Go Ahead: Ask, Tell

Our society is turning a corner in the way we consider sexual minorities, especially on the dimensions of sexual orientation and gender identity. I remember reading a passage in Keouac, maybe from the late forties or early fifties, where some guys are walking along and they meet some gay men and beat them up. There's no explanation, they just beat them up because that's what you do. It seems to me there's a story in Hemingway, too, the same thing, our macho hero meets a gay guy and just punches him in the face for being gay.

That wasn't that long ago, fifty, sixty years.

Gay people were excluded from the military until the Clinton years, when the compromise of "Don't ask, don't tell" allowed them to participate in the armed services as long as they kept their sexual orientation to themselves. You ended up with some crazy situations -- a 2005 study by the GAO found that 10,000 individuals had been released from duty because of their sexual orientation. A BBC article from that year noted:

Of those, 757 were in critical occupations such as interpreters and intelligence analysts.

Some 322 had proficiency in strategically important languages that the Pentagon has said are in short supply, the GAO concluded. US military's gay policy 'costly'

You tell me why it matters whether an interpreter is gay or straight? Remember after 9/11 when they said we had intercepted some phone calls but didn't have anybody who could understand them? This is why. Somebody asked, or somebody told.

"DADT" is a vestige of olde-thyme anti-gay prejudices, and most people today have gotten over all that. Oh, straight people might be a little uncomfortable when they see two guys kissing or whatever, but most Americans agree they have the right to kiss, they deserve the same rights the rest of us get. And most members of the armed services would have no problem serving next to a gay person.

The news this week is pretty blunt -- Don't ask, don't tell should go:

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 8 (UPI) -- A study by senior U.S. military leaders urges the end to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays serving in the armed forces.

The report, commissioned by the Palm Center at the University of California-Santa Barbara, included 10 findings and four recommendations, the research center said on its Web site.

Key findings include the policy prevents some gay service personnel from performing their duties, gays already serve openly and "military attitudes" toward gays and lesbians are changing.

Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion," the report said.

The report by retired military personnel recommended Congress return authority for personnel policy under the "don't ask, don't tell" law to the Defense Department. In addition, the report recommended that Defense Department directives' language be neutral regarding sexual orientation and set up safeguards to maintain confidentiality between service members and chaplains, doctors and mental health professionals. Report: Repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'

Have you seen the statistics on how many criminals, mental patients, and other scary people they're accepting in the military now? But they won't take a perfectly well qualified gay person?

You can read the study itself HERE.

From the first page, a summary:

The Study Group has made ten findings, including:

Finding one: The law locks the military’s position into stasis and does not accord any trust to the Pentagon to adapt policy to changing circumstances

Finding two: Existing military laws and regulations provide commanders with sufficient means to discipline inappropriate conduct

Finding three: “Don’t ask, don’t tell” has forced some commanders to choose between breaking the law and undermining the cohesion of their units

Finding four: “Don’t ask, don’t tell” has prevented some gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members from obtaining psychological and medical care as well as religious counseling

Finding five: “Don’t ask, don’t tell” has caused the military to lose some talented service members

Finding six: “Don’t ask, don’t tell” has compelled some gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members to lie about their identity

Finding seven: Many gays, lesbians, and bisexuals are serving openly

Finding eight:“Don’t ask, don’t tell” has made it harder for some gays, lesbians, and bisexuals to perform their duties

Finding nine: Military attitudes towards gays and lesbians are changing

Finding ten: Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline, or cohesion"

The report elaborates on these findings and makes four recommendations:

Recommendation 1. Congress should repeal 10 USC § 654 and return authority for personnel policy under this law to the Department of Defense.

Recommendation 2. The Department of Defense should eliminate “don’t tell” while maintaining current authority under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and service regulations to preclude misconduct prejudicial to good order and discipline and unit cohesion. The prerogative to disclose sexual orientation should be considered a personal and private matter.

Recommendation 3. Remove from Department of Defense directives all references to “bisexual,” “homosexual,” “homosexual conduct,” “homosexual acts,” and “propensity.” Establish in their place uniform standards that are neutral with respect to sexual orientation, such as prohibitions against any inappropriate public bodily contact for the purpose of satisfying sexual desires.

Recommendation 4. Immediately establish and reinforce safeguards for the confidentiality of all conversations between service members and chaplains, doctors, and mental health professionals.

This isn't written by a bunch of activists -- trolls in our comments section will be shocked to learn that Teach the Facts had nothing to do with the preparation of this report. The report is authored by a team of Generals and an Admiral, from the Marines, Air Force, Army, and Navy.

Will the policy change? Elections are coming up, America may emerge from the darkness, maybe some rational decisions will be made, for a change.