Alongside the petition, up at AmericansForTheMilitary.com, spokesperson Elaine Donnelly, in a video message, urges the viewing public to back the continued use of 10 USC 654, better known as the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, put in place to deny gay and lesbian soldiers the right to serve in the military openly.

"It is outrageous that some in our country would answer the service and sacrifice of their fellow citizens by calling for them to be fired simply because of who they are," Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays executive director Jody M. Huckaby said today.

Over 12,000 servicemembers have been discharged from the military under "Don't Ask" since its enactment in 1993, and two more join those ranks every day.

"Congress passed a law confirming that homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military," Donnelly says. "But now the gay activists are back. This time, they are using the Internet to organize and push hard for repeal of the law. We cannot allow them to win."

"Our national priority should be on the qualification of potential service members, not on discriminating against them because of who they are," countered retired Air Force Colonel and PFLAG board member Daniel Tepfer. "I know many stellar lesbian and gay troops who also served proudly, but who could not serve openly about their lives and their loved ones. Our national priority should be on the qualification of potential service members, not on discriminating against them because of who they are."

"Ms. Donnelly has recycled the same tired, misleading and disproven rhetoric that has been used for years to keep too many qualified Americans out of our armed forces," Huckaby added. "All the while, an estimated 65,000 LGBT Americans continue to proudly report for duty in our nation’s military and keep Americans, including Ms. Donnelly, safe and secure.

"The best way to show pride in our troops is by saluting their service, not signing their pink slips. This new campaign is not only disrespectful to our men and women in uniform, but it is also a disservice to their families, who also continue to be impacted by this unconscionable law."

Notable calls to repeal "Don't Ask" include those from former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman John Shalikashvili, retired Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, and former Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Reagan,

Dr. Lawrence J. Korb.

Dr. Korb, in an April 16 speech to the House Committee on Armed Services, called for various measures to ease the strain on an overstretched and abused volunteer military force in Iraq and Afghanistan, including no longer discriminating based on gender or sexual orientation.

"The Army and Marine Corps cannot afford to place unnecessary obstacles in the way of qualified men and women who want to serve," Korb said. "We only impede our ability to build a 21st-century military by constructing barriers where none need exist."

ALSO SEE: Tepfer: 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy too costly to keep