Going soft on gays in the military

By Susan Oliver Nelson

President Barack Obama is committed to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs reaffirmed the president's position in an April briefing after several protests from gay and lesbian groups that have grown impatient with what they perceive as “inaction” on the policy.

During his State of the Union address in January, Mr. Obama told the American people that this year he will work with Congress and the Pentagon to repeal the law.  He stated his “unequivocal” resolve to do so which is based on the Constitutional principle that we are all created equal.

“The law denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are,” Mr. Obama stated. “It’s [repeal] the right thing to do.”

Per Mr. Obama’s request, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is working with the Pentagon to prepare the military for the repeal of the 1993 Section 654, Title 10 law which has become known as “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” Under the current provision, the law prohibits homosexual conduct; however, the question regarding homosexuality was deleted from military induction forms—although routine inquiries about homosexuality can be reinstated at any time by the Secretary of Defense.

In the meantime, members of Congress are expected to propose a moratorium on homosexual dismissals in the military within the 2011 defense authorization bill.

Mr. Gates said that while he supports lifting the ban, a Pentagon study on how to carry out a plan to permit homosexuals to serve openly, “can only be successful if it is managed in a way that minimizes disruption to a force engaged in combat operations.”

On February 2, during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mr. Gates said he would be working in “close consultation” with Adm. Mullen to make certain the department is prepared should Congress repeal the 17-year-old law.

“Speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do,” said Mr. Mullen.

Mr. Mullen said he believes service members would accommodate a change to the policy but there’s the probability that repealing the law would lead to a “disruption in the forces.”

“We would all like to have a better handle on these types of concerns, and this is what our review will offer,” Mr. Mullen told the Congressional panel.

Mr. Gates assigned his chief legal counsel, Jeh Johnson, and Army Gen. Carter Ham to lead a Defense Department’s high-level working group to reach out to troops and their families in focus groups and forums to determine what concerns they might have. The purpose of the review process is to assist the Department in its understanding of the implications of the possible repeal of the policy.

According to Military Times, 350 “rank-and-file” troops who were randomly selected and assembled at the Pentagon auditorium in April, said they want to know what changes were in store for them if homosexuals were allowed to serve openly.

As a component of the report, Mr. Gates asked for the input of homosexual troops. Because current law prohibits the revelation of one’s sexual orientation, the Pentagon reported that a third party was to be brought in to “poll homosexual troops about their thoughts on repealing the ban to get around the law.”

Mr. Gates ordered the study to be completed by December 1, 2010.

Mr. Gates said the initial review produced findings that “would enforce the existing law in a fairer and more appropriate manner” and are supported by both by Adm. Mullen and Vice Chairman Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright.

At a Pentagon news conference in March, Mr. Gates said he had approved guidelines effective immediately to the implementation of the current statute: that “outings” by third parties may no longer mean automatic grounds for separation proceedings.

Mr. Gates said the changes give "a greater measure of common sense and common decency for handling what are complex and difficult issues for all involved.”

The Defense Department has raised the level of officers who are authorized to initiate and conduct inquiries into the allegation of a service member’s sexual orientation, and the firing of gay-enlisted personnel is limited to an officer at a rank at least equivalent to a one-star general. The guidelines also say that information given by third parties should be declared under oath, and place “special scrutiny on third parties who may be motivated to harm the service member.”

However, according to Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center of Military Readiness, the Gates/Mullen policy should be called “Don’t Report, Don’t Act” because it encourages local commanders to look the other way, pretend ignorance or decline to act on credible information indicating that a service member is not eligible for military service.

“There is no constitutional right to serve in the military,” Ms. Donnelly says. “The 1993 Eligibility Law has nothing to do with ‘who they are,’ as the president put it.”

Ms. Donnelly said the extraordinary responsibilities of the armed forces, the unique conditions of military service and the critical role of unit cohesion, require that the military community exist as a specialized society, characterized by its own laws, rules, customs and traditions, including numerous restrictions on personal behavior that would not be acceptable in civilian society.

While American soldiers continue to face multiple deployments in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Obama is more concerned with pursuing his radical agenda. He is struggling to honor a campaign promise he made to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to lift the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military. Once again, our Commander-in-Chief shows that he is more concerned with placating a radical minority, rather than protecting the national security of our country.

-Susan Oliver Nelson is a writer living in Washington, DC.