U.S. Military: Where It's Illegal for Gay and Lesbian People to be Honest
"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" (DADT)- the current U.S. policy prohibiting lesbian and gay people from serving openly in the military - is an antiquated policy based on false assumptions that an openly lesbian or gay service member would be detrimental to unit cohesion, combat readiness and troop morale. In reality, this discriminatory policy hurts military readiness and national security through the unit disarray caused by extended discharge proceedings and the loss of personnel key to mission success.
As stated by John M. Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former supporter of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the lift of the ban is inevitable. "When that day comes, gay men and lesbians will no longer have to conceal who they are, and the military will no longer need to sacrifice those whose service it cannot afford to lose," he said.
The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (MREA) would replace this discriminatory and unworkable policy with a policy of non-discrimination. On July 8, 2009, Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Penn., became the lead sponsor of MREA (H.R. 1283).
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Poses Exorbitant Costs to Military and Nation
Nearly 800 specialists with critical skills have been fired from the U.S. military under DADT, including more than 300 linguists, at least 60 of whom specialized in Arabic.
More than 65,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans are already protecting our homeland (Urban Institute report). More than 13,000 have been discharged under DADT since the policy was implemented in 1993.
American taxpayers have paid between $250 million and $1.2 billion to investigate, eliminate and replace qualified, patriotic service members who want to serve their country but can't, because expressing their sexual orientation violates DADT (Government Accountability Office report).
To accommodate the estimated 4,000 service members who choose not to re-enlist every year because of the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" law, as well as the estimated 40,000 recruits who would join should the ban on lesbians and gays serving be lifted, the military has eased recruitment requirements, including age, intelligence and moral standards. While convicted felons such as rapists and terrorists have received "moral waivers" to serve in the armed forces, open homosexuality remains a barrier to enlistment.
Americans Support Allowing Gays and Lesbians to Serve Openly
The vast majority of Americans support the right of service members to serve openly and honestly, and the majority of service members are comfortable serving alongside lesbian and gay troops. In addition, numerous allies in the war on terror allow lesbians and gays to serve openly and proudly.
Sixty-seven percent of civilians support allowing gays to serve openly (Annenberg 2004 survey). In 2003, Fox News reported that 64 percent of civilians support repeal, and the Gallup organization reported a support level of 79 percent based on responses to similarly worded questions.
Nearly three in four troops (73 percent) say they are personally comfortable in the presence of gays and lesbians (Zogby International and the Michael D. Palm Center 2006 study). One in four U.S. troops who served in Afghanistan or Iraq knows a member of their unit who is gay. More than 55 percent of the troops who know a gay colleague said the presence of gays or lesbians in their unit is well-known by others (Zogby International). All published Pentagon studies that address the topic, including the 1993 Rand Report, conclude that there should be no special restrictions on service by gay personnel.
More than 20 of the 26 NATO nations, including Great Britain, Australia, Canada and Israel, already allow open service by gays and lesbians, and none of the countries reports morale or recruitment problems. The United States, Turkey, Greece and Portugal are the only NATO nations that forbid lesbians and gays to serve openly in the armed services.
Nine nations allowing open service have fought alongside American troops in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition, 12 nations allowing open service fought alongside U.S. troops in Operation Enduring Freedom.
In June 2009, John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former supporter of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," wrote in a Washington Post op-ed, "In the same way that military leaders take into account research about what works and what doesn’t when contemplating a new strategy or doctrine, it will be important for the conversation about gays and lesbians in the military to be informed by data, not speculation or emotion."
It is very clear that existing data demonstrate that repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" will be beneficial to the United States military, and that the military can only be harmed by maintaining the status quo. Since enactment of the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy, numerous lesbian and gay troops have served openly while pending discharge with no effect on unit performance, readiness, cohesion or morale. Moreover, U.S. military personnel are already serving side-by-side with openly gay service members - with no identifiable negative effects - in and from countries throughout the world, as well as with integrated U.S. government contractors.
Former Defense Secretary William Cohen said in a 2007 interview on CNN that the ban is discriminatory, and, "We're hearing from within the military what we're hearing from within society, that we're becoming a much more open, tolerant society for diverse opinions and orientation."
We must end this unnecessary policy sooner rather than later and ensure that the U.S. military can recruit and retain the best and the brightest troops regardless of their sexual orientation.
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