Repeal the Gay Ban
EDITORIAL, washingtonpost.com from April 15, 2005
Washington, April 13 -- ARMY SGT. ROBERT Stout received a Purple Heart after an exploding grenade in Iraq last May left shrapnel in his face, arm and legs.
He would like to remain in the military, and he said in an interview that he would reenlist were it not for the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
But Sgt. Stout is through denying that he is gay, so he recently declared his sexual orientation to the Associated Press.
Now he'll be lucky if he's allowed to serve out his tour, which ends in May, without being kicked out of the service.
For under U.S. policy, even the most decorated and patriotic gay soldier is just a homosexual to be rooted out at the military's earliest convenience.
The military wastes a lot of money making sure that gay soldiers are either deeply closeted or ex-soldiers.
According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, the services have spent $190 million recruiting and training replacements for gay service members kicked out during the past 10 years.
More than 750 of the 9,488 men and women discharged from the military during that time, moreover, "held critical occupations"; many had training in languages important to the war on terrorism.
The gay ban, in other words, is as self-defeating as it is demeaning to people who want to serve their country at a time of great need.
It is long past time for it to go.
Last month, Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.) introduced a bill that would repeal "don't ask, don't tell."
It now has 72 co-sponsors, including three Republicans. The House leadership's commitment to the current policy makes quick passage improbable.
Supporters are fighting at this stage for a hearing, which would help their cause, because there are no good arguments for keeping patriotic men and women out of honorable service because of their sexual orientation.
There's no evidence that gay soldiers undermine military discipline or perform badly.
American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan fight alongside allied forces that don't discriminate.
Yet as Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) put it to the Miami Herald in explaining her decision to back the bill:
"We investigate people. Bring them up on charges. Basically wreck their lives."
These are "people who've signed up to serve our country. We ought to be thanking them."
She's right. Who dares tell Sgt. Stout that he is unfit for service?
Gen. Myers Backs Military's Gay Policy
By AP from Newsday.com on the Web, April 15, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The nation's top military officer on Friday defended a "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has led to the discharge of 9,500 gay members of the armed forces since 1993.
"We try to implement the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy as best we can," Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a conference of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
He also mentioned "continuing education" in regards to the policy but did not explain what that meant.
The policy permits gay men and women to serve only if they keep their sexual orientation to themselves.
Critics say the policy discriminates against people who want to serve their country.
Other Pentagon officials, including Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey, have also said they see no need to change the policy, despite declining recruitment figures.
A February report by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said 9,488 members of the services had been discharged under the policy through 2003.
That included 757 people with what the military defined as critical skills, such as linguists, the GAO found.
Various commissions looking into the Sept. 11 attacks have emphasized the need for more foreign language
proficiency in the military and intelligence services.
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