Tuesday: KLRU Presents Advance Screening of Ask Not [RSVP]

Before it airs on PBS in four weeks, the Independent Lens documentary Ask Not will play advance screenings in 50 cities across the U.S., and we are lucky enough to be one of them. Tonight, KLRU hosts its second Community Cinema screening featuring this documentary, which explores the effects that the incredibly discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has had on our nation's military and its gay and lesbian service members.

Passed in 1993, DADT sent ripples of anger and fear through the gay and lesbian community, as current and veteran soldiers tried to come to terms with the fact that they were suddenly considered second class citizens. While serving proudly for our country in foreign lands, soldiers were forced to edit their public persona, or face discharge from the service, or worse. Ask Not takes a hard look at the political puppetry that played out in order to get DADT passed in the first place, and chronicles the stories of those who were caught in the crossfire, asking how the U.S. military can claim to represent democracy and freedom while denying one segment of the population the right to serve.

Held in the venerable halls of the KLRU Austin City Limits studio, the doors to the Community Cinema screening of Ask Not will open at 6:30 p.m., with the film starting promptly at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a questions and answer discussion with local veterans about the DADT policy and how it affected their experience in the military. If you want to attend—and we highly recommend it after the enlightening discussion we participated in regarding gang related activity in Austin during the last Community Cinema screening—you need to RSVP. And, just like last time, the screening is absolutely free. For a preview of the film, click through the jump.

Independent Lens' Ask Not will air on Tuesday, June 16, at 9 p.m. on KLRU.