Gays in the Military Essay - 1362 Words

For nearly 50 years, it has been the U.S. militarys official policy to exclude homosexuals from service. In November 1992, President - elect Clinton told Americans that he planned to lift the militarys long - standing ban on gays and lesbians. Homosexual men and women, he said, should not be prevented from serving their country based on their sexual orientation. Soon after taking office in 1993, Clinton faced powerful military and congressional opposition to lifting the ban. General Colin Powell, then - chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Senator Sam Nunn, who was chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee between 1987 an 1994 and left Congress in 1996, announced that they would seek to block his attempts to lift the ban.†¦show more content†¦Many see the right to serve openly in the military as a fundamental civil right for gays and lesbians. Groups such as the Service members Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have supporte d gay service members in legal challenges to the policy. In 1997 SLDN documented 563 violations of the policy. The Clinton administration and military leaders defend the current policy and the way it has been enforced. They argue that allowing gay people to serve openly would harm military readiness by destroying troops morale and disrupting order and discipline. Policy defenders argue that the military is a special institution that holds itself to stricter rules than those observed by the rest of society. Because the armed forces must fulfill the crucial mission of defending the U.S. and its allies, they say, its leaders views on how to achieve optimal readiness should be respected. Pentagon officials say that while they believe the current policy is working well, they will investigate cases of alleged abuse. Gay people have not always been barred from military service, and in fact, have served in the nations wars throughout its history. The militarys official stance toward gays an d lesbians has evolved over time, often in tandem with social change. In the 1920s and 1930s, homosexuality was treated as a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment. That attitude began to change in the early 1940s,Show MoreRelatedGays in the Military1427 Words   |  6 PagesGays in the Military, is it right? For nearly 50 years, it has been the U.S. militarys official policy to exclude homosexuals from service. In November 1992, President - elect Clinton told Americans that he planned to lift the militarys long - standing ban on gays and lesbians. Homosexual men and women, he said, should not be prevented from serving their country based on their sexual orientation. Soon after taking office in 1993, Clinton faced powerful military and congressional oppositionRead MoreGays in the Military 966 Words   |  4 PagesThe United States military isn’t shy when it comes to the issue of gays in the military. When people think of gays in the military they usually compare them to blacks in the military. Most people use this analogy because blacks â€Å"have been oppressed and excluded from the main stream† (John Sibley). During this time period not only were black, and gay excluded from the military but women were also seen as people who didn’t belong in the arm forces. Even thought blacks in the military had to go thru differentRead MoreGays in the Military2022 Words   |  9 PagesGays In the Military Very often political institutions reflect the will of society and set the precedent for norms that will be expected of its members. The United States Military is still enforcing archaic policies which threaten to harm the principles our nation was founded upon. 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If the policy is repealed, it would allow for gays to serve openly in the armed forces; which means that not only could they freely discloseRead MoreEssay about Gays in the Military778 Words   |  4 Pages The question of whether or not gays should be alowed in the military is a hotly debated event in curnent politics and their are many arguments for and aginst it. these very arguments give us some insight about where our society is going and how willing we really are to accept others. So now we have two citizens both wanting to join the military and both identical in everyway save the fact that one in straight and one is gay. 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(Suro NP) Homosexuals were purged from federal employment in 1950, with Bill Clinton updating that policy in 1993 by adding the â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue† policy. (Deicher 176) This policy doesn’t work and needs to either be updated again or the ban against homosexuals lifted. Gays should beRead MoreWhy Gays Shouldn’t Serve by David Horowitz Essay1054 Words   |  5 PagesIn the essay â€Å"Why gays shouldn’t serve† by David Horowitz he states that â€Å"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. â€Å"More than 1,000 retired flag and general officers have joined us in signing an open letter to President Obama and Congress