Openly Gay Austinite
Challenges
'Don't Ask, Don't
Tell' Rule
KXAN.com from the
Web, August 23, 2006
Austin, TX -- They're not
asking, but she's telling. Tuesday, an Austin woman was one of dozens
nationwide trying to change federal law by telling a military recruiter she's
gay.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the "Don't ask, don't tell" law, ending
the official ban on gays serving in the military.
At the same time, if a member of the military or an applicant discloses they're
gay, then they're out.
On the other hand, the policy states that if you are in the military, and you
hide that you are gay, commanders can not try to investigate your sexuality.
Tuesday, Rebecca Solomon came to the U.S. Army Recruiting Office to apply.
She says she wanted to be honest. She wants to serve her country, and
she's gay.
"I am a lesbian. Is that going to problem?" Soloman asked the Army
recruiter.
Solomon wanted to be all that she could be and join the Army.
"That kind of changes things. We're not allowed to ask you. If you
make that statement, we can't process you," the Army recruiter said.
Solomon's disclosure that she's gay curtailed the process before it ever
started.
"I'm really dedicated to enlisting and being a part of the Army and putting my
life on the line for my country. I don't know how that could be called a
political stunt," Solomon said.
Solomon is one of dozens of young people nationwide trying to enlist. She
considers it a calling, and she wants to change the law. The effort is
called the Right To Serve.
"'Don't ask, don't tell' is one of the largest forms of government sanctioned
discrimination on the books today. I could not lie. It comes down to
you. Go out with your friends for the weekend and they say, 'where did you
go?' And you have to lie. The Army's a place where you are supposed
to trust the people you are serving with," Soloman said.
Solomon argues she wouldn't hit on a co-worker. It's against her morals.
The group Right To Serve maintains this is more than a publicity stunt.
"This is a dualistic issue. This is our attempt to change the law," Jessie
Sullivan with Right to Serve Austin said.
The group is calling on members of Congress to co-sponsor the Military Readiness
Enhancement Act, which would lift the ban. For now, the Department of
Defense policy basically reads, "Say you're gay, and you're out."
Solomon says this is not over. She went to a college prep school, and she
scored in the top five percent of SAT test takers. She has sent letters to
her congressman and plans a sit-in on Sept. 6 if they don't respond.
What happened at the Army Recruiting Center is an issue one retired general has
been dealing with for years and years.
Virgil Richard retired as a brigadier general after 32 years in the Army,
including two tours in Vietnam. He said at one point he wanted to come out
as gay, but worried about giving up his retirement because of the complete ban
on gays in the military when he was serving.
"As long as I do my job and serve as a professional, it doesn't make any
difference what my sexual preference is," Richard said.
Even though it's considered a compromise to allow gays to enlist, the retired
general strongly opposes "Don't ask, don't tell."
"You can't acknowledge who your partner is. You come home from the war,
and they can't meet you on the dock like everybody else who's married.
It's just a very emotionally destroying environment," Richard said.
He adds that it hurts military readiness if gay people get kicked out, don't
enlist or don't re-enlist.
But military recruiters have to follow the letter of the law.
"It's not just like it's over, and we're moving on to the next phase of
recruiting. It's a little more personal than that. But as far as
qualified to join the Army, at that point in time, that is no longer the case,"
U.S. Army Recruiter Sgt. Jeremy Cousineau said.
In the KXAN.com feedback forum online, one woman wrote her husband who serves
does not want to take showers or sleep in the same tent as gay men.
Another wrote that she's a lesbian who lays her life down every time she goes to
work as a police officer. She says, "I ask, what is the difference?"
One group estimates that since "Don't ask, don't tell" started, about 11,000 men
and women have been discharged for being gay.
We also talked to an Army Reservist who told us the policy is a good compromise
because the military structure, with its close quarters, especially in combat,
is very different than what a lot of people are used to.
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