After the eighteen long years of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which limits gays from being open about their sexuality in the military services, was finally brought to its end. President Barack Obama signed the reverse of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on December 22, 2010. It was also stated that “The services will no longer separate service members under DADT (U.S. Department of Defense). Nevertheless, homosexuals should have the opportunity to serve in the military because the job had nothing to do with anyone’s sexual orientation.
The plan was first announced in 1993 as a compromise after President Bill Clinton wanted to remove the military’s ban on gays. Though, Congress had its opponents on the turn and so were some members in Joint Chiefs of Staff. In order to grasp mutual terms, Professor Charles Moskos of Northwestern University took on the job of increasing the structure of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, while Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia was the one to make the negotiations and advisement. Bill Clinton’s determinations to reduce the discharges of gays in the military did not go as planned the policy did not acquire to his necessities and demands (Belkin and Bateman 11). For example, on July 3, 1999, on a base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Private First Class Barry Winchell was confronted through Private by Calvin Glover to a fight. Glover lost the battle to Winchell. Heated and invidious of the result of the battle, Glover decided to take matters in to his own hands and decided to get his vengeance on Winchell two days after the battle by disrespecting him and saying that he had “his ass kicked by a faggot.” Far along that night, Glover decided to use a baseball bat to beat the twenty-one year old Wi...
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...s possible; meaning, that it does not matter the employee’s background, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. as long as they do the job the way it should be done; that is the only thing that counts. No individual should have to go through bias, stereotypical, discriminative behavior from anyone. Now that the rule is revoked it is a new beginning for every person to start new. Those people who still don’t wish to move on or don’t know how to, can be showed by others who are compliant to the new change. A Navy cadet named Andrew Atwill is a homosexual who is lastly free and fearless to embrace his sexual orientation in his base without; even his friends have no problem towards it and happily defend him when others make offensive comments towards him. Atwill says, “They don’t hesitate to tell that person it’s not cool to do that anymore.”(Brown).
...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.
Following President Truman's Executive Order, two boards were established to make recommendations about integration. A presidential commission chaired by Charles Fahy recommended an end to discrimination in jobs, schooling, assignment, and recruitment. In 1952 it was the Korean War that finally led to the desegregation of the previously all-white combat unit. The main goal of President Truman's Executive Order 9981 was to grant equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. “There shall be created in the National Military Establishment an advisory committee to be known as the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, which shall be composed of seven members to be designated by the President.” He also states that the Committee “shall confer and advise the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of the Air Force”.
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.
In 1950, President Harry S. Truman implemented discharge policies for homosexual service members in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. This would allow military leaders to discharge any service member who was thought to be homosexual. In 1992, during President Bill Clinton’s campaign, he promises to lift that ban. Not being able to do just that, President Clinton issued a directive referred to as ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’. This stated that no service member should be asked about their sexual orientation. Mackubin Thomas Owens wrote the article “Gay Men and Women in the Military Disrupt Unit Cohesion” in 2009 right after President Clinton was again calling for the end of forcing homosexuals to live in secret. In his article he states that homosexuals living openly in the military will take away from military effectiveness and put the other service member’s lives in danger. Throughout most of the article he uses other resources, polls and opinions on the matter verses clearly stating his own. Most of the resources he uses are military connected or
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:
In September 2011, the United States lifted the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy (DADT), which restricted gay, lesbian, and bisexuals from openly serving in the military. This was the first time in American history in which people of every sexual orientation could serve openly (“11 Facts About,” n.d.). This was a momentous occasion for some and not so much for others. For those military members that had served in secret and those members that were firmly against gays and lesbians, this repeal had different meaning. Both groups contained members that have served in the military for years and were products of the Former President Bill Clinton’s 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. For many soldiers of this era, communication issues arose due to a pre-existing mentality, learned rules and regulations in services reinforced for two decades and the general cultural within combat related fields.
Homosexuality, for decades, was not accepted in the military, generally. However, during wartime periods, restrictions on gays seemed to be lightened. Then, during maritime, there would be strict enforcement on homosexuals. During maritime, homosexuals were constantly being filtered out and discharged by the military. In World War I, homosexuals that engaged in homosexual actions were disciplined and then discharged from the military. There wasn’t a specific policy against being a homosexual, but there were policies stating that homosexual actions were not allowed.
Humans have established their own rights in society for many, many years now. However, because some humans differ from the norms that are built in society, they are shunned and denied their rights until they conform to society’s norms. There has been numerous groups of people who have been denied their rights in America. African Americans, immigrants, Native Americans, and gays have been isolated simply because that is the way that they were born into this world and others do not find them “normal”. There is another group that has also been mistreated though; people who identify themselves as transgendered. A good portion of society is unknowingly misinformed about these kinds of people.
Chauncey explains how the government used systematic methods to weed out homosexuals that worked for the federal government. Chauncey states that in 1953 President Eisenhower banned homosexuals from government employment. Chauncey tells us that “the U.S State Department fired more homosexuals then communists.” Chauncey also tells us how thousands of men and women were forced to resign or were discharged from
LGBT military service equality was only equal as of three years ago. Members were at risk of discharge if one was to marry one of the same sex and no benefits were obtained. Homosexuals and bisexuals in the American armed forces were not able to receive same-sex benefits due to the, "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. The secret had to be kept due to the risk of being discharged. In 2010, Congress repealed the, "Don't Ask Don't Tell". This allows LGBT to serve openly. The Department of Defense recognizes same-sex marriages and allows federal benefits. The Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act. This caused over a thousand legally same-sex married couples to be denied benefits. Same-sex marriages were still available as it stands now,
In 2016 Rand Corporation, did a study of the 18 countries that permitted a transgender individual to fight in the military and concluded that there is no significant impact on the military that would harm the armed force institution from functioning in war. Henceforth, supporting the fact that transgender mentality has nothing to due with how they conform to the military rules or even how they act in battle.
Early April 2016, North Carolina passed a law restricting governments from passing laws that are discriminatory. This law is intended to protect Transgender people from discrimination. Discrimination against Transgenders is against the law, and it has stirred up arguments throughout the nation. With more and more people standing up against discrimination regarding Transgenders, the debate about Transgenders is now nationwide. Unfortunately, Transgenders still continue to face public discrimination due to misinformation and misleading statements from the media.
One example why the President made the right choice is , “ some transgender communities are still struggling with their own identities. They see this as a weakness because how can you be in the military and don't know who you are. Another detail that adds to first one is , “ the issuer they face are emotional and difficult to solve thus making the U.S military an improper forum for their exploration. This deepens your understanding that the military isn't the the right place to figure out who you are. One last example is , “ our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in military would entail”.
On June 30, 2016, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced that transgender service members will be able to openly serve in the military; they can no longer be denied reenlistment, involuntarily separated or discharged merely for being a transgender. Over the next 12 months, the DoD will implement this new transgender policy in stages, starting off with providing education and training to the force and commanders on DoD procedures and policies on transgender service. Even after the successful implementation of the transgender policy and training given, many commanders may still be faced with issues or concerns regarding this policy in the next ten years. Some of these issues may entail commanders having to address oppositions that transgender service members face and simultaneously, also having to address concerns of other service members in relation with their counterpart transgender service members; some commanders may have difficulty finding a balance to meet the needs of the transgender and other service members in order to maintain discipline and cohesion within the unit.