A British take on America’s ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy in the military
The ’Don’t Ask Don’t Tell'policy in the US bans openly gay and bisexual men and women from serving their country, an honour that many heterosexual men and women in the military take for granted. It was introduced by President Bill Clinton in 1994 as a compromise, due to increasing pressure from Republicans to ban gay Americans from serving in the armed forces altogether. Since its introduction, thousands of gay and lesbian military personnel have been unjustly kicked out of the army simply for their sexuality. It doesn’t matter whether you are the most talented person in your division, or if you have saved the lives of other military workers from imminent explosions, or if you have even risked your own life for the safety of others – if you are gay then you are considered a threat to conduct and you are thrown out like the garbage. What next, is the US government going to think it is okay to ban homosexuals from working locum doctors jobs because they are a ’threat’?
Now hear it from a British point of view – gays in the army are no threat to military conduct. Take it from a country that is now celebrating its 10th anniversary of permitting all men and women to serve in Her Majesty’s Forces, regardless of their sexual orientation. The truth is that heterosexual men working alongside homosexual and bisexuals have never had any problems with regards to sexuality of their crew members. Neither have any heterosexual women had a problem working alongside homosexuals or bisexuals serving in their units. America is backwards and desolate when it comes to equal rights in the military. Every European country except Greece currently permits all gay and lesbian persons for serving in their armed forces.
The truth is that the social conservatives in America have been unable to find any evidence to challenge the fact that gays and lesbian do not degrade military standards, because such evidence simply does not exist. Segregating heterosexuals from homosexual and bisexual members in the army will only cause friction and bitterness and merely brings America back to the times of ‘separate but not equal’, when blacks and whites were regularly segregated at public venues. It is time for America to move forward and become a global model for equal rights – otherwise it will continue to remain isolated from the core values and objectives that the United States was founded on.