LGBT Individuals In The Military: Repeal Of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

The debate over gay and lesbian rights (LGBT rights) is an extremely important part of social and political discourse today. The debate is very significant because it brings to light people’s deep-seated personal views of what is right and what is wrong. The current debates in the public square as well as in the legislatures and courts seem to focus on two areas: the right to be an openly homosexual military service member and the right for same-sex couples to enter into marriages. And while this paper is about homosexuals serving openly in the military, the fight for same-sex marriage will be examined as part of the history of the fight for LGBT rights in general. However, the most recent and import social and legislative issues concerning LGBT rights lie with the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy (Congress).

LGBT issues: Shifting Views

Military service – putting one’s life on the line to protect our country – is seen as one of the highest honors a person can achieve. Military personnel, especially after the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001, are regarded as heroes. The military is a place where men and women transition to adulthood. Military service has wide ranging effects from the formation of personal identity to the formation of one’s family. As Kelty, Kleykamp, & Segal, 2010 (p. 188-189) points out, being a homosexual can limit, if not fully exclude, a person from serving. However, homosexuals have served in the military since revolutionary times. They have been confronted with stigma and “faced discrimination for most of that time.” Kelty, Kleykamp, & Segal, 2010 (p. 188-189). In fact, homosexuals were prohibited from military service from 1950 through 1993 when the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT) policy was enacted under President Clinton(U. o. A. i. Congress).

Therefore, “the gay community did not have the same access to service either as an adult or as a gateway to other roles as did the straight community. Kelty, et al., 2010 (p.188) goes on to talk about the changing public opinion since the implementation of DADT. There were between 58 and 91 percent of the public that did not support the ban (in 1993). While public opinion has gradually shifted in favor of allowing open homosexuals to serve, military opinions have shifted drastically since the 1990’s. “Upwards of 40 percent now support such service,” especially younger service members (Kelty, et al., 2010, p. 189).

While opinions of service members and the general public are very important in the debate over DADT, the more important opinions reside in the legislatures. Herrick, 2010 (p. 930) explains how many state legislatures are, in fact, less supportive of LGBT rights than the public. When comparing the attitudes towards civil unions, members of the legislature support civil unions about 10 percent less than the public at large (44% v 54%) (Herrick, 2010, p. 930). Supporting civil unions is a step behind support for same sex marriage. In explaining the motivations behind the opinions of the legislature, Herrick, 2010 (p. 931 & 940), similarly to Moradi & Miller, 2009 (p. 405-406), cites several factors that influence their opinions. Among those factors is contact with homosexuals.

The more exposure one has to homosexuals, the more supportive one is for LGBT rights. This is a form of the contact theory that was first introduced during segregation of African Americans. Herrick, 2010 (p. 932) also agrees with Moradi & Miller, 2009 (p. 405) in citing religious affiliation, demographic factors such as age, gender, and political affiliation as influencers of opinions toward homosexuals (either positive or negative). Also, for the legislatures, the size of the LGBT community in their districts has an effect on the level of support for LGBT rights (including integration in the military). It seems that factors of religion, age, and political affiliation are important in the LGBT rights debate. However, there were many social changes occurring in favor of acceptance of homosexuals in all aspects of life.

Before the DOMA was passed, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (officially it can be found under 10 U.S.C. § 654) was enacted. It remains the current policy of the United States Military today. It was initially passed in 1993 by the 103rd Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1994 (H.R. 2401)(Congress 1993). In regard to homosexuals in the military, it stipulates two things. Firstly, that a member of the military cannot be an ‘open’ homosexual. This means that if a soldier was an open homosexual, he or she could not become a member of the military. It also means that no soldier can engage in any behaviors deemed to be homosexual in nature because thy would be ‘outed.’ Secondly, no officer can inquire or investigate about a soldier’s sexual preference without reason. The DADT policy has been in effect since 1993(Congress 1993).

Homosexuality is seen, now and back in 1993, as a danger to the cohesion of the military as a whole and a threat to morale, order and discipline. The Department of Defense issued directive 1304.26 that changed the punishable action from engaging in homosexual activities to being a homosexual, therefore compromising with, and conforming to, the proponents of a full ban of homosexuals. The actual definitions of ‘homosexual,’ ‘bisexual,’ and what ‘homosexual acts’ are can be found in a 1993 Department of Defense document by scrolling down to the ‘Definitions’ section. The way in which the bill worked was that anyone found engaging in homosexual behavior was dishonorably discharged. However, it was against the law to ask if a soldier was a homosexual. So in effect, DADT prevented open homosexuals from serving. Anyone that was a homosexual but was still ‘closeted’ was fine. As we can see, the main objections to allowing homosexuals in the military are associated with risk to the morale, order, discipline, and unit cohesion that are the ‘essence’ of military capability. This argument implies that by having homosexuals serve openly, our military readiness and effectiveness would be diminished. And especially at times of war, we must never do anything that would hurt our military.

Whether or not homosexuals can serve our country in the armed forces has been a debate for a long time. The traditional policy of the armed forces towards homosexuals (‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’), which has been around since 1993, was supposed to be a compromise to allow gay men and women to serve. Before then, open homosexuals were not allowed to serve and were not granted privacy rights. The name of the policy speaks for itself: the military would not ask the soldier if he or she is a homosexual (don’t ask) and the soldier would not tell anyone he or she is gay (don’t tell). Opponents of the DADT policy see it as discriminatory. DADT states that ‘open’ homosexuals cannot serve in the military. Moreover, if a soldier ‘comes out’ they are subject to penalties, including discharge. Some people feel that having those restrictions against homosexuals in the military simply because of their sexual preference is discriminatory. There were several court cases that upheld the DADT policy.

After DADT was enacted, the political opposition to same-sex marriage has heated up as well. Just three years later, in a preemptive strike against same-sex marriage, congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 (DOMA) Harvard Law Review, 2004 (p. 2684). The bill federally defined marriage as between a man and a woman and allowed states to not recognize same-sex marriages from other states. “DOMA was Congress’s way of anticipatorily retrofitting the U.S. Code to withstand ‘orchestrated legal assault’ by homosexuals seeking access to the array of benefits, rights, and privileges its provisions make available to heterosexuals (Harvard Law Review, 2004, p. 2648).” The reason this legislation was preemptive is because there had been no legally recognized same-sex marriage at that point in time. It seems like the early 1990’s reflected a conservative stance on homosexuality. Moreover, DOMA and DADT were not the only government policies aimed at regulating homosexual behavior. Court decisions also played a role in the regulation, and subsequently, the relaxation of regulation of homosexuality in the military.

Baunach is a researcher that (Baunach 365)cites the results of the General Social Survey of 1988, the first to include questions about same-sex marriage, and reveals that 12.4 percent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that homosexual marriages should be recognized as legal. 72.6 percent either opposed or strongly opposed. Just sixteen years later, though, the percent that either agreed or strongly agreed that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry jumped to 21.3 percent. Over the same time period, those who either opposed or strongly opposed dropped by almost a third (from 72.6 percent to 55 percent) (Baunach 365-70). Moreover, it appears that movement towards recognition of same-sex marriages has occurred and approved by the Supreme Court. However, opposition to same-sex marriage still exists and invokes such intensity that despite fewer people being against it, those who are against equality are “often intensely opposed, exercising heavy influence on legislatures (Baunach 365-70). This seems to mirror the argument of Herrick, 2010, who asserted that legislatures are pressured by constituents to vote in certain ways that may or may not reflect their personal beliefs (Herrick, 2010 p. 940). This shift in public opinion regarding same-sex marriage from the 1980’s is indicative of a broader acceptance of discourse on homosexuals in general.

As we have seen, both public opinion and legislation have shifted in favor of LGBT rights. The culmination of this shift has lead to the repeal of DADT(Congress 2010). The most recent and important legislation in terms of homosexual rights and the military is The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (Senate version and House version, became Public Law No: 111-321). The bill, which has passed in the House on December 15th, 2010 and in the Senate on December 18th 2010, is the most recent and most significant breakthrough for LBGT rights advocates. The bill; however, does not instantly reverse the DADT policy. 

It is obvious to proponents of the bill that this is a major step in having a true non-discriminatory policy. President Obama signed the repeal into law in December 2010. Before that, in a press release from July 2010, the Pentagon states their support for a review/survey of the troops. It states that the heads of our armed forces would be in favor of repealing DADT as long as it does not affect our military morale or cohesion(Burks 604).

Clearly this reflects a positive influence that the repeal of DADT would have on the military. Regardless of public opinion, our trained military personnel are telling us that they see no adverse affects in having openly gay men and women serve our country (Burks 604). The sentiment of our own servicemen and women is an important part of what led to the repeal of DADT. These attitudes of both the military members and the public are part of what contributed to the speed at which the bills moved through the House of Representative and the Senate was impressive. And President Obama moved quickly to turn it into law. This, of course, did not happen without the tacit consent of the people.

According to the Pentagon review, and as reflected in public opinion polls, and the recent legislation passed by the Congress, House and signed into law by President Obama, there seems to be no immediate or lasting adverse affects of open homosexuals serving in the military. The first step, before any real changes occur on the ground, is changing the language of the official US Code to reflect the repeal. Only then can the military move forward to enforce the new regulations. As has been demonstrated, the repeal of DADT occurred because of a convergence of factors. Shifts in public opinion, court decisions, and legislation have all played different yet complimentary roles in getting DADT repealed. Bureaucracy can move very slowly, but a slower implementation may be what is needed to prove to the few conservative groups that feel the repeal is a danger to our military. Only time will tell.

Works Cited

Baunach, Dawn Michelle. "Changing Same-Sex Marriage Attitudes in America from 1988 through 2010." Public Opinion Quarterly 76.2 (2012): 364-78. Print.

Burks, Derek J. "Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Victimization in the Military: An Unintended Consequence of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”?" American Psychologist 66.7 (2011): 604. Print.

Congress. "Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell." Ed. Defense, Department of. Library of Congress2010. Print.

Congress, US of America in. "Don't Ask Don't Tell." Ed. Defese, Department of. Library of Congress1993. Print.

Harvard Law Review. (2004). Litigating the defense of marriage act: The next battleground for same-sex marriage.  Harvard Law Review, 117 (8), pp. 2684-2707. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/stable/4093411

Herek, G. M. (2006). Legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the united states: A social science perspective.  American Psychologist, 61 (6), 607-621. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.61.6.607  Retrieved from  http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/ehost/detail?sid=adc89ebc-f1ad-46d8-9666-abe401d7a4dc%40sessionmgr12&vid=1&hid=19&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=pdh&AN=amp-61-6-607

Herrick, R. (2010). Legislators' positions on gay and lesbian rights: The personal and political . Journal of Homosexuality, 5 7(7), 928-943. doi:10.1080/00918369.2010.493449  Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/ehost/detail?hid=122&sid=ab232ede-0e91-476a-a7b9-70381d4bbf67%40sessionmgr112&vid=2; http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=52497621&site=ehost-live

Kelty, R., Kleykamp, M., & Segal, D. R. (2010). The military and the transition to adulthood . The Future of Children, 2 0(1, Transition to Adulthood), pp. 181-207.  Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/stable/27795065

Moradi, B., Miller, L. (2009). Attitudes of iraq and afghanistan war veterans toward gay and lesbian service members . Armed Forces & Society, 3 6(3), 397-419.  Retrieved from

http://afs.sagepub.com.proxy.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/content/36/3/397.full.pdf+html

Nussbaum , M. (2009). A right to marry ? Dissent (00123846), 5 6(3), 43-55.  Retrieved from

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