Issue: Gays in the Military

The United States military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy must be changed. This blatant discrimination damages our military readiness and weakens national defense. A 2003 research report commissioned by the Liberty Education Forum shows how this policy is hurting the American military.

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is the only law in America that authorizes the firing of an American for simply being gay.  Researchers estimate tens of thousands of gay and lesbian Americans currently serve in our nation's military-on the front lines of freedom. We commend their sacrifice, along with the sacrifices of all the other Americans who protect our nation. No man or woman in uniform should have to worry about being thrown out of the military for being gay. One's sexual orientation is no reflection of their courage, skills or combat readiness. Those who fight for freedom shouldn't face discrimination from the government they protect. Furthermore, the military should be promoting honesty among its service members, not secrecy.  

There are many reasons why Don't Ask, Don't Tell should be changed. Here are some of them:

1. With our nation at war, it is imperative to have the best and brightest fighting for freedom. We need the most qualified and competent people defending us, regardless of their sexual orientation. Don't Ask, Don't Tell keeps many talented Americans from serving this nation. As recruiting an all-volunteer force becomes more challenging, the military should not jeopardize its effectiveness by closing the door to qualified Americans interested in serving. As of June, 2007, 58 linguists fluent in Arabic have been kicked out of the military for being gay. This happened even as intelligence agencies complained about a shortage of linguists fluent in Arabic, and the military itself is desperate for Arabic translators. Winning the war on terror depends on having such people serving our nation.

2. Allowing openly gay service members will not hurt unit cohesion or competence. Our closest allies allow openly gay service members, including every member of NATO except Turkey. Research shows none of the countries with openly gay service members have been hurt by their non-discrimination policy. England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Israel are just some of the 24 nations that allow openly gay members in the military. Even South Africa allows openly gay service members.

Even though many opponents predicted problems in these countries before their bans were lifted, time proved them wrong. Researchers say not a single country with openly gay service members has reported any decrease in morale, recruitment, retention or cohesion. Researcher Aaron Belkin studied this issue for the Liberty Education Forum's recent white paper on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. He interviewed 100 experts around the globe, many of whom opposed their country's efforts to lift the ban on openly gay military personnel. Not one of the people he interviewed believed that their nation's military performance suffered when the ban was lifted.

Furthermore, a 2006 Zogby International poll, commissioned by the Michael Palm Center, of U.S combat veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, found that 75% of were comfortable working with gays and lesbians, and 68% either knew for certain or suspected there homosexual members of their own unit.  Yet clearly the combat readiness of our military has not suffered with the known presence of gay troops. 

3. U.S. soldiers already serve with openly gay service members from other countries. This joint service has created no problems for American personnel. The British military, our strongest ally in Iraq, has openly gay service members working alongside American forces. This has not caused any problems. Since the Persian Gulf War, United States forces have joined 20 joint military campaigns with other nations who have openly gay service members. A recent University of California study shows that in these 20 campaigns the American unit's cohesion, performance and morale did not suffer because of the presence of openly gay service members from other nations.

4. Supporters of the current policy often argue that allowing gay and lesbians service members would violate the privacy of heterosexual members. Again we can see what has happened in other countries who changed their anti-gay policies. Studies in England and Canada show very few complaints of sexual harassment involving homosexual members. In our own military, heterosexual service members are already serving alongside their homosexual peers, since “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” allows gays to serve.  So gays and lesbians are already sharing showers, barracks, and work spaces with their heterosexual counterparts, yet there hasn’t been a problem with harassment.  Finally, given the results of the Zogby International poll cited above, three-quarters of combat veterans state they are comfortable with the presence of gays and lesbians.

5. Even if some heterosexual members of the United States military have moral objections to homosexuals, that won't impact unit effectiveness. A Harvard research report examined hundreds of studies that showed a unit's effectiveness has nothing to do with whether or not members of the team liked each other.

6. The FBI, CIA, and Secret Service, along with most police and fire departments around the United States, now allow openly gay Americans to serve in their ranks. These non-discrimination policies have not hurt performance, professionalism, or morale.

7. There is strong sentiment to change this policy among both the public and the military. A recent Gallup poll of the American public shows 72% support the right of gays and lesbians to serve in uniform. More significantly, the same Gallup poll found that 91% of young Americans (18-39) think that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly.  And that age group is by far the largest part of the military. A 2004 Annenberg Survey of military members and their families found that 50% of junior enlist personnel say that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, up from 16% in 1992, and only 16% believed lesbian and gay service members were “bad for morale,” while just 12% thought allowing gays to serve openly would be “bad for teamwork.”

8. The Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is corrupted by some people as a way of avoiding military service. Research shows, and even the military admits, that a sizable percentage of those kicked out of the armed forces for being homosexual are actually heterosexual. They use the policy like a get out of jail free card. Eliminating the policy would close this loophole.

9. The military wastes millions of dollars each year investigating "violations" of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. With a huge budget deficit, this money could be better spent on projects that actually improve national defense.

10. The major failure of DADT is the huge loss of talent, and the costs associated with that loss of talent, when GLB service members: 1) are involuntarily separated under DADT; 2) voluntarily resign their commissions or refuse to re-enlist because of the stresses involved with living a lie, with the fear of discharge if discovered, and with the emotional toll of having to violate their service's honor code in order to serve your country; and 3) do not join the military because of the disincentives of DADT.

     The combination of personnel losses are far higher than the 600-750 people per year kicked out under DADT (#1 above).  A 2007 analysis of retention data by Dr. Gary Gates of the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School, based on an academic survey of GLBT veterans, found that 19.2% admitted to voluntarily leaving the military because of the difficulties of serving under DADT.  This translates to 3000-4000 people per year!!  And it has been going on for 13 years.  And every one of those 3000-4000 people are already paid for, trained and experienced.  You simply can't replace them with a raw recruit off the street.  At a time when the Pentagon is desperate for volunteers and wants to increase the end-strength of the military by 95,000 people over the next 5 years, the voluntary and unnecessary loss of 15-20 thousand people over five years is a significant portion of what DoD needs.  And, again, they're already in uniform.  Abolish DADT and most of these troops would remain.

Conclusion

More than 55 years ago, President Harry Truman desegregated the military. His courageous act received a hostile reaction from some Americans. Many of the same arguments made against President Truman's decision can be heard again today as a way of keeping openly gay Americans from serving this nation. Since World War II,110,000 Americans have been discharged from the military for being gay or lesbian. Tens of thousands of others have served in secrecy, with distinction. Some have given their lives in defense of freedom. The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy tramples the principles they died protecting. It rips at the fabric of liberty that so many thousands have died defending. The Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy must be transformed into Don't Discriminate, Don't Surrender!