BIRMINGHAM — For the first time since its implementation 15 years ago, Congress is considering overturning the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in place by the military.
The policy, drafted by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, and supported by President Clinton, bars openly gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans from serving in every branch of the U.S. armed forces.
At the time, in 1993, the policy relaxed a long-standing outright ban on gays from serving and was seen as an advancement in gay rights; however, today the conversation seems to be shifting.
Critics claim the policy excludes many highly qualified gays from serving in the military. The Pentagon has discharged an estimated 12,000 servicemen and women because of their sexual orientation since “don’t ask, don’t tell” was adopted.
The House armed services military personnel subcommittee held hearings Monday to consider whether the ban needs to be updated or edited.
Rep. Christopher H. Shays, R-Conn., attended the hearings and broke party ranks to voice strong opposition to a policy he sees as “holding America back.
“I think the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy is unpatriotic, I think it’s counterproductive, in fact, I think it’s absolutely cruel,” Shays said.
Shays, the only House Republican from New England, is the lead G.O.P. sponsor of House Bill 1246 that would repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” and prohibit the military from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.
The bill was introduced February 2007 by Massachusetts democrat Rep. Martin Meehan, and this was the first debate on the bill. A subcommittee vote has not yet been scheduled.
The bill’s journey to law is going to be a difficult one, at least for the next 25 weeks. Most analysts agree it will take a Congressional shakeup and a new party in the White House for the Military Readiness Enhancement Act to become law.
“There is no way, while a Republican is in the White House, this is going to happen,” said John Codine, associate professor of political science at UAB. “It is going to take great support from the House and the Senate, and there will have to be great pressure on a president for this to become law.”
While the bill has 126 co-sponsors in the House, it also has powerful opponents. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, supports the current policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and is likely to ignore the bill.
President Bush has promised to veto any such legislation, as has the republican hoping to succeed him, Sen. John McCain.
In an October G.O.P. presidential debate, McCain said it would be a “terrific mistake” to “even reopen the issue.”
McCain’s Democratic opponent, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, says the policy needs to be revisited and eventually overturned, but not hastily.
According to Obama’s presidential Web site, an Obama administration would look to other countries — most notably Israel and Great Britain, whose militaries have allowed gays to serve openly since 1993 and 2000, respectively — to see how they have handled the transition.
Among senior military officials, including recently retired Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, there is a widely held view that allowing homosexuals to openly serve in the military would be disruptive to morale and detrimental to discipline.
These senior officials have said in public the bonds of trust required for combat troops to develop lifesaving cohesion within frontline units would be more difficult, if not impossible, to build, given the more conservative culture of the American military.
Even so, the public’s attitudes on this question have shifted significantly since the debate roared through the first year of the Clinton administration.
According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, 75 percent of Americans feel “don’t ask, don’t tell” should be lifted to allow gays to openly serve; a dramatic move since 1993 when the same poll reflected only 44 percent were against the policy.
It is no surprise to many that the shifts in attitudes is generational. The Pew Research Center says younger people are more tolerant toward the gay community than are their elders.
“I would think that (sexual) orientation wouldn’t matter, but then again, I’ve never been in the military,” said Zach Pullman, a senior in aerospace engineering. “If this country prides itself on being against discrimination, then why does the military still get to do it?”
More than 20 NATO countries allow gays to serve openly in their respective militaries.
Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, the first American wounded in the Iraq war, losing his leg in the opening hours of the invasion, attended the subcommittee hearing and summarized the feelings of many homosexuals who are or were in the military.
“I had proudly served a country that was not proud of me,” Alva said.
