San Francisco Counter-recruiters in Ballot Battle

Tweet Portion below; whole thing here:
http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Guest_Editorial_Pro_JROTC_Forces_Submit_Ballot_Initiative_Today_5840.html

Supporters of the Pentagon's JROTC program (Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corp) plan to turn in signatures today for their initiative aimed at the November ballot. The initiative asks San Francisco voters to overturn previous landslide votes opposing both military recruiters in our schools and the War in Iraq, and declare itself in favor of the controversial military program.

Estimates of the number of signatures the pro-JROTC forces have range from 10,000 to 13,000, according to press reports. The campaign needs about 7,000 valid signatures to qualify. JROTC cadets were heavily involved in the collection of signatures, even though nearly all of the cadets are too young to vote or legally circulate initiative petitions. The Department of Elections will need to look carefully at these petitions during the signature verification process.

If the initiative qualifies for the ballot, the stakes will be very high for opponents of JROTC. We will either win big or lose big. If the initiative passes, it will be a huge setback for JROTC opponents. What school district in the nation will consider getting rid of JROTC if even San Francisco voters declare support for the program?

But if we defeat this initiative, it will send a resounding message to our local school board and to the nation at large that the Pentagon can be defeated, and that a military recruitment program like JROTC does not belong in our schools. This will be a material blow to the war-makers who want to keep troops in Iraq for the next "100 years."

Opponents of JROTC have at least one potential advantage in this campaign: we can expect a huge gay and lesbian turnout to defeat the ban on same-sex marriage. JROTC is a discriminatory program. JROTC instructors are all retired military officers, and no military officer can be openly gay or lesbian while in the service -- they must live a lie their entire military career. JROTC cadets who are openly gay or lesbian would be required to go back into the closet if they choose to join the notoriously anti-gay US military. JROTC inevitably sends a homophobic message to our school children, both those inside and outside of the program.

Staunch opponents of JROTC include Mark Sanchez, the gay President of the school board; former school board member and soon-to-be state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano; and the well-respected tenant activist Tommi Avicolli-Mecca. Both the Alice B. Toklas and Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Clubs are opposed to JROTC.