Being openly gay or bisexual and enlisting in the military have never been compatible.
But in a recent video posted on the transition team Web site, a spokesman for President Obama said that he was committed to ending the 15-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military. The policy, a political compromise reached during the early days of the Bill Clinton administration, prevents openly gay and bisexual men and women from serving in the armed forces.
It’s about time this legislation met its end.
The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is discriminatory, sorely outdated and not at all reflective of the society the policy serves.
The logic that backed “don’t ask, don’t tell” was flawed from its outset.
The policy states that the presence of homosexuals or bisexuals in the military “would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.” But this reasoning fails to acknowledge that sexual orientation, while undoubtedly a part of all of us, does not define our capabilities and should not affect interactions that have no bearing on sexuality.
Like it or not, sexual orientation does not determine one’s capacity for bravery, duty and honor. Only the content of our character can determine that, and it should be this character that decides whether or not we choose to enlist in the military.
This choice is no small commitment, and while I cannot speak from experience, I think it is safe to assume that homosexuals who enlist without disclosing their sexuality do so primarily out of a sense of duty to their country and not out of some desire to meet other homosexuals.
These closeted homosexual servicemen and women have demonstrated their ability on the battlefield alongside their straight counterparts. Matt Shea, chief of staff of American Legion Post 911, and a former service member deployed to Iraq, recalled when his fellow squad leader came out to him.
“It’s about competence, about being able to do your job. He was a better leader than most, took care of his guys better than most I’d seen,” Shea said.
This responsibility to do one’s job and do it well is a common commitment across the military.
Major David Kramer, a professor of military science at UCLA, could not reveal any personal position on the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, but he did state that his cadets here at UCLA “are highly intelligent. They are all about defending what they believe is right and protecting the constitution is part of their oath as a contracted cadet.”
This desire to defend the constitution and the ideals of America should not be withheld from a particular group of people based solely on sexual orientation. The ideals of the cadets here at UCLA are undoubtedly values held by most Americans serving in the military, both gay and straight.
But besides the faulty and prejudiced logic that has allowed “don’t ask, don’t tell” to persist, there are other reasons why this policy is overdue for repeal.
Our society has changed in so many ways since 1993. A generation of young people have come out of the closet, both because they feel more comfortable in today’s society and because they are tired of pretending that there is something wrong with being gay or bisexual.
Danny Torres, director of the UCLA Queer Alliance, a campus group focused on advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender acceptance, said that “the Internet and cable television have revolutionized the visibility of the LGBT community, and as a result you’ve got a lot more people who are comfortable with their sexuality.”
And where some communities once had little contact with openly gay and bisexual individuals, these same communities have realized they live with, work with or interact with gay and bisexual people every day, and these individuals are just as deserving of the same rights that apply to every American.
In a recent poll conducted by ABC, 75 percent of Americans supported allowing gays and bisexuals to serve openly in the military, as opposed to 44 percent in 1993. Our military policy should reflect this overwhelming change in public opinion.
It’s time that this transformation of opinion is realized. At last, after 15 years, the American public can see that homosexuals and bisexuals are just as capable, dedicated and brave as any straight American. We can only hope future equality issues won’t take so long to resolve.
We must be able to see how we can improve the present by keeping an eye to the future, and President Obama must be ready to do the same. He should be commended for his commitment to end “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but he must also realize that there are larger steps to be taken toward equality for all, and we can’t afford to wait another 15 years to take them.
Want the freedom to ask and tell? E-mail Fitzpatrick at cfitzpatrick@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.