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Discrimination of homosexuals
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Homosexuals, bisexuals and lesbians were a condemned lot not allowed to serve in the United States military service including the Navy forces. Service men and women in the military were judged not only with reference to their behavioral conduct but also from their sexual orientation results. The Department of Defense (DOD) would ask questions concerning sexual orientation of prospects willing to join the military service. A sexual orientation related to sexual attraction to people of a particular gender. Even members of the military service were not allowed to make any statement that meant they (he or she) were homosexuals. Language was highly targeted since the passing of the act of language in the National Defense Authorization. This act was aimed not to allow anybody from the military to make any statements that notified the public that he or she was involved in any form of gay behavior. These statements would end up making the military service look morally degraded and as a bad group in the United States.
The Department of Defense would dismiss anybody who made such statements to the public or any person who said something that had similar meaning. In the United States some people viewed homosexuality as a bad practice that tarnished the name of the military service and they did not expect this behavior from the military service. However, some people were not against the idea. Some American citizens also did not understand clearly what the term sexual orientation meant. Even some members of the Department o Defense did not have a clear distinction of what sexual orientation really meant, and whether language was questionable when it came to dismissing any homosexual from the military service. However, homosexuality was not a...
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...nguage was involved in the senate versions concerning the National defense that allowed the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy’ passed in the year 1993. The bill was passed by the house and the senate in May 2010. However, the voters failed to bring the bill on the platform for passage with regard to the votes. In September 2010, Federal Judge Phillips Virginia ruled out the ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ law as unconstitutional and inapplicable. In October 2010 the same person, Judge Virginia Phillips enjoined the DOD from applying the ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Law’ (Burrelli F. (2010).
List of References
Burrelli F. (2010). “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”: The Law and Military Policy on Same-sex
Behavior. Retrieved from: Case Attached
The Washington Times, LLC (2011). The Washington Times.
Retrieved from: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/13/gates-choice/
...protest movements throughout America and the world.” Among the gay community Stonewall has become the word for freedom, for fighting, for equality. It became a turning point in Gay history, so much so that most books on the subject refer to “pre-Stonewall” and “post-Stonewall” as the lines of demarcation. Of course the journey is still long and fight has not been won. At the turn of the century there were still 20 states that made homosexual sex illegal , any only a few states would recognize the love and companionship of gays through marriage or civil unions. The military policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is still active and prejudices continue to exist. But, as exemplified by any other civil rights movement, it is through the constant grind of activists and lay-people constantly protesting and educating, that change occurs, even if only one person at a time.
From the end of the draft in 1973 to the military data from 2003, the number of women in service rose from 2 percent to 12 percent. A sample of military women studied in 1991 showed 69 percent to have experienced sexual harassmen...
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 point we will be focusing on is: how would military life change if straight men or women knew that there were gays or lesbians sleeping next to them? The second point is: would straight men and women communicate with the gays or lesbians the same way as they would toward other straight men or women? The third and final point is: how would other countries view our military if they knew we had gays or lesbians in the military?
Frank, Nathaniel. Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America. New York: Thomas Dunne, 2009. Print.
The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy means that service men and women are not questioned about their sexual orientation, and they are not to talk about their sexual orientation. In 1993 U. S. Congress passed a federal law forbidding the military service of openly gay men and women serving in the military. Even though Congrees created the law, it was up to the military leadership to carry it out. Opposing viewpoints states:
Sexual harassment is a tremendous problem in our society that for years has been hushed. But recently this problem has been brought to public attention, and the government has passed laws that make sexual harassment in the work place a criminal act. However, only futile attempts have been made at eliminating such misconduct in the military. The effects of the aggressive treatment that women experienced during Operation Desert Storm were noted by Elaine Connely, Executive of the Coalition for Military Readiness:
...l use of intoxicants to excess, drug addiction, or sexual perversion.” This piece of legislation addressed the years of charges that homosexuals posed a security risk to the government. The new order defined both disloyalty and security risks in order to separate the two. Homosexuality was no longer to be confused with disloyalty, but the stigma remained. President Truman’s Executive Order 9835 applied only to a few military branches and the State Department; Eisenhower’s applied to the entire federal government. This did not change any of the discriminatory practices of any of these branches, but validated their previous actions under presidential order. This order also made possible the exclusion of over 1700 homosexuals from employment over a five-year period. This made the denial and concealment of their homosexuality even more important than before.
hard working women as whores and lesbians and felt the women on the front lines of combat were only there for the moral support of the male troops. These false accusations humiliated the women and had a huge impact on the attitudes of people and policies regarding women in front line combat for the decades to come” (Moskos 54). Along with these accusations came the tests of the military manpower and strategies.
Sergeant Gary Stein received an “other than honorable” discharge in 2012 for making negative comments about the President. Stein posed a status on Facebook that said "Screw Obama. I will not follow all orders from him" (qtd in “Marine Sgt. Gary Stein Gets 'Other Than Honorable ' Discharge Over Anti-Obama Facebook Comment” abc News). Sergeant Stein’s comments go against the Marine Corps values of Honor and Commitment. By posting negative comments about his Commander in Chief he is not maintaining the “personal integrity” required by the Marines; although he made a second status taking responsibility for his actions, his personal integrity was already destroyed. The Commitment clause of the Marine Corps values says that a Marine must have “total dedication to Corps and Country” (Corps Values); speaking out against the leader of the country blatantly goes against this clause. Sergeant Stein argued that his Facebook posts were protected by his First Amendment rights, which states that individuals are entitled to freedom of speech (Cornell Law); but the Marine Corps upheld their previous decision. Sergeant Stein’s supervisors made a statement that they “found the comments showed a lack of personal and professional discipline expected of an active duty Marine and were prejudicial to the good order and discipline of his unit as a whole”
Sexual assault in the military has become one of the most controversial of all issues that have been discussed over the years. The topic has received extensive media coverage and has contributed to multiple media scandals. According to a Newsweek report done in 2011, women are more likely to be assaulted by fellow soldiers than killed in combat. The Department of Defense estimates approximately 19,000 sexual assaults occur per year amongst military personnel. That number is stifling considering that in the last year only 1,108 troops filed for investigation, and of those only 575 cases were processed. Out of the 575 processed cases only 96 went to Court Martial. Obviously from the numbers, sexual assault is a serious issue in the military. Much like in the civilian world there is bias when it comes to the guilt or innocence of the attacker, as well as the validity in the accounts of the accuser. I believe that the system in place may inadvertently contribute to the continuous rise in sexual assaults and that if this system isn’t fixed quickly, it will be detrimental to the organization as a whole. Sexual assault has seriously negative impacts on service members and their families. That impact carries over to their work, limiting mission readiness, and undermining national security.
In the 1940s, homophobia was extremely prevalent in the United States. People who were openly gay were often stigmatized. “Homosexuality was discussed as ‘an aspect of three personality disorders: psychopaths who were sexual perverts, paranoid personalities who suffered from homosexual panic, and schizoid personalities’ who displayed gay symptoms” (Kaiser 29). Many regulations and practices discriminated against gays. The military found homosexuality to be a direct threat to strength and safety of the U.S. government and the American people, in general. In 1941 the Army and the Selective Service banned homosexuals from participation in the war (Kaiser 29). All major religions considered it sinful and throughout the country, more and more people found it to be immoral. Life was hard for homosexuals in the early and mid-twentieth century. They were forced to hide their sexuality in order to escape derision or imprisonment.
women in the military and found that 51.8 % of men and 74.6% of women
The act of enlisting in war has been seen as an honorable task since the establishment of the military and its different branches. To take pride and to fight for one’s nation is the true meaning of being an American citizen. Like with every decision made in life, enlisting in the military has consequences. The act of war is often unpredictable and many measures are taken into count. These soldiers therefore, entrust their life to the military. However, what most soldiers never take into consideration before enlisting is the fact that a majority of them will be subjected to a form of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. Sexual abuse and harassment that occurs within their own respected military group. These soldiers get in trouble for reporting
The purpose of this essay is to discuss the issue of rape and sexual assault in the military. The number of attacks for rape and sexual assault in the military are at an all-time high. Women have recently been allowed to fight on the front line. While this may be a huge achievement for women-kind, for this woman, it is a very scary thought. I am a junior at Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences; a school geared towards students wishing to enter the medical field. I may be forced to join the military one day if a war breaks out and women are needed to protect the country. I would be happy to serve my country if I did not have to be scared of my fellow soldiers. Rape and sexual assault are major issues in the military and have been for many years without much effort to decrease the attacks. I am suggesting that unless the rape and sexual assault issue is fixed, the amount of people joining the military, specifically the women, will decrease greatly.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.