Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Gays in the Military

Two students in my cohort at school participated in the filming of a documentary for PBS called “Speak Not” and announced that at the request of several other students they would be showing the film a couple times last week. There are always a number of events on campus, such as lectures, films, research presentations, etc. that closely relate to my field of study. I try to go to as many as are compatible with my class schedule and I have time for. I was not able view the first screening, but I did see most of the second one.

The documentary was about a tour they did, sponsered by Soul Force, about gays in the military. The two students are gay partners, and one had been dishonorably discharged from the army while the other completed his service, but did not reinlist in spite of his desire to do so because he was concerned he would be dishonorably discharged as well and thereby lose all veteran benefits – including his G.I. bill funding for school. One of the two speaks 4 languages conversationally and scored in the top 10% on the military aptitude test. The other student was a Korean linguist. Neither of the two is flamboyant or obviously gay in anyway, in fact, I was unaware that they were gay until I watched the movie. The point is, these were intelligent, healthy, competent men.

Some facts, over 30,000 people have been dishonorably discharged from the military since the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy went into effect. Thousands more have tried to enlist but were rejected. Military is the only federal job that discriminates based on sexual preference. Although it is officially not allowed, gay hate speech persists in the military.[i] During this campaign nearly two hundred retired, high-ranking officers signed a petition to let gays into the military.

Let me state here that I personally think that homosexuality is morally heinous, as well as revolting. Seeing to men kiss makes my stomach churn with disgust. However, a person who chooses to live a gay lifestyle is no less a person. Although they choose to live a lifestyle I believe to be morally corrupt, they are still God’s children. Why should they not be allowed to serve in the military if they want to?

People often lump homosexuality and gay people into the same notion of disgust and contempt expressed above. But why? None that I know lump fornicators into the same conceptual abhorrence as fornication, or adulterers with adultery. How different are these in reality?

Arguments and Counter-Arguments

Some argue that having gays in the military would ruin moral because soldiers do not want to be hit on by the guy they are sharing their fox hole with. Thinking logically, is this likely to be a problem? Is any soldier thinking about sex while hunkered down in a fox hole? I doubt it. Even if they are, there are disciplinary measures for misconduct that apply to all military personnel, at least while in uniform.

Other arguments suggest that having people in the same unit who are attracted to one another would cause problems with the efficiency of the unit, but there are mixed-gender, non-combat units in the U.S. military that work efficiently. Countries in which there is no discrimination in the military do not have any more problems with insubordination, inefficiency, or misconduct than militaries that only allow men, or heterosexuals.

This line of discussion could continue, but I will stop here for the sake of space and time.

Conclusions

Why do people hate gays? For the same reason Missourians and others hated Mormons, for the same reason Nazis hated Jews, because they are different and they do not understand them. Is there really a legitimate reasons for not allowing gays in the military? I do not think so. Obviously there are arguments supporting the current policy that were not addressed above, but likewise, there are counter-arguments as well. Church leaders often remind us how central and holy the family is to God’s plan. They tell us that we need to uphold family values. But I have never heard a church leader say that we should discriminate against gays. I have never heard a leader say that gays do not deserve the same rights as other people. However, I have heard them preach tolerance and love. Hate the sin, not the sinner.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[i] The cameraman captured a candid moment in which the participants of the tour were conversing while a platoon of soldier marched by singing a cadence that included something to the effect of “’cause we’re not a bunch of f***ing fags.”