CNS News provides the background you seldom hear over Bill Clinton's pro-homosexual "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" rule allowing closeted homosexuals to serve in the military.
The "don't ask, don't tell" policy is not a law but a federal rule that the president could rescind, which would automatically make it illegal for homosexuals to serve in the military, according to the Center for Military Readiness.
Meanwhile, Congress is considering legislation to bypass existing rules and allow homosexuals to openly serve - an idea that some Democratic presidential candidates support, which could stir public debate as the 2008 campaign moves forward.
The "don't ask, don't tell" policy was never approved by Congress. It was an administrative order issued by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Later that year, the Democrat-controlled Congress rejected the policy and passed a law codifying into law a Department of Defense regulation that said "homosexuality is incompatible with military service."
The compromise in this bill was to allow Clinton's policy about not asking or telling to stand, unless the secretary of defense determines the question should be reinstated.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was never reconciled to military law in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). It was simply an official policy of "we're going to ignore the law."
2 comments:
What about being homosexual makes a person "incompatible with military service?" I don't see how a gay man working with other men in the military is any different than a straight man working with women in the military. Most straight males seem perfectly capable of controlling themselves in those situations.
If you believe homosexuals are incapable of controlling themselves, you must be basing your opinion on wrong, hateful stereotypes.
I base it first on the UCMJ which makes such activity illegal in the military.
There are a number of reasons why homosexuals in the military creates problems. You cited the example of men working alongside women in the military. There are some problems with this environment (I spent 10 years in the military, in an area that has combat duties during wartime), but they are mostly kept under control due to separate living conditions. And despite the recent decades of sexual license, most men are still taught to be gentlemen, or at least to behave well enough to avoid sexual harassment complaints. Also, men often--especially in combat conditions--end up living and sleeping and showering together. The military needs to worry about killing bad guys, not dealing with problems where one guy is coming on to another guy in close quarters.
Also, even in this day and age, not all homosexuals feel at liberty to "come out." Those that don't for whatever reason (don't want their parents to know, etc.), are susceptible to blackmail. In the arena of classified information and national defense, this vulnerability can be deadly. And though you might say, "Well, if they were allowed to serve out of the closet, we wouldn't have this problem," the fact remains that some would still want to keep their sexual disposition private--again, susceptible to blackmail. So would you then say it's okay to serve in the military as an open homosexual but not as a closeted one? There's absolutely zero logic in such a proposition.
Finally, military service is a privilege, not a right, and we need only the best, most stable people protecting us from the bad guys. Some homosexuals may be reliable in many ways, but when you consider that a homosexual disregards the proper use of their sex organs, this indicates both a moral and psychological problem. The military's job is too important to risk entrusting it to someone who is already having difficulties maintaining moral, psychological and sexual norms.
As for controlling themselves, I don't think homosexuals are incapable of controlling themselves. All the homosexuals who have left the lifestyle prove they can--the question is, "will they?"
The epidemic of sex in public bathrooms (Larry Craig's adventure, Fort Lauderdale http://dakotavoice.blogspot.com/2007/07/mayor-works-to-curtail-public-sex.html), the open sexuality of the recent Folsom Street Fair and other homosexual festivals, and the general inability of many homosexuals to look at anything without the lens of their sexual proclivities also conveys grave doubts about their willingness to control themselves. That's not based on a stereotype, but on their own behavior.
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