Collegiate Times

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” is an issue that has been in the press lately, yet many do not know entirely what it is or why it should be repealed. Officially titled Department of Defense Directive 1304.26, the policy states “Sexual orientation will not be a bar to service unless manifested by homosexual conduct. The military will discharge members, who engage in homosexual conduct, which is defined as a homosexual act, a statement that the member is homosexual or bisexual, or a marriage or attempted marriage to someone of the same gender.” The policy was passed as a compromise in that the armed forces would not focus on sexuality but on “acts and conduct.” Currently around 13,000 troops have been discharged for reasons stated above.

In my opinion, this policy is ludicrous and unfair to all Americans for reasons that DADT removes much-needed personnel in the armed forces and it is a discriminatory policy. As stated earlier, around 13,000 servicemen have been removed from the armed services since the policy’s inception in 1993. Let’s think about that number. That is 13,000 airmen, sailors, infantry and marines, among others, who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and defend the sovereignty of the nation. Out of those 13,000, many are servicemen who are highly specialized, greatly needed and very difficult to replace such as language translators, engineers and strategists. Currently for each service member discharged the U.S. government pays an estimated $22,000 to $43,000 per person or around $290 million to enforce DADT. At a time when we have plans to continue fighting in Afghanistan among other places, the last thing the military needs to be doing is discharging people because of their sexual orientation.

Even more important is the fact that this law is discriminatory and unconstitutional. This policy tells a group of Americans that they are not worthy of service, that they are not equal. Because they sought out their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they are to be punished and excluded from their heterosexual counterpart. One of the arguments in support of this is if lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Americans were allowed to openly serve, the unit cohesion would be diminished. When I hear this argument, the first thought that comes to mind is, “So lying about oneself to those in which there must be a strong trust is better?” The truth is scientific study has shown that being openly LGBT in the armed forces in no way diminishes unit cohesion or readiness. DADT is nothing more than an affront on the rights of American citizens and must be repealed if we are to truly live under the principle that all people are equal under the law.

So in closing, I want to leave you with some facts. The United Stated is one of the few Western nations that still bars LGBT citizens from serving in its armed forces. Great Britain, Australia, Canada and Israel already allow open service by lesbian and gay troops, and none report morale or recruitment problems. Many great military minds such as Colin Powell, Mike Mullen and Robert Gates have stated that DADT is a failed policy and support its repeal. Therefore, I feel that there is no excuse whatsoever for this policy to stand today and that it must be repealed as soon as
possible.

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 30 issue of the Collegiate Times.