Latest News
Op Ed: The Desert Sun, Joe McCormack
September 25, 2009
'Don't ask, don't tell' law must be rescinded now
Joe McCormack
Special to The Desert Sun
In 1968, I received my draft notice and immediately enlisted in the Navy, serving as a quartermaster, attending officer candidate school and reporting for duty at the Pentagon.
Years later, as the Vietnam War was coming to a close, I was offered the option of either a public affairs billet with a submarine command in South Carolina or an early release from active duty. I loved the Navy but didn't want to put my career in jeopardy by remaining in an institution that could fire me at any time because I was gay. So I left the Navy prematurely.
Today, an estimated 4,000 men and women each year are leaving or not enlisting in the first place for the same reason: they're gay. Under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, openly gay people are not welcome to serve their country. Our government is telling them, no thanks, we have no need for your critical language and intelligence-gathering skills to hunt down al-Qaida.
More than 13,000 gays have been booted out
The law is a deterrent to attracting and keeping skilled and talented service personnel. More than 13,000 have been kicked out under the law since 1994.
But here's the reality: The newest generation of service personnel - Iraq and Afghanistan veterans - do not equate sexual orientation to job performance, according to a 2006 Zogby survey. The corporate world learned this key lesson a long time ago, as did the CIA, State Department and the FBI. Gays and lesbians can be "out" at work if they so choose. What matters at the end of the work day is how well the job gets done.
In July, Gen. Colin Powell told CNN's Larry King, "When I came into the Army in 1958, we had only seen the last segregated unit four years earlier. The country was still a racist place, Jim Crow. But the Army said to me, ‘We're now integrated. Powell, listen, we don't care where you came from, we don't care about your color, we don't care where your parents came from. All we care about is performance.'" I couldn't agree more.
Powell, an original architect of the 1993 ban along with then-Rep. Sam Nunn, D-Georgia, has said the policy should now be reviewed. Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili supported "don't ask, don't tell" in the 1990s but now firmly believes it should go. Conservatives and Republicans - groups that opposed open service in the 1990s - now support full inclusion of gays in the military, according to Gallup Poll. The point here: Times have changed.
There is no evidence that gays reduce morale
Supporters of "don't ask, don't tell" cling to their own manufactured fear of gay people. They're never able to explain exactly how, either by pointing to a study or anecdotally, that openly gay people would destroy the military. Multiple studies, including the 1993 seminal report from the conservative-leaning RAND Corp., show unequivocally that gays and lesbians do not disrupt unit cohesion, morale or discipline. And the real-world experiences of the British and Israeli militaries - among the toughest in the world - have shown that integration of gays does work and works well.
Californians who care about national security or workplace fairness should contact their U.S. senators and representatives to support the bill in Congress, the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, that would repeal "don't ask, don't tell." Constituents who live in Rep. Mary Bono Mack's district should schedule a meeting with her to explain why now is the time to overturn this law and to stand up for all service members, gay and straight, who are putting their lives on the line for your freedom and mine.
Joe McCormack and his partner have had a second home in Palm Springs for seven years and recently became full-time residents. He served in the Navy from 1968 to 1971 and is on the board of directors of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network in Washington, D.C. E-mail him at joem@mccormackassociates.com.
Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.