By Joe Dellosa
Special to the Sentinel
August 1, 2009
It's time to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military.
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and an Iraq War veteran, has been pushing the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would eliminate "don't ask, don't tell." It is sound, timely legislation that strengthens America.
The numbers are staggering. Since 1993, more than 12,000 servicemen and -women have been discharged under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Of those, about 60 were Arabic linguists, positions that are so critical and difficult to fill that, according to a 2008 Christian Science Monitor article, the Army considered offering retention bonuses of up to $150,000 to native Arabic-speaking soldiers.
"Don't ask, don't tell" takes a severe financial toll as well. In 2006, a University of California Blue Ribbon Commission concluded that the cost of implementing the policy from 1994 to 2003 was more than $363 million.
Most of these discharges aren't the result of inappropriate or unprofessional conduct. The mere discovery and lack of denial of one's homosexuality is enough to warrant a firing. Stephen Benjamin, a former Arabic translator in the Navy, wrote in a 2007 New York Times column that he was fired under the policy after his instant-message transcripts with a friend were found. The transcripts contained nothing remarkable, Benjamin wrote, except that they happened to indicate that he's gay.
If polls are any indication, the American public generally supports repealing "don't ask, don't tell." A December 2008 CNN/Opinion Research poll of Americans found that 81 percent believe openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military. There is strong bipartisan support, too; a May 2009 Gallup poll put support for openly gay people serving at 58 percent among Republicans, 67 percent among independents and 82 percent among Democrats.
Those who oppose repealing the policy are often quick to cite tepid support for the policy's repeal among those serving in the military. And it's true. An October 2006 Zogby poll of current and recent military service personnel found that only 26 percent agreed with allowing openly gay people to serve; 37 percent disagreed, and 32 percent were neutral.
But in the same poll, 73 percent said they feel "very" or "somewhat" comfortable in the presence of gay people. Among those who know someone in their unit is gay, 66 percent said the presence of gay people had no impact on personal morale, and 64 percent said it had no impact on the unit's morale.
This suggests that, even if opinions about "don't ask, don't tell" are mixed among service personnel, there's already an established comfort level about gay people serving in the military, and that comfort level increases for those serving alongside them.
I'm not in the military, and I doubt I have the guts to join voluntarily. But I have nothing but gratitude for those who put on a uniform to stand up for justice and improve the lives of people around the world.
And that's why this matters. When we say we support the troops, for that to be more than a slogan on a magnetic yellow ribbon, we have a responsibility to honor everyone — gay and straight — who does what the rest of us won't. Every day that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy remains in force is a day we fail at that responsibility.
Only nine Florida representatives have co-sponsored Murphy's bill, with Reps. Corrine Brown of Jacksonville and Alan Grayson of Orlando doing so last month. Other Central Florida representatives, including Ginny Brown-Waite, John Mica, Adam Putnam, Bill Posey and Suzanne Kosmas, haven't — but they should.
This is, after all, an apolitical issue, one of national security and respect for all who serve. Murphy deserves our support and, more urgently, the support of his House colleagues.
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Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
New Voices: U.S. should support all its troops, including gays -- OrlandoSentinel.com
New Voices: U.S. should support all its troops, including gays -- OrlandoSentinel.com
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19 comments:
Please can anyone explain why there was no gay in the military during WW2?
What caused these thousands of gays now in the military?
Thanks.
There is no proof that there were no gay soldiers during WWII. Just because no one admitted to being gay does not mean that there weren't gay soldiers. Homosexuality has always existed but it is more openly discussed (and more accepted)now.
On the other hand,is there a "don't ask, don't tell" policy among the seminarians?
The "would be priests".
Is it okay to have gay priests than gay soldiers?
It's okay for anyone who is gay to be gay.
glad to know of somebody who has a better understanding of how we should treat each other. unless proven to be totally harmful, both for established good goals and for other fellowmen/women, there should be no barriers to human endeavors in general.
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I have nothing against gays.
I do not treat them less than anybody. In fact I treat them with more sensitivity because (mostly) the ones I associated with are very erratic.
At times they talk/act more than a man, at times more than a woman; and still claim the opposite gender. They over do things & over react.
Most of them are very critical of other people's appearance & social status that they forget their own.
And most of the ones I acquainted with are professional BACK STABBERS.
As much as possible I'd rather NOT associate with them to save me the trouble.
Let me stick to the issue:
I TOTALLY SUPPORT "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Erratic soldiers should be removed from the front line.
How can we trust them with our national security?
I TOTALLY DISAGREE having gay priests.
They should be removed or banned from serving our church.
Some of them may use our faith to their human desires.
Most gays that I know are very artistic & creative; they can take a career in that line.
DO NOT BE A SOLDIER OR A PRIEST.
re: anak diwa
Looks like you DO have something against the gay community.
---
Look, there are good and bad people. Period. Everyone, from every background have all kinds of personalities. You can't just fit them into one mold and say "I'd rather not associate with them".
What if someone said, "most Filipinos are loud, I'd rather not associate with them."
As I said, there are good and bad in everyone.
There are good and bad and erratic and sweet and annoying and (in)sensitive white people.
Good and bad and erratic and sweet and annoying and (in)sensitive Asians.
Good and bad and erratic and sweet and annoying and (in)sensitive men.
Good and bad and erratic and sweet and annoying and (in)sensitive women.
Good and bad and erratic and sweet and annoying and (in)sensitive straight people.
Good and bad and erratic and sweet and annoying and (in)sensitive gay people.
To be respected,accepted and taken seriously by society, gays should behave accordingly.
That applies to all of us.
Thanks M.I., you & Joe seemed passionate on gay rights:)
Alan Turing was the founder of computer science. He was also a mathematician, code-breaker and a gay man. Misguided opinions, injustice, callous attitudes and simple, limited mental, psychological, social mindsets wasted a brilliant mind that mankind could have benefited more from. Below is an excerpt of Prime Minister Gordon Brown (England) speech/apology on Sept. 10, 2009.
“Turing was a quite brilliant mathematician, most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes. It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war. The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely. In 1952, he was convicted of ‘gross indecency’ - in effect, tried for being gay. His sentence - and he was faced with the miserable choice of this or prison - was chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He took his own life just two years later.
Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated. While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time and we can’t put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted as he was convicted under homophobic laws were treated terribly. Over the years millions more lived in fear of conviction.
So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work I am very proud to say: we’re sorry, you deserved so much better.” --- Gordon Brown
Correct me if I am wrong please.
To those who believe in the Holy Bible, please be reminded that the world was destroyed in Noah's time and the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were disintegrated into ashes, all because of deviants who have disobeyed the natural laws of God.
Bible reader, kung ang ibig mong tukuyin e lahat ng bakla, lesbian e dapat gupuin ng tulad ng nangyari sa Sodom and Gomorrah, sana naman bigyan mo pa ng kaunting pagmumuni-muni ang luobin mong ito. Hindi lahat ng gay o lesbian e gumagawa ng tulad ng mga pinarusahan sa Bibliya. Huwag nating pangunahan ang Diyos. Pabayaan natin Siyang Nakatataas ang maghatol, hindi ako, o ikaw o sinuman na may bahid din ng kasalanan at patuloy na magkakasala sa darating na panahon. Kanya nga tayo binigyan ng Sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation at paulit-ulit natin puedeng gamitin ito upang magig karapat-dapat tayo sa pagmamahal ng Panginoon.
Magpasalamat yong mga taong walang "factory defect" noong ginawa sila ng mga magulang nila. Mahirap ang kalagayan ng mga taong naguguluhan, akala mo. Pasalamat ang taong nakaaalam kung saan siya dapat tumayo. Bible reader, ipagdasal mo na lang yong mga taong maaaring kaiba sa iyo na sana nasa tangkilik pa rin sila ng Panginoon at harinawang huwag mahiwalay sa landasin ng mga katulad mong maka-Diyos.
P.S. I am not gay or a lesbian. I also do not agree with malaswang gawa (be it from gay or straight people). In this modern, chaotic world, where problems and disputes are everywhere, it is disastrous to submit to, or even to have narrow-minded, presumptuous individuals. And those who think they are the only best beneficiaries of Heaven are adding more divisions among men. "We are made unto the image of God" does not mean we have the same power and authority as God.
I don't judge anyone. I too is imperfect and a sinner. I am merely stating what I read in the Bible. But I am God fearing.
In Revelation there is the End of Time.
Global Warming, radical change of climates, Al Qaeda, wars, ethnic cleansing, etc. God's hints to mankind?
To Wish We Are All One:
So sorry but I 'find it a bit difficult to wish we are all one with deviants and pedophiles.
I too don't judge other people, and I wish the gays well too, but though I am imperfect my lifestyle is a world apart from gays.
Ordinary person, you are missing the point. Please read my remarks again and pull out the main point of it. My goodness, who wants to join the acts of pedophiles or behavior that is destructive to what Christ preaches or behavior that demean basic human rights. Deviant does not always mean bad because there are acceptable norms that if carefully analyzed are actually against human rights of individuals. So, to be deviant against these accepted norms that demean human rights is within good behavior. The tone by which you use “deviant” is together with evil, with pedophiles. Deviant as defined by Webster's dictionary means deviating from an accepted norm, esp. of behavior. There accepted norms inherited from the past that are in reality, in contradiction to human rights and I am sure there are still going on. However, during the period in which they were practiced, these norms seemed the right things to do. A few examples:
1. Segragation of the black people. When I was growing up in Bacon, my older folks used to tell me that if I don’t get into the house when dark falls a “negro” would eat me up. These are old people who go to church regularly, who made novenas and dressed conservatively, who seemed to be charitable but who would not hesitate to discriminate and look down on the ways of the poor and uneducated---but they were the accepted norms of the time; their ways were respected behavior of the time. Side with the blacks, defend the poor with unlearned manners and you would be deviant then.
2. Galileo’s discoveries and pronouncements were considered deviant in his time.
Later, the Pope had to apologize for such accepted norm of the time.
2. During the early years the spread of religion was done vigorously unreasonable often at the cost human lives and oftentimes people were subjected to baseless cruel judgment resulting to deaths—they were accepted norms then--would anybody dare be deviant and stand for what is humane?
Now back to our topic, the gender definition of gays and lesbians is not clear, but they are not all doing bad things just as people like you, are not all saintly or pure in every intention and character, even if their lifestyles are a far cry from gays (mine too is a far cry from them). And pedophiles are not all gays and some individuals, of the male and female genders can be or are actually pedophiles. Pedophilia is a crime but does not come hand in hand with gays and lesbians, as the tone of your comment implies.
Here’s what you also miss: The “wish we are all one” is actually to mean that it is a wish that we should not judge others: that we should leave it to God to determine who should be removed from earth, that we should be one in having a wider understanding of what divides people even in the simplest society we live in and therefore try to humble ourselves by opening our minds wider in an attempt not to be divisive.
Sorry, that this remark is long, but looking at your limited comment, there is a need to supply more information and examples. There is no guarantee that it will change your way of thinking, but I hope that others who will read this will consider things very well first before judging. Should they be the same as yours, then man will continue to be divisive and destructive.
Though you claim that you don’t judge other people you have just delivered your judgment about what I meant by Wish We Are All One. Same with your exclusive assessment of gays as deviants and pedophiles (gays is the topic of my remark). There is also what you call “reading between the lines”, so please do not try to hide your true position on this matter. By the way, since you easily jump into conclusions based on how you replied to my remarks, I would like you to know that I do agree with gays or lesbians getting married. To me matrimony is between man and woman. However, I do not label them derogatorily (I wish we are all one in this).
Correction: I do not agree with gays and lesbians getting married.
(I missed the word "not" in my previous remark)
To wish we are One;
I now understand your point of view. I apologize for the misunderstanding.
A Merry Christmas to You.
Ordinary person, thank you for reading & understanding my comments addressed to you. That means respect and I admire that.
Now, let's all be merry in celebrating our Savior, Jesus Christ's birthday. Peace and goodwill to all. And happy new year!
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