Issue Of Gays In The Military example essay topic

Gays in the Military The subject of Gays in the military has been debated over many times by many people. When dealing with whether or not gays should be allowed in the military the simple question of, Do they want to be in the military, must be answered. After this question is answered you can begin analyzing the problem. The answer to the question, Do gays want to be in the military, is an unquestioned yes. Gays would be proud and determined to protect this beautiful country in which we live. I personally am confused as to why there is even a question of whether or not gays should be allowed to protect and die for a country they love.

I do understand however the question of where should they live, both in the field and at their home base. It is hard for a man or women to get undressed in front of someone of the same sex, that may be looking at them with different eyes. When I say different eyes I mean a man looking at a man and thinking wow hes cute, or a women looking at a women and thinking the same thing. It would be very awkward for non-gay soldiers to deal with this problem.

Any political issue deals with people, and the gays in the military controversy is no different. Joe Stefan was kicked out of Annapolis one week before graduation after revealing he was gay. Alan Schindler was a gay man in the Navy. He was brutally murdered when some of his shipmates found out he was gay. Events like these can only be avoided by education and communication of what homosexuality is and how to deal with people who are homosexual. The segregation of gays and lesbians in the military should be limited to living quarters and that should be the extent of it.

The following is the 1993 National Board Policy on lesbians and gays in the military 1993 National Board Policy LESBIANS AND GAYS IN THE MILITARY 2/93 WHEREAS, President Clinton has taken the first steps toward ending discrimination against lesbians and gay men in the military; and WHEREAS, the response to this modest initiative has included a vitriolic, mean-spirited smear campaign designed to foster the impression that lesbians and gay men are undeserving of basic human rights and simple dignity; and WHEREAS, this shameful assault is directly linked to the continuing oppression of women, members of racial and ethnic minorities, and others viewed as being outside of the mainstream; and WHEREAS, the actions of the administration and Congress on this issue will provide a clear indication of the depth of their commitment to fundamental justice. THEREFORE, the National Organization for Women demands that President Clinton and Congress support an unequivocal ban on discrimination against lesbians and gay men in the military and that they reject such insulting alternatives as segregated units and restricted duties. Nothing less than full equality is acceptable. I do not believe that what this policy demands can be achieved because of natural human tendencies. I believe that segregating gays from straight people is as fundamental as segregating men and women. If the gay and straight peoples living quarters are integrated then what about men and womens living quarters, are they to be integrated too I dont see any arguments about that, it seems that the separation of man and women has become such an integral part of our society that we have come to take as a norm.

The sexual culture of the U.S. today is extremely turbulent for human sexuality and this is proven by the hardships that gays and lesbians go through on a day to day basis. On one hand you have the In group which is non-gay people, and on the other hand we have the Out group which is the gay and lesbian community. This is a classic example of how a prejudice is used to keep the out group down and out. This is because any culture that tries to identify and prosecute something as hidden as a secret homosexual identity can only do so by creating a climate of fear and hypocrisy. It must encourage unfounded accusations and it must submit unfairly accused people to brutal and destructive interrogations. In the case of gays, this must be done whether or not the suspected parties recognize themselves as gay or lesbian prior to the interrogations.

Military examples of these interrogations sometimes sound like brainwashing. There are currently gays in the military. A ban cannot keep gays out. There are just as many gays in the military as there are in civilian life. Policing the military to eliminate homosexuality does not eliminate homosexuals but it does create a climate of anxiety that causes a sexually toxic situation for everyone, straights as well as gays, because straights can be mislabeled as gay in our current military.

Straights are also able to keep gays down because of this anxiety. The present view of our government on gays in the military is a policy first brought up by the Clinton administration, and that is a policy of Dont ask, Dont tell, meaning that a persons sexual orientation will remain secret. As we all know a persons sexual orientation can only be kept secret for a certain amount of time before it is revealed. The policy, which has been in effect for some time now, has been the governments way of dealing with the problem of gays in the military... The new ban said you could be gay in the military, as long as you never let it be known. Well, under the old one a soldier could always be gay as long as it was never known.

And under both bans, you could be asked but need not tell. And under both bans, if you did tell that you were gay it would be grounds for discharge. So the gays had thought they would win this battle, but when the smoke had cleared, the military had clearly won. And this new ban, the new 'Don't ask, don't tell' ban, ended all the commotion, all the publicity. All this policy has done has made gay people step back into their closets. The talk shows stopped talking about gay rights.

The newspapers stopped carrying front page stories. The forces that had whipped it into a front page issue had lost steam There have been many other proposals but none have been as successful as the dont ask, dont tell policy. I believe that this is a good policy for the time being, but in the long run this policy will not do. A new policy must be made, but before a new policy can be incorporated into the system the views of the general public must change and people must accept the fact that some people are different. Both George W. Bush and John McCain are saying they support the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy that lets homosexuals serve in the military as long as they don't disclose their sexual orientation. This goes to show that the issue of gays in the military has not yet been resolved and may not be for some time now.

Carney, Ralph M., Here, Gregory M., Jobe, Jared B. Out In Force Sexual Orientation and the Military. Chicago: U of Chicago P. 1996. Shaver, Lois. And The Flag Was Still There: Straight People, Gay people and sexuality in the U.S. Military. New York: Haworth Pub.

1998. Scott Sandra, Wilbur. Stanley Carson. gays and Lesbians in the Military, Issues Concerns, and Contrasts. New York: Aldine De Gruyter Pub.

1999.