Why Gays Should Not Be Allowed To Serve In The Military

Homosexuals have been excluded from our society since our country's beginning, giving them no equal protection underneath the large branch of the law. The Emancipation Proclamation gave freedom to blacks from slavery in the 1800's and women were given the freedoms reserved for males in the early 1900's with the women's suffrage movement. But everyone still knows the underlying feeling of nation in dealing with minorities and women, one of contempt and utter disgust. Hate crimes are still perpetrated to this day in this country and most are unpublicized and "swept underneath the rug." The general public is just now dealing with the struggle of Homosexuals to gain rights in America, although this persecution is subtle, quiet and rarely ever seen to the naked eye or the general public.

The big question today in Homosexuals rights struggles is dealing with the right to be a part of our country's Military Forces. At the forefront of the struggle to gain access to the military has been Female's who have tried to gain access to "All Men" facilities and have been pressured out by other cadets. This small group of women have fought hard, and pressured the Government to change regulations dealing with the inclusion of all people, whether female or male, and giving them all the same opportunities they deserve. The Homosexual struggle with our Nation's Armed Forces has been acquiring damage and swift blows for over 60 years now, and now they too are beginning to fight back.

With the public knowledge of "initiation rights" into many elite groups of the military, the general public is beginning to realize how exclusive the military can be. One cadet said after "hell week" in the Marines, "It was almost like joining a fraternity, but the punishments were 1000 times worse than ever imagined, and the Administration did not pretend to turn there back, they were instrumental in the brutality."

The Clinton administration's policy of "don't ask, don't tell" is back in the news, mostly because the Obama administration is dragging its feet about abandoning it. One indirect consequence of the decision not to reverse the policy immediately was the forced resignation of Daniel Choi, a West Point graduate, Iraq veteran, and Arabic translator who came out on national television. Having violated the "don't tell" part, Choi was informed that he would have to resign from his National Guard unit. Not surprisingly, Obama's vacillation and the Choi incident have a number of gay rights advocates up in arms.

I can understand the short-term politics (read: timidity) behind Obama's decision (i.e., he doesn't want to annoy the armed services when he's got two wars to wage, especially when both are going badly). But from a realist perspective, not allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the armed forces is a bad policy. Realism sees world politics as a competitive realm, where states face real enemies and where military power is an important element of state's overall ...