Thursday, Jul. 30, 2009

What If . . .

When I was in high school I would sit in my room and dream of what my future would be like. Would I grow up to be a doctor, a lawyer, an artist, etc? The list goes on and on. I knew I was gay at that time. I knew that being gay might affect my future. Part of me even thought that my future could help me hide being gay. I remember looking through college choices and coming across information about the United States Military Academy at West Point. It sounded great – mentally and physically challenging with a promising future. (I was a very over-achieving youngster.) My mom freaked.

While I decided against West Point Military Academy and opted for a degree in Fine Arts, my true love, I always wonder what would have happened. What would have happened if I had been like Lieutenant Dan Choi? A graduate of West Point, Choi majored in Arabic language and environmental engineering. He served a 15-month tour in Iraq beginning in 2006. He is the essence of a valuable U.S. service member. He led combat patrols in the Triangle of Death, the area south of Baghdad where major combat activity and secular violence occurred in 2004 and 2005. He served as a translator and teacher of Arabic to troops and used his engineering skills to help rebuild schools and hospitals. He is a born leader – proud of his country and willing to give his life for it.

And he’s gay.

I like to think I might have turned out a lot like Choi. But people have said that he (and I) can undermine unit cohesion and morale in the military. That we compromise privacy. We harm recruitment and offend the morals of the military and its soldiers. Like Choi, I hope that I would have chosen to no longer hide who I was and come out, even risking all I’d worked for and loved. Choi has been ordered out of U.S. military for publicly announcing his homosexuality in a direct challenge to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He has vowed that he will continue to fight the decision and the DADT policy.

Under the policy more than 10,000 service members have been discharged, including 2,345 since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The military has fired 757 troops with “critical occupations” and 322 with “important foreign language” training, including 55 Arabic linguists, all at a taxpayer cost of roughly $200 million, also according to the SLDN report in 2005. The organization reports that an estimated 65,000 gays, lesbians and bisexuals serve in the U.S. military (including National Guard and reserves). I think that the policy deprives the military of crucial personnel, violates freedom of speech and the equal protection clause in the Constitution and unfairly discriminates against capable men and women who wish to serve their country.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was pushing for legislation to place an 18-month moratorium on DADT dismissals, but has tabled the effort after not gaining enough support to guarantee the votes needed. Her efforts may not have been completely lost, however. This week, Gillibrand announced that the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold hearings this fall on the policy, marking the first hearings held in the Senate on the military’s gay ban since it was instituted in 1993. The House held hearings in the summer of 2008. The hearings will not serve the purpose of passing legislation, but rather invite testimony from experts and could help garner support for the eventual repeal of DADT. In a statement released by Sen. Gillibrand, she thanked U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Armed Services Committee chairmen, for agreeing to hold the hearings and said that “military leaders are telling us that the times have changed. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is an unfair, outdated measure that violates the civil rights of some of our bravest, most heroic men and women. By repealing this policy, we will increase America’s strength – both militarily and morally.” According to a recent Gallup poll, 69 percent of Americans think gay and lesbian people should be allowed to serve openly.

Many people also believe that repeal will likely come up in the House soon. U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) is leading a bill called the Military Readiness Enhancement Act and is reportedly getting close to the 218 votes needed to pass the bill. Momentum here could help ease the pressure on the White House.

Many have criticized President Obama for not signing an executive order to immediately halt dismissals based on sexual orientation. This includes some organizations implying that it has even been fueled by some gay rights leaders urging him not too. The Palm Center, a research institute at the University of California-Santa Barbara, which has spoken out for the repeal of DADT, plans to issue a policy analysis this week entitled “A Self-Inflicted Wound: How and Why Gays Give the White House A Free Pass on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’” According to the Palm Center’s Web site (www.palmcenter.org), the report will look at how “some gay and gay-friendly activists, journalists and politicos" have tried to “block an executive order on gay troops.” Much like Harry Truman did in 1948 by desegregating the Armed Forces, Obama could sign an executive order banning further dismissals on the basis of DADT.

Obama has said that a change in law would have to come from Congress, although he agrees that it needs to occur. He has also asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to explore ways to modify enforcement until the law is changed.

In another move that seems like DADT is soon coming to an end, U.S. Sen. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) was appointed earlier this month to the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Board of Visitors. Polis was the first openly gay non-incumbent to be elected to Congress in 2008. The board reports to Congress and the Pentagon on how the academies are doing, including recommendations for change. Under current policy, Polis would be dismissed from the school for being openly gay if he were a student. Polis told the Associated Press that “We expect that [DADT] to end shortly, and I look forward to being a value to the Academy in making the transition.”

Signs are all seemingly pointing to change coming soon. Obama has been in office almost 200 days now. Gillibrand reported to journalist Jason Bellini with The Daily Beast, that “265 men and women have been unfairly dismissed from the Armed Forces” during that time period. That’s more than one a day. It’s time for the policy to end. It’s time for our government to stand up for equality, whether or not it’s the politically popular move. It’s time for our military to stop dismissing worthy, talented individuals who want to serve their country. And, it’s time for other gay and lesbian high school students out there to dream of going to West Point and stop wondering “what if.”

Out & About

Friday, Aug. 7 – The Gay Professionals Happy Hour will meet from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Aug. 7 at Liberty Tap Room & Grill, 7651 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach. For more information, e-mail FirstFriday@GambleLivingston.com.Woman.

Till next week, have fun and be safe.

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