The military's longstanding ""Don't ask, don't tell"" policy came one step closer to becoming a thing of the past last week when a federal judge ruled the policy unconstitutional. First enacted under the Clinton administration, the rule allows gay men and women to enlist, but only if they remain closeted and don't engage in homosexual acts during their service.
Though originally a well-intentioned compromise (previously, gays had been totally barred from serving), today the policy is nothing more than an anachronism, left over from a less permissive time that has long passed. A Gallup poll in March showed that 70 percent of Americans favor allowing openly gay men and women to serve, showing how outdated the policy really is.
Obama himself has promised to do away with the rule since his campaign, and congress just this year voted for a repeal of the unpopular policy. Though the senate has yet to take up the issue, the Department of Defense still staunchly defends their dated outlook on equality. For years they have maintained they simply are ""not ready"" for that change, claiming it would upset the order and discipline the military depends on. However, that same argument was used to fight against racial integration in the 1940s, and as far as I know the discipline of the U.S. Military has not suffered at all by allowing black and whites to serve together.
In addition to being unnecessary, the discriminatory ""Don't ask, don't tell"" dynamic of today's military only leads to gay soldiers living in constant fear and paranoia, stripping them of the self-respect and confidence a U.S. soldier is supposed to embody. A soldier can be reported gay by their chaplain, doctor, psychiatrist or fellow soldier, meaning these brave Americans are constantly on guard and have no place safe to discuss the heavy issue that weighs on their mind.
Jonathan Hopkins, a former U.S. Army captain who was discharged in August, recently wrote about his experience in the New York Times. He continued to serve for 14 months after being reported as gay while his case was under investigation. Effectively, he served in a post-D.A.D.T. military during that time, commanding troops who all knew about his sexuality. In those days, he reports he was finally able to have a normal social life and a boyfriend. But perhaps most importantly, he said, ""I was accepted by most of them, as was my boyfriend, and I had never been happier in the military. Nothing collapsed, no one stopped talking to me, the Earth spun on its axis, and the unit prepared to fight another day.""
Fourteen thousand soldiers have been discharged since the policy was enacted in 1993, soldiers just like Hopkins who had otherwise done their jobs faithfully and competently. Some estimate there are 65,000 gay soldiers currently serving, all of whom loyally fulfill their duties and obey their orders. If we can all trust these soldiers to protect our country, I highly doubt that being open about their sexuality will have any effect on their job performance. Frankly, I believe that being happy, self-confident and totally comfortable with their sexuality would make those already committed patriots into even better soldiers.
And yet, no matter how obviously archaic the policy seems to the average American, we will still see no quick action to reverse it. The decision has to make it through the Senate, and in an election year no politician is eager to take on a controversial issue. More directly, the Supreme Court could take the case and reaffirm the federal judge's ruling, but that's no quick process either. Likely, the debate will continue for a year or more until some military higher-up makes the right decision.
Though being able to serve in any capacity is better than not at all, this particular policy has done nothing but hurt the well-being of thousands of gay Americans and only furthers the ignorance upon which the guideline is based. The majority of Americans, including myself, don't care whether the soldiers defending our freedom prefer men or women, so let's give them back their constitutional rights and allow them their own ""pursuit of happiness."" Our troops come face-to-face with danger all the time; let's just make sure it's not us they're looking at.
Lydia Statz is a junior majoring in journalism and international studies. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
