who claim to be for lesbian/gay liberation but who are only concerned about their right to their own personal sex lives and a privileged lifestyle, and refuse to address all the repression that lesbian/gay people and others face around the globe, are part of what we are up against.

We are also opposing Junior ROTC in Philadelphia public schools, because we don't want other young people - gay or straight - but primarily low-income and from communities of color, preyed upon and recruited to be killers or cannon fodder as their main career option. Nor do we want resources that are desperately needed in schools to be misused for JROTC programs, or resources desperately needed in our communities to be used for the military. We are pleased that Phila Lesbian and Gay Taskforce has also been outspoken against JROTC, and not because the military discriminates against gays, but for the same reasons we are.

And it is a hopeful sign of the times that major les/gay organizations like the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce, the Metropolitan Community Church and even the Log Cabin Republicans (who are reactionary on many issues) all came out against the war on Iraq.

Finally, IWDL is part of the Global Women's Strike, whose slogan many people here know is "Invest in caring, not killing." We want payment for caring work, and no payment for the work of not caring, beginning with the work of being in the military and killing. We don't want men to do it, nor do we celebrate the entry of women into this "non- traditional" work, where now women are 1 in 7 of the military personnel in Iraq, and the majority are women of color. There is no "Pride" in the slaughter of others for the sake of profit. Like Stephen has done, it is up to us in the "belly of the beast" to support and organize with our sisters and brothers in Iraq and in other countries in the South, like the people in Venezuela, in Bolivia and other countries who are resisting the US government's attempt at world domination. Stephen's fight is an inspiration to all of us - we send him strength and will continue to campaign for his immediate release.

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