The Women, the Admiral, and the Undersecretary
This week women on Capitol Hill brought repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) back into Congressional hearings with great results.
Senator Susan Collins asked the new nominee for Joint Chief of Staff, Admiral Mullen, if he thinks it’s time for Congress to reconsider DADT, given the current strain on the military and the loss of critical talent due to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In her question she laid out some pretty good arguments for repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Admiral Mullen correctly answered that this is an issue Congress will decide.
On the House side, Susan Davis (pictured), Chair of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, asked similar questions of three Generals and the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Michael Dominguez. At a hearing probing why the Army has not met its recruitment goals for the last two months, Davis asked if Congress shouldn’t reexamine the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law given the fact that an estimated 41,000 men would likely apply to enter the military if the ban on gays and lesbians were repealed. Davis is a cosponsor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, the House bill to repeal DA, DT.
When Dominguez answered that people who believe themselves to be homosexuals can serve since the law is about conduct, and that actual “discharge ahead of schedule” numbers for gays have been relatively small for the last five years (around 700 annually), Davis came back with some excellent points in her calm, respectful style:
• that there is “probably some question about how [conduct] is interpreted”
• that if the discharges were in “high-skill areas” it could be an issue (Arabic linguists, anyone?)
• that “there are people who may not even think about serving, who would like to serve because they somehow don't feel welcome in the services”
She closed by saying that we should look to other services [ie. England, Australia, Canada, Israel, almost all NATO countries, etc. who allow openly gay service in their militaries] for their experiences, and that “we need to be as open as possible.”
Talk about understatement! Earlier at same the hearing, Army Major General Thomas Bostick , gave examples of felons who had received waivers to enter the Army because they deserved a second chance. One was an example of a 17-year-old who committed statutory rape with a 15-year-old.
Now, I’m not against second chances, but how about some first chances here? In the military, gays and bisexuals get fired if they hold hands or kiss someone of the same gender. But former statutory rapists get a “second chance?”
Davis had it right – there are some serious questions about how homosexual “conduct” is interpreted. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law says you can’t tell anyone you’re gay, and you can’t commit any gay “acts” – even off base and on your own time. Basically, you just can’t be gay. It’s about who you are, not conduct. To say the military is “welcoming” of gays is absurd.
Kudos to both Collins and Davis, as well as Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, who’s the lead on the House bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” All three serve on the Armed Services Committees of their chambers. These women on the hill are raising the issue, starting the conversation, and getting some pretty important questions about DADT into the Congressional record.
More power to them. We need to start this Congressional conversation ASAP so that when a vote on gays in the military comes up, it doesn’t blow up like it did in 1993.
- Julie KruseLabels: collins, Congress, recruiting
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