| Don't Ask, Don't Tell? By: Shannon Southerland We live in a time of increasing tolerance toward people, cultures, and lifestyles different of our own. When it comes to being gay, there are television shows, nationwide celebrations and advocacy groups promoting gay rights, and some states even allow gays to marry. Yet there is one area that has continued to have a no-tolerance policy toward homosexuality. That is the military, where for decades homosexuals have been denied the right to openly serve our country. However, with a new president now in office, this issue is getting brought up in hopes of repealing it and making an open military where anyone can serve. The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was introduced in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, with the goal of letting anyone serve in the military regardless of their sexual orientation. However, Congress overrode President Clinton’s idea and added their own clause: “Don’t Ask,” meaning officials cannot ask or require military persons to disclose their sexual orientation, and “Don’t Tell,” meaning that military persons may be discharged if they state that they are homosexual or bisexual and/or have or intend to engage in homosexual activities. Since this policy was enacted, more than 13,500 military personnel have been fired from their position due to sexual orientation. In January, 11 soldiers were discharged from the Army for being gay. Currently, over two dozen countries, including Great Britain and Canada, allow gays to serve openly without threat of discharge. Of these countries that allow open service, studies have shown no negative effects on enrollment or military service. President Barack Obama is calling for repeal on the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, saying during the State of the Union Address in January that he will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.”1 He had made similar comments in other speeches, but this was the first time in which he committed to a timeline. After this address, the Human Rights Campaign responded by announcing the Voices of Honor Campaign, to help make open military service become a reality. An Army soldier and ROTC instructor, both who requested anonymity, agreed that it was time for a change with the policy; they had seen or known of good soldiers who have been discharged due to the policy. However, they did say that it was not as simple as just repealing the law. This would cause lots of changes in how the military runs. Just one example was in training. Instead of just the standard sensitivity and sexual harassment classes, the military would have to create classes and training that pertained to homosexual harassment. They also felt that if the policy does get repealed making the change to open service should not be a problem. “If the policy does get repealed as it should, the United States should be able to make a peaceful transition just like the German and Dutch militaries did,” they said. Currently in Congress, the Secretary of Defense has requested that the repeal of this law be put on hold until the Defense Department can complete its yearlong review, scheduled for December 1, 2010. Although work is being done to repeal the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, it still will be a long process, one that hopefully will result in open service for anyone no matter what their sexual orientation may be. |
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