It's finally time for you to head off to basic training where you will be stationed thousands of miles away from your home and family because you want to serve and protect your country. It's going to be a struggle to leave everything you love behind but that's a sacrifice you have to make. Months into training you´ve put your energy into combat and have made great friendships and have come to know each other well, but you stay guarded because of the secret that could get you discharged. You´ve been out to your family and friends for quite awhile, and they accepted you ,but the same won't happen in this case. The D.A.D.T or The Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy allows gays to serve in the armed forces as long as they never acknowledge or tell anyone …show more content…
For the next year you stay to yourself because you have seen what the other men do to the accused “gay” soldier. Why should you have to hide from who you are when all you want to do is serve your country like them. When families come to visit you have no one because you can't expose your relationship. When you finally get stationed your spouse and any children you have are not eligible for housing, insurance, health care or any other benefit. That was the struggle that many gay soldiers had to go through just to sacrifice their lives for those against them.
The gay rights movement dates back to Victorian England and Germany in the nineteenth century where the concept that gay persons are normal people and new laws prohibiting their freedom were discriminatory first arose. Military law prior to World War 1 did not addresses homosexuality but commanders had the power to set laws, discipline, and regulate their troops however they pleased. The Articles of War of 1916 stated that sodomy did not exist so no punishment could be carried out. Succeeding WW1 the Articles of War of 1920 named sodomy as an specific offense. World War 2, the height on the issue of gays in the military set a path for a new age gay movement Love of the Same . The 1960s birthed the age of a more liberal nation, Women's Liberation
This condemnation eventually led to the introduction of the separation of homosexuals from military service as seen with the neutral blue discharges which were often given to homosexual servicemen starting in 1916 . This neutral discharge was then labeled “general” and “undesirable”, resulting in a less honorable discharge. Discharges concerning men who were found to be guilty in engaging in homosexual acts were severely different than those who were neutrally discharged. If this were the case then you were then dishonorably discharged (“Don't Ask, Don't Tell” - Wikipedia). The current policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Harass, Don't Pursue1, derived from the original 1993 Department of Defense Directive 1332.14 coined Don't Ask, Don't Tell, ensures that any American citizen can participate in the Armed Forces. This policy is a step-up from the usual immediate discharge, however, this is only if the service member does not identify
In the most publicized gay bashing, the dead body of Adam R. Schindler Jr., an American naval radioman, was found battered and disfigured in a public toilet in a park in Japan where he had been serving [Sterngold]. After revealing his homosexuality to his peers in the army, he had been left unrecognizably mutilated and beaten to death. In response, in 1993, the Clinton administration initiated “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” [DADT] which meant that military officers could not investigate a soldier’s sexual preference without reason and a soldier should not voluntarily disclose it [McGowan 4]. Historically, the US military had never directly banned gays, only their actions of sodomy, but a change occurred during the World Wars after the Christian
The issue of gays in the military has been controversial in the United States for many decades. Over these decades there have been many different proposals as to what approach to take in order to handle the situation of homosexuals in the military. However, in 1992 when Bill Clinton was running for President of the United States, he made a promise to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military if he was elected (Washington Post). Bill Clinton followed through with his promise, and in December 1993 he instituted “a defense directive that military applicants should not to be asked about their sexual orientation” (Washington Post). This is now known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was the result
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Many homosexuals that served in the Military prior to 2015 had to hide who they were and their loved ones throughout their career. They were forbidden to get married and receive the same benefits as their heterosexual
The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy is a major policy of the armed forces of the United States, and allows a number of people to serve their country. This policy restricts the United States armed forces from discovering gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy has, in a way, limited homosexuals from completely fulfilling their military duties by forcing them to serve in the military silent about their personal lives. The policy is a violation of equal rights, forces homosexuals to violate the military code of honor, and causes disputes among fellow soldiers and should be repealed.
I had been openly gay for four years, before enlisting in the army in September 2009, which was still operating under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. This policy was implemented in the US by the Clinton Administration and came into effect on October 1, 1993. Under this policy, homosexuals serving in the military were not allowed to talk about their sexual orientation or engage in sexual activity and commanding officers were not allowed to question members about their sexual orientation.
In September 2011, the United States lifted the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy (DADT), which restricted gay, lesbian, and bisexuals from openly serving in the military. This was the first time in American history in which people of every sexual orientation could serve openly (“11 Facts About,” n.d.). This was a momentous occasion for some and not so much for others. For those military members that had served in secret and those members that were firmly against gays and lesbians, this repeal had different meaning. Both groups contained members that have served in the military for years and were products of the Former President Bill Clinton’s 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. For many soldiers of this era, communication issues arose due
Lately, there has been an outbreak of people of the LGBT community coming out in the military. Historically the United States has had a policy of discharging gays in the military. There has been an act called the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, it is basically saying that as long as somebody does not ask about your gender preferences, you do not have to tell. Even though the ban has been lifted, many militaries still say they cannot accept anyone from the LGBT inside. They do not care about how well you can perform or your strengths and that mindset is going to come back and hit them in the long run. Militaries that are judging these kids are taking them away from somewhere they feel safe and a place where they can finally belong. Members of the LGBT community find refuge in the military. It was one of the only places where they can prove their worth, where people aren’t focusing on their sexuality. They shouldn’t be judged based on their sexual preferences. Instead, they should be judged on their personality, performance, and their ability to get the job done precisely and correctly.
The military excludes Transgender individuals from serving because, according to Kayla Quam, “In order to join the military, individuals need to meet the physical and psychological standards listed in the Department of Defense’s Medical Standard for Appointment, Enlistment, or Introduction in the Military Services (‘DoDI 613.03’)” (721). Because of physical and mental exams many transgender individuals choose to keep their abnormalities a secret, forcing them to live a double life. Many are disqualified because of mental and false health issues. For example, “Transgender [people] who have undergone sex-reassignment surgery are disqualified under a medical regulation during the physical exam,” and Transgender individuals who have not undergone “sex-reassignment surgery but identify as transgender are disqualified under the psychological examination” (Ross 190). The military deems Transgender individuals as unfit to serve, but approximately 15,500 transgender individuals are serving in the military and there are 134,200 transgender veterans (Gate and Herman 1). Proving that transgender individuals have served in the military successfully, playing against all odds the military is in fact wrong to classify transgender individuals as unfit to serve.
Gay people have not always been barred from military service, and in fact, have served in the nation's wars throughout its history. The military's official stance toward gays and lesbians has evolved over time, often in tandem with social change. In the 1920's and 1930's, homosexuality was treated as a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment. That attitude began to change in the early 1940's,
Between the Second World War and the attacks of 9/11, it is estimated that around 100 thousand soldiers were removed from the military service because of their sexual orientation. Many of these discharged servicemen and women have attempted to regain their promised benefits of being in the military. Until more recent times, these attempts for benefits had always failed. From 1983 to 2010, 8,446 Army soldiers were discharged because these soldiers were homosexual. The first discharge of a homosexual soldier
This policy turned out to be a flop and wasn’t taken very seriously, as the higher ranked officers did not punish violators of the rule and some didn’t abide by it themselves. So later on, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was modified to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy, to try and cut down on violators of this law. This has been working to a point, but needs to be changed to teach and inform all members of the army about gays and lesbians, and to also discipline quickly and severely the members of the military that would be considered harassment, including verbal abuse, sometimes known as gay bashing.
I am sure that everyone of you have heard about aliens and UFOs. Indeed, we all have heard about the famous case of aliens and UFOs in Roswell, New Mexico. Most people might be interested in the topic of aliens, but I know that the majority of you just think of it as rumours and the existence of them are impossible. Therefore, I am standing here in front all of you to make you change your perspective. I am strongly confident that I have found the evidence of their real existence to convince all of you.
The history of the gay rights movement goes as far back as the late 19th century. More accurately, the quest by gays to search out others like themselves and foster a feeling of identity has been around since then. It is an innovative movement that seeks to change existing norms and gain acceptance within our culture. By 1915, one gay person said that the gay world was a "community, distinctly organized" (Milestones 1991), but kept mostly out of view because of social hostility. According to the Milestones article, after World War II, around 1940, many cities saw their first gay bars open as many homosexuals began to start a networking system. However, their newfound visibility only backfired on them, as