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The U.S. Military: Where It’s Illegal for Gay People to be Honest
"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass" – the current U.S. policy on gays in the military – is the only law in the country that forces people to be dishonest about their personal lives or be fired or possibly imprisoned. This discriminatory policy hurts military readiness and national security while putting American soldiers fighting overseas at risk. As recently stated by John M. Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former supporter of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," the lift of the ban is inevitable. "When that day comes, gay men and lesbians will no longer have to conceal who they are, and the military will no longer need to sacrifice those whose service it cannot afford to lose."
The Military Readiness Enhancement Act remedies this discriminatory and unworkable policy and replaces DADT with a policy of non-discrimination. MREA was introduced in the 109th House of Representatives by Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., with 122 bipartisan co-sponsors and will be reintroduced in the 110th Congress.
Countless gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans have and will continue to serve in the U.S. military with distinction. The only question is whether they will have to lie about their sexual orientation to do so. Since enactment of the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy, numerous gay and lesbian troops have served openly while pending discharge with no effect on unit performance, readiness, cohesion or morale. Moreover, U.S. military personnel are already serving side-by-side with openly gay service members – with no identifiable negative effects – in and from countries throughout the world. Former Defense Secretary William Cohen agrees – the ban is discriminatory, and "We’re hearing from within the military what we’re hearing from within society, that we’re becoming a much more open, tolerant society for diverse opinions and orientation." We must end this discriminatory policy sooner rather than later and ensure that the U.S. military can recruit and retain the best and the brightest troops regardless of their sexual orientation.
Other Resources on GLBT Military Issues