"Gays in the Military," Dan O'Rourke's latest column

| Submitted by admin on September 26, 2009 - 1:13pm.

The following, Gays in the Military, was written by CPJ member Daniel O'Rourke and published in his Dunkirk Observer column on September 24, 2009. 

Just last week, the Associate Press reported that  “British Prime Minster Gordon Brown offered a posthumous apology for the ‘inhumane’ treatment of Alan Turing, the World War II code breaker who committed suicide in 1954 after being prosecuted for homosexuality and forcibly treated with female hormones.”  He was only forty-two years old.
Prime Minister Brown said that he was both pleased and proud to have the opportunity to recognize the contributions and to apologize to Turing, a brilliant mathematician, who in WW II broke the German Enigma code.
The Prime Minister formally stated, “ It is no exaggeration to say that, without his  [Turing’s] outstanding contribution, the history of World War II could well have been very different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped turn the tide of the war. The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying that he was treated so inhumanely. … So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work, I am proud to say; we’re sorry, you deserved so much better.”
Fifty years later in our own country, President Bill Clinton attempted to change the policy prohibiting gays from serving openly in the military. He failed.  His “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” solution was bad policy with unintended consequences.  It forced gays and lesbians already in the military farther back into the closet and continued to deny the United States the talents and skills that homosexuals, like Turing, could contribute to our country. Years later Hilary Clinton said that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” had been responsible for the dismissals from the military of a number of desperately needed Arabic linguists. A crippling loss to our intelligence gathering in the Miiddle East. When will we finally recognize our gay and lesbian soldiers, marines and sailors -- and their talents? The time is long overdue for our government to change this homophobic, shortsighted, wrong-headed policy. 
Unlike the United States most western militaries openly accept gays.  Of the twenty-six countries with armed forces in NATO, more than twenty permit homosexuals to serve openly.  Canada after an extensive study dropped its military ban on gays. Israel too allows gays and lesbians in its military.  None of these armed forces have experienced the lack of cohesion and demoralization that some senior military officers claim would result if we allowed gays to openly serve. Ironically, as military recruitment becomes more difficult, the army is enlisting candidates with less education and more extensive criminal records -- but not accepting open and honest homosexuals.
The countries which allow gays to serve in the military, according to the International Lesbian and Gay Association and the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California, Santa Barbara, “are Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.”  Now, that’s an impressive military litany!
In addition to the United States those countries, which ban gays, are “Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Turkey and Venezuela. The list does not include countries in which homosexuality is banned outright, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and several other Middle East nations. These countries generally have no stated policy on gays in the military because they do not allow or acknowledge the presence of gays at all.” 
But back to England, the Box Turtle Bulletin reports that the July 2009 cover of “Soldier Magazine” an official British Army publication shows Trooper James Wharton in full dress uniform wearing his Iraq medal with the word “pride” highlighted on the cover.  This is the first time in the magazine’s history that an openly gay service member has been so featured.  The Brits have come a long way since their shameful treatment of Alan Turing -- and they continue to teach us. 
A confidential review of all branches of the military in the United Kingdom found “that most officers at junior ranks, particularly among the younger ones, had accepted the lifting of the ban [on gays in the military] without much comment.  It was only amongst the older Senior Non-Commissioned and Warrant Officer that it had met significant resistance.”
In this country, a repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gays serving openly is past due.  General Wesley Clark has said as much.  General Colin Powell, who fifteen years ago helped develop that unfortunate policy for the Clinton administration said last year on CNN that “we should definitely reevaluate it.”  In November 2007, Candidate Barak Obama promised to work with Congress, the Department of Defense, and the military’s senior command to develop “an action plan for the implementation of a full repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Up to now his administration has been dragging its feet.
Certainly, the President’s plate is overflowing. I understand why he does not need another contentious issue, but this is not just a question of civil rights or potential skills for the military.  Like universal health care, it is a moral issue. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”  failed policy is hateful and cruel. Its repeal is long overdue.  
 
Dan O’Rourke lives in Cassadaga, NY. His column appears in the Observer, Dunkirk, NY on the second and fourth Thursday each month. A grandfather, Dan is a married Catholic priest. He has published "The Spirit at Your Back," a book of previous columns. To read about the book or send comments on this column visit his website http://www.danielcorourke.com/