Scripps Howard News Service

President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address last month said: “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.”

The president was referring, of course, to the policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. The policy dates to 1993, when Bill Clinton tried to end the Pentagon’s ban on gays and met fierce resistance from the military and members of Congress.

But with the Pentagon in need of qualified recruits to help fight the war on terrorism, critics of the law say it undermines national security. Although many of the military’s top brass agree, there is no clear consensus.

Does discrimination against gays in the military serve any useful purpose any longer? Ben Boychuk and Joel Mathis, the RedBlueAmerica columnists, weigh in. They blog daily at www.infinitemonkeysblog.com and joelmathis.blogspot.com.



Keep it: ‘Silence’ is golden for military

Ben Boychuk

for Red/Blue America

The best argument for ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is military necessity. The armed services are short on translators of Arabic, Pashto, Urdu and other languages native to parts of the world where jihadist terrorism festers. That the military would discharge more than 800 gay and lesbian translators in the face of such a scarcity is scandalous.

But that argument only goes so far. It’s worth recalling the language of the 1993 law: “The extraordinary responsibilities of the armed forces, the unique conditions of military service, and the critical role of unit cohesion, require that the military community ... exist as a specialized society ... characterized by its own laws, rules, customs, and traditions, including numerous restrictions on personal behavior that would not be acceptable in civilian society.”

In other words, the goals and ideals that we cherish as Americans are not always or necessarily compatible with the military’s mission. The military is not a democracy. There is no constitutional right to be a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine. Millions of patriotic Americans cannot join the armed services for any number of reasons. Any argument for ending the ban on gays in the military should not — and must not — hinge on notions of fairness, equality or a general distaste for discrimination.

Clearly, the current law is dysfunctional. Clearly, many gays and lesbians wish to wear the uniform of the United States armed services. We should let them — but not at the expense of military readiness or unit cohesion.



Kill it ... then truly integrate our force

By Joel Mathis

for Red/Blue America

Here’s one benefit war has traditionally had for America: It calls us to our better selves.

We spent World War II bringing down a racist tyrant with dreams of empire, and we succeeded. But fighting Hitler abroad made systemic racism untenable at home, and it wasn’t long before Harry Truman desegregated the armed forces. This development was good for African Americans and for the security of the country.

The United States now faces a similar challenge. We’re fighting terrorists who want to kill Americans in the name of a theology that subjugates women and sometimes executes gays. But since the dawn of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military has booted nearly 800 members who possess “critical skills” for the nation’s defense — including more than 60 Arabic speakers. That’s bad for national security, and it shouldn’t be tolerated in order to accommodate anti-gay bigotry.

Conservatives have responded with concerns about “unit cohesion,” suggesting that gay lust and straight soldiers’ concern about gay lust could well undermine the battle effectiveness of American troops. Such concerns should be taken seriously, but they’re also easily dismissible. Many other countries, including our allies Britain and Israel, have successfully integrated gays and lesbians into their military. And to the extent that problems do pop up — they’ll almost certainly be rare — they can be dealt with under the military’s existing system of rules dealing with fraternization and unit discipline.

Gay soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors have served throughout America’s history, often with valor and distinction. Requiring them to stay in the closet has less to do with national security and more to do with old-fashioned prejudice. Our military has led the way in breaking down such barriers before, to our great collective benefit. It’s time to do so again.



For this week’s Sunday Issue, we invite you to “Sound Off” on President Barack Obama’s plan to repeal the current “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for gays and lesbians serving in the military. Would lifting “Don’t Ask” hurt or help our fighting forces? Should gays and lesbians be openly integrated into the military ... be rejected from serving ... or allowed to stay by keeping “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Your letters and Sound-Offs on this issue will appear on next Sunday’s Opinion & Comment page. For instructions on submitting correspondence, see page A4.