Gays in the Military Essay -- Homosexual Gay Lesbian

For nearly 50 years, it has been the U.S. arma workforcets official policy to eliminate homosexuals from service. In November 1992, President - elect Clinton told Americans that he planned to lift the militarys broad - standing ban on gays and lesbians. Homosexual men and women, he verbalize, should not be prevented from serving their country based on their sexual orientation. in brief after taking office in 1993, Clinton faced powerful military and congressional opposition to lifting the ban. General Colin Powell, then - chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Senator surface-to-air missile Nunn, who was chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee between 1987 an 1994 and left Congress in 1996, announced that they would seek to block his attempts to lift the ban.For the next six months, struggle raged over what to do about the militarys ban on gays and lesbians. Clintons liberal supporters cute him to follow through on his promise to lift the ban, urging the require to end discrimination against gays and lesbians. Conservatives, military leaders and some policemakers of both parties argued that the comportment of declared homosexuals in the armed forces would be detrimental to military readiness. They said that letting gays and lesbians serve would destroy all morale and erode smashing discipline and order. Ban opponents maintained that gay people were capable men and women who should be allowed to serve their county.In July 1993, a compromise policy was touch between supporters and opponents of the ban. The compromise, known as dont ask, dont tell, allowed gays and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they did not proclaim their homosexualism or reside in Homosexual conduct. Under the policy, military commanders would not try to knock out the sexual orientation of the personnel, and gay and lesbian personnel would not disclose their sexual orientation. The policy marked a change from departed practice in that precisely being homo sexual was no long-run a disqualifier for military service. Conservatives saw the change as a unfortunate relaxation of the absolute ban on gay people. Liberals were dissatisfied because the parvenu policy still allowed the military to oust gays and lesbians if they revealed their orientation.While some liberals differ with the policy, arguing that it punishes gays and lesbians for engaging in the same kinds of behavior that heterosexuals are fre... ...for the easement of society. If the federal government itself discriminates against gay people, they say, that sends a powerful message to otherwise employers and to society at large ConclusionIve discovered in doing this overcompensate that some opposition to gay peoples military service is based on moral concerns. I feel that many people believe that homosexuality is wrong and do not want the federal government to come out to condone it by allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. Some observers point out that gay people h ave not yet been fully accepted and structured into society at large. They say that asking the military to accept gays and lesbians is simply asking too much.ReferenceIssues and Controversies Gays in the military, Facts on File intelligence Service(1999), Retrieved from http//www.facts.com/icof/i00062.htmRobinson, B.A. Gays in the military Dont ask, Dont Tell, (2000) Retrieved from http//www.religioustolerance.org/hom_mili.htmSteffan, Joseph Gays in the Military Joseph Steffan verses the United States, (2001)A.P.A Newsletter (1997) Retrieved from www.apa.udel.edu/apa/archive/newsletters/v97n1/law/military.asp