Gays in the U.S. Military vs. Political
Opinion
One of the major hot button issues (that has been
around for decades and seems to keep popping up) is whether or not gay men and
women should be allowed to serve in the military. With 2012 being an election
year, this is now a major topic of discussion; it’s back on the menu AGAIN
along with abortion, the budget, welfare reform, healthcare, illegal
immigration, and a whole slew of other recycled topics that seem to never get
resolved. So with all these subject matters to choose from, WHY is this
particular topic on the lips of every politician vying for the office of
President of the United States of America? Simple, the repeal of the DADT
(Don’t Ask Don’t Tell) Law has made it THE current event to debate. For those
not familiar with DADT, journalist Rene Lynch summed it up nicely: “When it was
signed by President Clinton in 1993, the policy was hailed by proponents for
extending protection to gays and lesbians serving their country. Under the law,
commanders were not allowed to ask about someone's sexual orientation, and gays
and lesbians were expected to keep their orientation under wraps” (Lynch).
It’s true that
at one time this may have been needed, but it has long since outlived its
usefulness. On September 20, 2011 the DADT policy was repealed by President
Obama ending an eighteen year ban on hiding one’s sexual orientation from
military personnel, at the risk of ending a military career if exposed as a
homosexual(Griffin). Several of the top Republican candidates had very strong
opposing views to this radical change sparking some right wing controversy.
Presidential Candidate hopefuls Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Mitt Romney,
(none of whom has ever served a day in the armed forces) are attacking the
President (also never served) for repealing this outdated policy. They try to
throw in red herrings like religion, family values, sexual deviance, the
American image worldwide, etc. to distract from the actual topic at hand. Rick
Santorum even went so far as to say:"If the Supreme Court says that you have
the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to
bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have
the right to adultery. You have the right to
anything,"(Goralka).Santorum’s comment went so far off the charts of topic
and taste level that it’s a wonder he is even still in the running for
President. Personally, I’m glad the DADT policy was repealed. It reminded me of light skinned African Americans (back when slavery was still legal) that had to hide their ancestry in order to pass for whites; that way they could have a chance in life and be treated like human beings not property. It was wrong then and it’s wrong now. I don’t care what race, religion, color, or sexual orientation our troops are. I’m just completely grateful and thankful that they are willing to put themselves in harms way to defend this great country of ours, when others are unable or unwilling. They DON’T ASK us who we are before they sign up to serve, and they DON’T TELL us they will only defend a certain group, so we as a society shouldn’t ask them to hide who they are anymore. “Gay soldiers need to shoot straight, not be straight” Hillary Clinton 2003 (Gordon).
Works Cited
Goralka, Julie. Washington
Times.com. Washington Times Newspaper, 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 12 http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/end-day/2012/feb/11/rick-santorum-says-no-women-and-gays-us-military//
Gordon, Jesse. Issues2000.org. On the Issues: Every Political Leader on
Every Issue, 13 June 11. Web. 16 Feb. 12
Griffin, Jennifer.Foxnews.com. Fox News. 20 Sept.11. Web. 19 Feb 12 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/20/what-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal-means-for-servicemembers/
Lynch, Rene. LATimesBlog.org. Los Angeles Times. 9 Sept. 11. Web. 15
Feb. 11 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/dont-ask-dont-tell-officially-repealed.html
