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Medill Reports: Debate over gay troops heats up at ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ hearing

WASHINGTON -- Fifteen years since “don’t ask, don’t tell” became military policy, the debate over allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the armed services reignited this week on Capitol Hill.

Opponents of the law prohibiting gay troops from engaging in “homosexual conduct” called on Congress to replace it with a nondiscrimination policy rather than relying on “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which still requires gays and lesbians to hide their sexual identity. They argued the law makes it harder for the military to recruit and retain skilled service members and takes a significant toll on the lives of gay troops.

“I realized that I had fought and nearly died to secure rights for others that I myself was not free to enjoy,” retired Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva told a House armed services subcommittee. Alva lost his right leg to a landmine in the first hours of the Iraq war.

Supporters of the law said repealing it would compromise the cohesion and discipline essential to military success.

“Forced cohabitation” with gay service members would be “devastating to morale,” said Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a conservative nonprofit organization that focuses on military personnel policies.

No Pentagon representatives testified at the hearing, but subcommittee chair Rep. Susan Davis of California said senior military officials “have indicated they would comply fully with any new legislation, although they do not advocate in favor of changing the policy at this time.”

Both sides highlighted the strain that the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have taken on recruitment and retention to support their arguments.

“I am appalled at the involuntary separation of thousands of skilled service members during a time of war – threatening our country’s military readiness for no good reason,” Alva said.

“‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ discourages thousands of talented and patriotic citizens from joining the military because, rightly so, they refuse to live a lie,” said retired Navy Capt. Joan Darrah.

But, defending the policy, retired Army Sgt. Maj. Brian Jones said “the retention rate is absolutely going to go down” if the law is repealed. He told lawmakers the military is stretched too thin to implement such a change “safely and securely.”

Emotions ran high at the congressional hearing, the first since the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was implemented in 1993 under President Clinton.

In particular, Donnelly’s claim that allowing openly gay people to serve would triple the incidence of sexual misconduct drew the ire of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

“You are basically asserting that straight men and women in our military aren’t professional enough to serve openly with gay troops while successfully completing their military mission,” said Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania. Murphy, an Iraq war veteran, called that claim “an insult to me and to many of the soldiers.”

Donnelly denied the charge. “Professional does not mean automaton,” she said. “People have sexual feelings. And they’re not perfect.”

“We’re talking about orientation, not misconduct here,” Murphy retorted.

The misconduct claim is “scurrilous” because sexual misconduct of any kind is addressed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, said Republican Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut.

“The issue is, if someone performs perfectly well but they have a different sexual orientation, should they be allowed to serve in the military,” he said.

Donnelly also argued that repealing the law would increase the number of HIV-positive service members, a claim Democratic Rep. Vic Snyder of Arkansas called “so inappropriate.” By that logic, Snyder said, the military should recruit only lesbians because they have low rates of HIV.

The heated hearing reflected the issue’s complexity, said Rep. John McHugh of New York, the subcommittee’s senior Republican. McHugh called for “a comprehensive and open debate” and said any decision would have to be based on data and a wide range of opinions, including input from the Department of Defense.

A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found 75 percent of Americans say gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military, up from 62 percent in 2001 and 44 percent in 1993.

But even the strongest supporters of repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” do not expect the law to change soon.

“We are pretty sanguine about the political reality that we face, which is that we have a president that wouldn’t sign the legislation,” said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, a Democrat from California who is sponsoring a bill that would repeal the current law and replace it with a nondiscrimination policy. Tauscher said she hopes that bill will move forward after a new president takes office in January 2009.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has said he supports repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, while Republican contender John McCain has said he supports leaving the law in place.

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