Author: Claire Larson
“You don’t have to be straight to shoot straight.”
This remark, made on Feb. 2 by Senator Mark Udall at a Congressional hearing on the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, expresses the philosophy shared by those who support Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen’s campaign to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. Armed Forces. There should be no question about the inequitable nature of this law. But for those who don’t support this basic citizen’s right in our country, the issue seems less black and white. Or, should I say, gay and straight.
In his State of the Union address, President Obama pledged to overturn this law in 2010. On Feb. 2, Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen introduced plans to the Senate Armed Forces Committee (SAFC) to repeal the 17-year-old policy, one that discharges members of the military based on sexual orientation alone. But, thanks to the law’s conservative defenders, it could very well take years of calculated delays and excuses before a progressive policy is implemented.
Leading the rightwing hoopla are representatives like Senators John McCain and Saxby Chambliss. McCain has cited our current military predicament as a reason not to overturn the policy, telling The New York Times that its repeal is “too much to ask of a military that is already under stress fighting two wars.” Maybe if the military would stop discharging gay soldiers (which the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network [SLDN] reported as 13,500 since 1993) and valuable gay Arabic translators, the war effort wouldn’t be so stressful.
Chambliss presented an entirely different realm of complex problems the military will have to consider if “don’t ask, don’t tell” is repealed. He stated at last Tuesday’s Congressional hearing that military life includes “restrictions on personal behavior that would not be acceptable in civilian society.” His examples? Alcohol use, adultery, fraternization, and body art. “If we change this rule of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’,” Chambliss wondered, “what are we gonna do with these other rules?” Now, there’s a thinker! Chambliss is worried that we may soon be the most tattooed army on the planet, not to mention the gayest.
McCain and Chambliss speak on behalf of a growing sentiment among conservatives that completing the repeal and integration process to reverse “don’t ask, don’t tell” will require time-consuming policy changes in the military. The more conservative defendants continue to anticipate difficulties that will arise from dismantling the law, the more the process is postponed. I find none of their excuses weighty enough to require such a delay.
Senior military officials at the Pentagon are already distraught over “changes” the military will need to prepare for, according to New York Times’ sources. Among their anxieties are how repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” will affect policies on benefits, base housing, fraternization, misconduct, unit cohesion, recruiting, and retention. Chambliss, also considering these predicaments, explained: “the presence in the Armed Forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would very likely create an unacceptable risk to those high standards of morale, good order and discipline.”
The U.S. Army should take a better look at the number of servicewomen raped by fellow servicemen before accusing gays of presenting risks to morale. According to a L.A. Times op-ed from 2008, the Dept. of Defense reported nearly 3,000 cases of sexual assault on women in the military in the previous year. Studies already show that the presence of LGBT service members has no adverse consequences on military effectiveness. The SLDN Web site reports that in countries like Canada and Great Britain, where gays serve openly, recruiting and retention are unchanged. Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the SAFC, estimates that 60,000 closeted military personnel currently serve in the U.S. Army. They’ve made a tough decision to defend a country that refuses to acknowledge them. Imagine the thousands more who would volunteer if their help was valued.
McCain and others who argue that repealing the policy poses a threat to military “readiness” ought to consider the increased readiness of an army that encourages, rather than disgraces, participation from able recruits.
Other findings by SLDN show that nearly 75 percent of military personnel are comfortable serving with gays and lesbians, and a quarter of enlisted servicemen know someone in their unit who is gay. Admiral Mullen said in the Congressional meeting last Tuesday, “I have served with homosexuals since 1968. Everybody in the military has, and we understand that.” The effects of repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” will not need to be subjected to a prejudiced test-run. It will not require re-writing the military’s body of laws. It will not undermine military readiness. There are no valid excuses to prevent a dedicated volunteer from serving in the Army based on his or her sexual orientation.
Depriving the military of the help it needs by rejecting those who willingly join its ranks is an injustice 17 years overdue. This can’t wait 17 more.
Claire Larson is an undeclared sophomore. She can be reached at clarson@oxy.edu.
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