Gays in the Military :: Gay Military Government Laws Essays Homosexual

Very often political institutions reflect the give of society and mess theprecedent for norms that will be expected of its members. The United StatesMilitary is still enforcing archaic policies which threaten to harm theprinciples our nation was founded upon. The principles of freedom and equalityare those that any American holds closest to their heart, that is unless youare in the phalanx and are gay. The issue of gays in the military has developedinto a case of whether our country should discriminate against a group merelybecause of involuntary sexual orientation. Two persistent principles are evidentwithin this topic that homosexuals are ever present throughout any branches ofthe military and a persistent hostility against this group is in Americansociety and the military. In order to effectively examine this topic thefollowing concepts will be discussed an analysis of the current Department OfDefense policy concerning gays, solutions to reduce homophobia in the military,a po licy model concerning homosexuals in the military ( Lepicer 1-14 ).Prior to the reaching of the Clinton Administration with its agenda toradically revise military policy regarding the acceptance and treatment ofhomosexuals, Department of Defense policy was well established and clear. Legalquestions began to be raised in civilian courts challenging the militaryexclusion and discharge policies in the 1960s and 1970s. The services wereforced to explain and clearly justify specific limits and procedures utilize inrelation to service members claiming to be homosexual or convicted of suchbehavior. During the Carter Administration a clear policy was signed into law.It readsHomosexuality is incompatible with military service. The presencein the military environment of persons who engage in homosexualconduct or who, by their statements, demonstrate a propensity toengage in such conduct, seriously impairs the accomplishment ofthe military mission. The presence of such members adverselyaffec ts the ability of the Military Services to maintain discipline,good order, and morale to foster interchangeable trust and confidenceamong service members to ensure the integrity of the system ofrank and command to facilitate assignment and worldwide deploymentof service members who frequently must stand up and work under closeconditions affording minimal privacy to recruit and retain membersof the Military Services to maintain the public acceptability ofmilitary service and to bar breaches of security ( Lepicer ).Everyone agrees that gays were already in the military, but gays want toserve their country out of the closet. This concept pitted the gay communityagainst the traditionalists who want to keep them out. The pass on is acompromising Dont ask / Dont Tell policy which prevents recruiters from