A Brief History of Gay Milary Policy and Improvg Acceptance, Integratn and Health among LGBT Service Members | USC Social Work

Contents:

• I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
• U.S. MILARY ENDS POLICY BANNG OPENLY GAY AMERINS FROM SERVICE
• LEADG ADVOCY GROUP FOR GAY RIGHTS THE US MILARY SHUTTG DOWN
• GAYS THE MILARY/LGBT LAW
• GAY RIGHTS

I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK

Today, gay and transgenr ary service members enjoy far more rights than they did even five years ago—but the fight ntu to crease visibily and acceptance for this group the armed forc. 1988: The rults of a jot report nducted by the DoD and the Defense Personnel Secury Rearch Edutn Center rerce the fdgs of a 1957 report claimg that gay and lbian dividuals enlisted the armed forc pose no signifint risk to secury (which had prevly been the ratnale for barrg gay dividuals om enlistg the ary). 1993: Print Bill Clton signs the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, barrg openly gay and lbian Amerin cizens om ary service—while prohibg harassment of all “closeted” ary service members.

U.S. MILARY ENDS POLICY BANNG OPENLY GAY AMERINS FROM SERVICE

I was one of few soldiers who joed the service before graduatg high school, but the admistratn at the time, which I believe was homophobic, chose to act as if I never existed bee of my queer hate that I experienced growg up on Long Island was my first enunter wh how others would treat me as a queer soldier. Enacted 1993, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was a promise reached after Print Clton was unable to keep his promise to pletely lift an existg ary ban on gay, lbian, and bisexual dividuals servg the armed forc. Unsurprisgly, a study of the effects of the repeal on ary reads found that had no negative effects: had not triggered mass rignatns or loss morale, and also hadn’t ed a spike anti-gay vlence.

Although stris have been ma to advance the rights of gay, lbian, and bisexual ary service members, there was a s-long ban on transgenr service members servg openly startg the 1960s. Policy banng gay, lbian, bisexual, and transgenred people om servg openly the ary has been officially repealed and s mise is beg hailed as a tone for civil rights by advocy groups and ernment officials alike.

Lieberman ma the ments at a prs nference Washgton wh gay and lbian service members who are now able, for the first time history, to reveal their sexual preference whout fear of losg their ary post.

LEADG ADVOCY GROUP FOR GAY RIGHTS THE US MILARY SHUTTG DOWN

"No words n scribe how feels to stand up here and be able to say for the first time [that] my name is First Litenant Josh Seeiend and I am a gay first litenant the Uned Stat Air Force, " he said at the Capol Hill prs nference.

The Palm Center was stmental rearchg and publicizg the service of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr ary personnel unr "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, " a Defense Department policy stuted 1994 by the Clton admistratn that sought to protect LGBTQ service members om prosecutn and harassment but also prohibed them om enlistg or disclosg their sexual orientatn if they already were the ary. The center exposed that the Defense Department ployed gay troops to bat, only to fire them on return, and unvered data on the firgs of nearly two dozen Arabic lguists for their sexualy the early 2000s -- a perd when the ary servic were short of need terpreters.

This was tratg for those of workg the long fights agast trans poverty and crimalizatn — to see how the power of one nservative philanthropist uld create the illn that trans muni were sayg that this was our number one procs rells the histori of how gay and lbian advocy nservatized the s after the ‘60s and ‘70s, when wealthy whe donors built up anizatns that, rather than advotg agast police vlence and war, created agendas that sought hate crim legislatn (which giv more punishg power to prosecutors but do not rce vlence), marriage (which primarily benefs people wh rourc and stat they n share through marriage), and ary cln. Remember that Obama, his send term, me out favor of gay marriage, which distracted om his failure to close Guantanamo Bay, his failure to addrs the climate crisis, and his role portg more people than any prr print. "At VA, we ntuoly work not only to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ Veterans, but also to addrs ongog issu that LGBTQ+ Veterans face as a rult of the ary's s-long official policy of homophobia and transphobia, " Williams wrote.

GAYS THE MILARY/LGBT LAW

Before the repeal, openly gay service members who were given an "other than honorable" discharge om the ary were effectively blocked om the many servic and benefs provid to veterans the U. ”A earlier, the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” allowed gays and lbians to serve openly after centuri of hidg, persecutn and dishonorable, we salute some of the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer service members who paved the way for a more clive force. C., and the Stben Para, held each September down New York’s Fifth KamenyFrank Kameny Kennedy / Tribune News Service via Getty ImagOne of the Foundg Fathers of the morn gay rights movement, Frank Kameny enlisted the Army 1943, servg Europe throughout World War II.

GAY RIGHTS

After the war, he earned a doctorate at Harvard Universy and tght astronomy at Geetown Universy, In 1957, Kameny had jt started workg for the Army Map Service, wh hop of beg an astront, when he was termated after vtigators unvered evince he was a, then 32, appealed the firg, argug that flatly labelg gay people a secury risk was “no ls od than discrimatn based upon relig or racial grounds. The jtic refed to hear the appeal, but marked the first time the high urt even nsired a civil rights se based on sexual orientatn — and galvanized Kameny to beg a lifelong activist for equaly for gays and years later, 1965, Kameny, Kay Tob and Barbara Gtgs started the Annual Remrs, the first anized picket protts for gay rights Ameri, held at Philalphia’s Inpennce Hall.