February 2: Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell
On 2 February 2010, Admiral Michael Mullen spoke against “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” Don’t Ask Don’t Tell baned openly gay soldiers from joining the military. Mullen stated that letting openly gay soldiers serve in the U. S. military was “the right thing to do.” He asserted that “no matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are.”
When DADT was first enforced, it was a policy that was a way to keep from exposing gay personnel in the military. In earlier years (1910-1940) homosexual soldiers were dishonorably discharged for their conduct, which was viewed as sodomy. They received what was known as a blue discharge; a stigma that branded them for their homosexual offenses and made civilian life unbearable. Even during the DADT debate an openly gay soldier was actually “booed” while coming on stage.
The repeal of DADT was signed three years ago by President Obama, but yet there seems to be little known progress of how effective the repeal has been. Doe the policy stop homophobic people from yelling offensive slurs? Does it stop violent hate crimes? Does this change the mentality and mind frame of individuals that are ‘intolerant’? How is it that this has been an issue since 1910 but yet it took one hundred years to realize that letting openly gay soldiers serve was ‘the right thing to do?’
–Alene Archie
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Meet the Author
I am an eighteen-year-old student from Detroit, Michigan attending Schoolcraft College. I am studying for an Associates in Business and then plan to continue on with my Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources at Wayne State University. I have always loved to write and it is one of my favorite hobbies.
As a veteran and someone who keeps active within veteran communities and familiar with military culture, I can tell you that the repeal of DADT has not had any significant negative impact. And this view is supported by the Palm Center’s 2012 study regarding the issue. Sure, there are those that huffed and puffed over it. However, much with racial integration and women’s rights, these people have quickly shown themselves to be obsolete.
In regards to hate crimes and harassment: 1) Harassment is covered under the UCMJ. So those who harass gay serviceman are subjected to the same punishment as any other type of harassers. 2) In regards to violent hate crimes, I have no data other than the aforementioned fact that there’s been no significant negative impact. There have probably been a few incidents, but we can’t cherry pick those examples when the majority data doesn’t support them as the norm.
The greater issue is that it’s likely that the majority of serviceman either supported the repeal of DADT, begrudgingly dealt with it with no recourse, or didn’t care. The military is much like the civilian world: An eclectic mix of many different people with many different political and social views. It’s not necessarily the bastion of conservative thinking that many Americans may think of it as. Veterans fought over this issue just the same as civilians did. And just like with racial integration and similar civil rights: The progressives won, and the opposers learned to suck it up or face the consequences.
Is it a guarantee that gays in the military won’t ever face any form of discrimination or violence? No. But there’s no greater chance of it in the military than there is of it in the civilian world.