Members Of The Military Do Not Agree

In December of 1992, even before he began his first term as President, Bill Clinton announced a controversial policy related to the service of homosexuals in the military called, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). At the time, the Clinton administration was seriously lobbying Congress to change federal law which prevented openly homosexual individuals from serving in the United States Armed Forces.

Clinton’s plan was met by furious criticism from political conservatives as well as military members who said such tampering with federal law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) would negatively impact the nation’s ability to defend itself. Clinton moderated and subsequently introduced the aforementioned “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which is still in force today.

On January 27th, 2010, during his first State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said he would seek to overturn DADT in order to allow homosexual men and women to openly serve in the U.S. military. By the way, Obama pledged to do just this during his presidential campaign.

The premise behind DADT is simple, but it has resulted in more confusion, according to many military personnel. Under DADT, openly homosexual individuals are still prohibited from serving in the armed forces. But recruiters and officers are instructed not to ask questions regarding an individual’s sexual orientation and members of the military are supposed to keep their personal sexual habits private.

Obama’s speech proved there is a movement being led by liberal politicians, “gay” activists and some members of the dominant media that want to lift the prohibitions that state homosexuals cannot serve in the military under current law. It must be noted there have been a significant number of individuals discharged from the armed forces because they violated the UCMJ related to their sexual orientation. However, some sources claim the number of discharges that have taken place in recent years, due to the military’s restrictions on open homosexuality, have dropped considerably.

Many current and former members of the military believe the service of openly gay and lesbian military personnel would be detrimental to combat readiness.

“Acceptance of homosexuality would be devastating to the military,” said Cy Huerter, a retired Navy Lt. Commander. “We don’t need perversion of any sexual orientation in the military. The defense of our country is not a social experiment.”

“Frankly, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has led to issues which have nothing to do with America’s defense,” said a former military officer who requested anonymity. “If openly gay and lesbian individuals were allowed to serve in the Armed Forces, the possibility for abuse of the Uniform Code of Military Justice would be even greater and that should be plain to see for everyone.”

It would take an act of Congress to change the Uniform Code of Military Justice. However, the will of the American people should trump the desires of Obama and those on the far left who put their self-interest ahead of the nation’s welfare.