Most lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr service members are still reluctant to disclose their sexual orientatn or inty.
Contents:
- I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
- GAYS THE U.S. MILARY ARE NOW PROTECTED AGAST 'WCH HUNTS'
I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
It was illegal to be gay the UK ary until 2000 and Rishi Sunak has said sorry to those who were sacked or forced out. * gay allowed in the military *
Sce 2011, openly gay, lbian and bisexual men and women have been permted to serve the ary. It wasn’t until 1982 that the ary enacted a policy explicly banng gay men and lbians om their ranks. And the early 1940s, was classified as a mental illns, disqualifyg gay men and lbians om service.
Eighteen years later, Congrs repealed the policy, allowg openly gay, lbian and bisexual people to serve the ary.
It was illegal to be gay the UK ary until 2000 and Rishi Sunak has said sorry to those who were sacked or forced out. “Durg this time, many have suffered the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic harassment, while urageoly servg this untry, ” he ntued. "Today, on behalf of the Brish state, I apologise, " Rishi Sunak a change the law 2000, lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr people were not allowed to serve the Brish army.
GAYS THE U.S. MILARY ARE NOW PROTECTED AGAST 'WCH HUNTS'
Rishi Sunak has apologised on behalf of the Government for the 'horrific' historic treatment of LGBTQ+ people servg the ary. Servg personnel spected of beg gay, lbian, bisexual or... * gay allowed in the military *
“As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry, ” Sunak told MP.
Promisg the ernment would implement the “vast majory” of Etherton’s remendatns, Wallace said he would fully update the Commons a formal bate about the issue after the about pensatn, Wallace said he hoped to fd “an elegant solutn that match the need and the requirements of those dividuals”, promisg to set this out after Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, was among mpaigners who weled the apology. Starmer said one of his nstuents, Ken Wright, a former RAF service member who was “forced to leave the job he loved simply bee he was gay”, was the public gallery to hear the apology. But as a gay man, I have been fightg my whole life to enjoy the very privileg I am entled to as both a beholr and protector of them.
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.
Twelve years after repeal of the ban on gay and lbian troops servg openly, no one the ary or Veterans Admistratn knows how many vets are still whout the benefs they're owed. * gay allowed in the military *
But two years to his enlistment, Steffanis got spotted at a gay bar near his base. "They cut my locker open and found some gay magaz, " he says.
While the LGBT ary muny has seen creased reprentatn the past , stris are still beg ma to improve acceptance, tegratn and health for gay and transgenr service members. * gay allowed in the military *
Not only was agast the ary regulatns, gay sex was still illegal Virgia, and many other stat.
The Uned Stat ary stggled wh s stance on gay service members for s prr to the signg of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” 1993 by former Print Bill Clton., * gay allowed in the military *
"They threw me the brig, put me on bread and water — was huiatg --for beg gay, " says Steffanis. " As long as they kept secret, gay and lbian troops uld serve. Rumors sprouted about how he wasn't datg women or had reported on others for g homophobic slurs.
In the years sce, the tegratn of gay and lbian troops has been herald as a huge succs wh no effects on un hn or bat reads, acrdg to the Pentagon. At the time was uncharted terrory, and Alexanr, by then a litenant lonel, sat a room full of senr officers talkg about how to handle gay service members.
"I said, you know what, 'I'm a gay service member, ' " he said. Alexanr's first project was wh the San Francis-based veterans chary Swords to Plowshar, tryg to help gay veterans wh other-than-honorable discharg. "I put up flyers all over the Bay Area the gay bars, plac I knew that the LGBTQ veterans would equent.
* gay allowed in the military *
And that's where he met Stephan Steffanis, 20 years sce his discharge om the Navy for beg gay. Ary the past , stris are still beg ma to improve acceptance, tegratn and health for gay and transgenr service members. 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.
Department of Defense (DoD) releas a policy statg that “homosexualy is patible wh ary service. 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.
2015: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announc that the Milary Equal Opportuny policy has been modified to clu gay and lbian service members.
U.K. Prime Mister Rishi Sunak has apologized for the treatment of gay veterans by sayg that a prev ban on LGBTQ+ people servg the U.K. ary was “an appallg failure of the Brish state.” * gay allowed in the military *
2016: The Senate nfirms Eric Fanng as secretary of the Army, makg him the first openly gay secretary of a U. The Uned Stat ary stggled wh s stance on gay service members for s prr to the signg of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” 1993 by former Print Bill Clton.
This allowed gay personnel to ntue to serve so long as they kept their sexualy a secret.
“No longer will our untry be nied the service of thoands of patrtic Amerins who were forced to leave the ary – regardls of their skills, no matter their bravery or their zeal, no matter their years of exemplary performance – bee they happen to be gay, ” said former Print Barack Obama. Prr to World War II, there were no official laws banng homosexual persons the ary, however, there were laws place agast homosexual acts.
The ary ban, which was lifted 2000, meant that gay people were dishonourably discharged and sometim, stripped of medals. * gay allowed in the military *
Milary psychiatrists theorized that heterosexual mal uld participate homosexual acts while alg wh the strs of war due to the lack of ‘normal’ sexual outlets war-torn areas. To protect Ameri’s servicemen om the ‘threat’ of homosexual men wh their ranks, the ary created more -pth physil and psychologil screengs of potential ary members. Homosexualy was among the list of ‘moral fects’ as well as other ‘sexual perversns’.
The ary doctors believed that homosexualy uld be tected the physil featur and mannerisms of men and would dismiss recs who displayed the characteristics. As for members of the ary found to be homosexual, there me the risk of urt-martial and possible prison time.
The announcement that gays will be protected om discrimatn the ary mak clear the old guard has lost the culture war. * gay allowed in the military *
“When was ascertaed that the basis of the maladjtment was homosexualy and this was reported to the dividual’s mandg officer, the subject ually received a ‘blue’ discharge, ” said Lt.