There’s Wrong. and Then There’s Army Wrong: The U.S. Military’s Policy on Gay and Lesbian Service Members

Good enough to lay down their life for their country, but not acceptable enough to mention the person they love. This is the sad reality (and legally supported discrimination) many members of the queer community face every day they step foot on an American military base to report for duty. In WWII the American Government passed a law banning gay and lesbian citizens from defending the country they love. Named the ‘Home of the Free’, America refuses to let LGBTQ citizens defend the country that should in fact be defending them. Various flimsy and unfounded reasons are given for the policy, appropriately named ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and since its enactment, many of the ignorant excuses have been challenged, even by high ranking officers with decades of military leadership experience. And they are the ones who would truly see the hazards these rampant, gay, gun-toting individuals can inflict upon the strongest military force in the world, right?

In 2007, 28 former military chiefs collectively called for a repeal of the discriminatory policy that bars homosexual members from disclosing their sexual orientation. Coinciding with the 14^th anniversary of the controversial policy, a letter from the generals called for congress to scrap the restriction. The letter read “Those of us signing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish”[1]. These officials, recognizing that not all battles for freedom are fought on the battlefield, made the noble decision to speak for those who were not permitted to speak for themselves for fear of persecution. This bill is not simply the ceremonial carry-over of conservative motivated policy. It is not empty and is enforced with over 10,000 men and women being permanently, dishonourably relieved of their duties since 1993. However in recent years the number is falling most likely due to changing attitudes towards homosexual rights and their superiors’ reluctance to apply the policy resulting in only 612 members being fired in 2006.

The tribulations of serving LGBTQ individuals are akin to the manner in which other minorities were treated in the recent past. Racial minorities such as Blacks and Aboriginals as well as women who were targets of sexism have had to swim against the tide just like gays and lesbians of today. However, at times these parties were permitted to serve their country in times when additional troops were needed. This shines the spotlight on one of the commonly used explanations as to why gays and lesbians are banned – because it was predicted that they would upset order and stability amongst the troops, thus causing conflicts as well as distracting their peers from the task at hand[2]. If this rationale is indeed true, in crucial times during WWII the mission was knowingly put in jeopardy at a point in time when the mission had to be treated in the most diligent manner possible. Apparently gay U.S. Force members were suddenly acceptable candidates for recruitment. There have been no (to the knowledge of the public) government reports of missions being hindered as a result of a troop member’s sexual orientation.