Gays in the Military

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

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

In the essay “Why gays shouldn’t serve” by David Horowitz he states that “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell policy is a way of containing the destructive force of sex on a combat capability called Unit Cohesion. (354)” This controversial topic has surfaced more and more recently because Barack Obama wanted to let all people serve in the military, regardless of their sexual orientation. “More than 1,000 retired flag and general officers have joined us in signing an open letter to President Obama and Congress, repeal of this law would prompt many dedicated people to leave the military (James J. Lindsay).” There are multiple points you could focus on when trying to explain your point on why gays or lesbians should not serve in the military. The first

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.

The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy was one of the most influential procedures enacted by the United States Military during the 1990’s, and it continued to shape the Military until its repeal almost two decades after its passing. While allowing homosexuals to serve in the military, DADT also prevented those gay soldiers from revealing their sexuality, and forbid members of Armed Forces from inquiring about the sexuality of other soldiers. It had a massive influence on service members; by 2008, DADT had caused the discharge of over 12,000 officers who did not hide their sexual preference (“Don’t Ask, Don’t…”). After the policy had been in place for almost twenty years, Congress proposed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act in 2010. Despite

The Don’t Ask Don’t tell act which prevented openly gay and lesbians from serving in the United States Armed forces was placed into law on December 21st, 1993. It states that the military cannot discriminate against any gay, lesbian or bisexual person as long as they are discreet about their sexuality. They believed that any persons showing or acting in homosexual behavior would go against strict military moral codes and policy. However on September 20th, 2011 the Don’t ask Don’t Tell was repealed because the government felt it was discriminatory against homosexuals. I agree that openly gay and lesbians should able to serve in the military because nobody should have to hide who they are in order to serve and

and came to the national stage during the first Clinton term. Along with the US Congress, President Clinton took part in the national debate on whether admitted gay and lesbian enlistees were permitted to serve in the United States military after making campaigns promises to broaden civil right to gay Americans, the former president was met with strong opposition when he tried to fulfill this promise from members of congress as well as the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Notwithstanding their impediment, on January 29, 1993, former President Clinton suspended the former order which excluded gay enlistees from service. In 1994, Clinton and congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which is commonly referred to as “Don’t Ask, Ask, Don’t

Homosexuals should be permitted into the military, and anyone who question that is a discriminator. Just because you’re an homosexual doesn't mean you're not a human being and that does not mean you can't do certain things . The military is a characteristic of soldiers on an armed force. Homosexuality are romantic attractions, sexual attractions or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. To sum it all up they're still human beings they're still people who deserve respect and should not be exempt from anything not from any sports not from any job and most definitely not from the military.  Basically  the  system  is  telling  us that  we  can’t serve  our  country  because  of  liking  the  same  sex. Same sex attraction goes way back to the 80’s When people would be banned from certain areas because they were gay bisexual or lesbian. When Obama became president he wanted to give gays the right to be permitted into the military but that law clearly was never passed.

inclusion of homosexuals in the military became necessary to insure that all citizens were equally

In 1999, more than 1,000 men and women were discharged from military service due to their sexuality. That number has actually decreased compared to recent years. (Suro NP) Homosexuals were purged from federal employment in 1950, with Bill Clinton updating that policy in 1993 by adding the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy. (Deicher 176) This policy doesn’t work and needs to either be updated again or the ban against homosexuals lifted. Gays should be allowed to fight for the military for employment reasons, the right to fight for one’s country, and because they are no different from anyone else. The fact of the matter is that not even experts can argue in favor of keeping the

The Clinton administration and military leaders defend the current policy and the way it has been enforced. They argue that allowing gay people to serve openly would harm military readiness by destroying troops' morale and disrupting order and discipline. Policy defenders argue that the military is a special institution that holds itself to stricter rules than those observed by the rest of society. Because the armed forces must fulfill the crucial mission of defending the U.S. and its allies, they say, its leaders' views on how to achieve optimal readiness should be respected. Pentagon officials say that while they believe the current policy is working well, they will investigate cases of alleged abuse.

There was a long-standing policy working in the military that service members who were found homosexuals or engaged in homosexual conduct were court-martialed for sodomy, imprisoned and dishonorably discharged (Bérubé, 1990).

Technical Sergeant Leonard Matlovich was a part of the United States Air Force for 12 years, he was a decorated veteran and fought in the Vietnam War, but despite Sergeant Leonard Matlovich pristine record, he was given an honorable discharge. Sergeant Leonard Matlovich was still instated with military benefits and was not ridden of his Bronze Star for bravery and Purple Heart for his injuries in Da Nang. Sergeant Leonard Matlovich put up quite the fight with the United States Air Force, he challenged the ruling and began a five year fight to be reinstated. Sergeant Leonard Matlovich stance towards the United States Air Force gave other homosexual men in the military hope that things would change; however, in November 1980, Mr. Matlovich agreed to drop his efforts in return for $160,000 out-of-court settlement from the Air Force ( Narvaez). Leonard Matlovich worked hard for the United States military it was his whole life, he never married and didn’t have any children, when Sergeant Matlovich was discharged he was left with nothing. The United States Air Force would rather go through the a five year court case then allow a homosexual be in the military. Since the 1900’s men in the military have been fighting for the “anti-gay policy” to be removed. For their efforts many had been discharged, some even committed suicide. Later, in May, 1980 a federal court instructs the United States

According to the opposing group, the presence of LGBT people in the military undermines the trust among soldiers and can reduce the overall effectiveness of the military. While they think all who want to serve the military should, they also think not all of them are able to. One says there are certain qualifications and expectations in the military and if you are transitioning or something you might

Whether a person is lesbian, gay, or even bisexual, they still serve for our country just as well as anyone else would. No matter if you are a homosexual or not, everyone still has one main goal: wanting to fight in order to protect our country. Sexuality is a personal concept. It does not have to be shared with anyone, including our military. Using a person’s sexuality to define what and who are they is simply something that should not happen in our country of