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

Contents:

• THE MILARY GAY BAN: WHY DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL DON'T WORK
• I THOUGHT I COULD SERVE AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN THE ARMY. THEN CAME THE DEATH THREATS.
• ALLOWG GAYS THE MILARY WOULD BE UNFAIR AND HURT TROOP MORALE
• GAY, BISEXUAL TROOPS MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER SEXUAL ASSLTS, STUDY SUGGTS
• GAYS THE MILARY
• WHY WE NEED GAYS THE MILARY

THE MILARY GAY BAN: WHY DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL DON'T WORK

A 2011 report by the Natnal Center for Transgenr Equaly and the Natnal Gay and Lbian Task Force found that 16% of transgenr Amerins had been sent to jail or prison. 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.

I THOUGHT I COULD SERVE AS AN OPENLY GAY MAN THE ARMY. THEN CAME THE DEATH THREATS.

Now we’re seeg Bin follow Obama’s footsteps of makg a few token nods to gay and trans issu whout disptg the larger mments to the fossil fuel dtry, U. 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. Durg the 1950s ernment orrs and laws that fired homosexual feral employe was explaed by the claim that those wh sexual viancy or immoraly were a threat to secury, siar to munists.

Even after homosexualy was no longer a mental illns, the Department of Defense still supported a ban of LGBTQ+ members bee they “would be a threat to morale and un hn, thereby weakeng the ary and threateng our natnal secury”(Connell). The open-ban of LGBTQ+ members still existed, but the ary uld no longer force someone to reveal their sexual orientatn or search for homosexual service members. In general, Christians disagree wh homosexualy due to the fact that the bible stat Levic 18:22 “You mt not lie down wh a male the same way you lie down wh a woman.

Other reasons why people disagree wh homosexualy and transgenrism is bee the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman, is morally wrong, civil unns are sufficient, is unnatural, and fally, unrm the tradnal fay stcture of a mother and father.

ALLOWG GAYS THE MILARY WOULD BE UNFAIR AND HURT TROOP MORALE

As recently as three years ago, gay, lbian, and bisexual Amerins the armed forc were forced to keep their sexualy a secret or risk beg discharged—a risk that would bee a certaty if attemptg to marry a person of the same sex. In 2010, Congrs repealed the discrimatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, or DADT, which prevented gay, lbian, and bisexual service members om servg openly and wh honty. It is unclear if gay and lbian veterans will receive spoal benefs if they do not ri a state that regniz same-sex marriage; nservativ are attemptg to make easier for service members to harass gay and lbian troops by tablishg broad exemptns for the relig views of service members; transgenr Amerins are still prohibed om servg any pacy; and some veterans who were kicked out for beg gay or lbian are still fightg for a discharge upgra, which affects their abily to ga health re verage and fd employment.

The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 was a monumental piece of legislatn for our ary and for gay and lbian service members, but the bill did not firmly put an end to discrimatn for LGBT members of our ary.

GAY, BISEXUAL TROOPS MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER SEXUAL ASSLTS, STUDY SUGGTS

Opponents of equaly are also tryg to make easier for service members to harass gay and lbian troops by tablishg broad exemptns for the relig views of service members.

” Essentially, service members uld not be punished for any discrimatory language or nduct—such as harassg gay service members bee they view homosexualy as immoral—as long as they are actg out of relig belief. Moreover, gay and lbian service members will be eligible to receive feral spoal benefs through the ary even if they are statned a state that do not regnize their marriag. However, before 1993, service members who were found to have engaged homosexual nduct were likely to receive discharg that were Ls than Honorable.

GAYS THE MILARY

Legal experts and Pentagon officials alike have stated that the law is basilly unenforceable as appli to nsensual sexual relatns of gay and lbian upl. Dpe the ary swiftly and effectively implementg the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, nservativ are ntually pavg the way for service members to harass gay and lbian troops by tablishg broad exemptns for the relig views of service members.

WHY WE NEED GAYS THE MILARY

This would merely prerve the stat quo for gay and lbian service members but would actively prevent opponents om givg dividual service members a license to discrimate and tyg the hands of manrs who wish to prevent such nduct. Though the ary’s ban on nsensual sodomy is arguably unenforceable sce the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, many view the law as a relic of the ary’s history of discrimatn agast gay and lbian service members, as appears the same sentence wh btialy the UCMJ. Ameri’s alli, cludg the Uned Kgdom, Canada, Israel, and Atralia, allow openly gay, lbian, and bisexual persons to serve the ary, and this has no adverse effect on ary reads or disciple (Belk, 2001, 2003; Belk & Bateman, 2003; Belk & Levt, 2001; Belk & McNichol, 2001).