People are becoming more accepting of the sexual orientation because most of the upcoming generation is being raised to respect everyone. “Gay schmay. If he has the guts to go through the things I did then good for him…”(Marine Vet qtd In Parker 12). Military personnel are worried that by allowing gays to serve will decrease the number of people being recruited and mess up the consistency of units. Some government officials believe that the only reason to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will be to improve military effectiveness.
22. Since 1993, the policy had allowed gays to serve in the military so long as they kept their sexual orientation quiet. The policy came to an official end at 12:01 am on Sept. 20, 2011. More than 13,000 service members were discharged in the 18 years after it was mandated by Congress. The law calling for repeal required that the action be delayed until President Obama certified that the military was ready for the change, which he did in July 2011.
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell or Ignorance is Bliss Homosexuals have faithfully served in the military since its very beginnings. But this fact does not matter to people who oppose the full integration of homosexuals into the military. Many reasons have been cited, but there has been little proof offered to substantiate these reasons. Colonel Roland D. Ray of the United States Marine Corps is the author of Gays: In or Out. In the section titled, “The Reality of Homosexuality and its Lifestyles,” Ray states, “Many homosexuals engage in sexual practices that are virtually unknown among heterosexuals.” After checking the front cover to determine if this book was written in this century, I found it difficult to believe Ray felt he could effectively speak for the entire heterosexual world when he made this statement.
However, upon the review of the wording used in Princess Bernice Pauahi-Bishop’s will, the will does not specifically exclude any student from admission. It just requires that “preference” be given to those of “Hawaiians of pure or aboriginal blood.” Four years after her death, in 1888, her husband, Charles Reed Bishop, yes, she married a Caucasian man, tells in his Founder’s day address to the public that the school is intended for well intended youths and if they could not be found in the Hawaiian community, other boys would be considered to take their places. Kamehameha Schools found itself in a situation where insufficient applications were received for attendance in 1931. The trustees decided to bend their admission guidelines in 1931, citing that allowing “whites” into the school would benefit the Hawaiian students. Immediately there was an uproar among the native Hawaiian community.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: A critical look into the United States’ military policy on gay and lesbian soldiers, and why it should be repealed. Compiled by: Michael T. Johnson Prepared in fulfillment of the requirements for POL 497 Seminar: Post-Modern War, Spring 2009, Professor Opello History of anti-gay U.S. military policy Don’t ask, Don’t Tell has not always been on the books as a military directive. But in all reality, it has been more of an underlying tone since the beginning of America. As we see, the American Revolutionary War was a time when we saw the first instance of “homosexuality” banned. The military treated sodomy (which was then described as anal sex) as a sufficient ground for the dishonorable discharge of even the most decorated officers.
One of the positive effects of passing the DREAM Act is that it will provide legal resident status to the illegal youth living in the U.S., who are passionate about learning and furthering their education. Almost 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school each year in the United States and cannot further education or obtain a job because of their legal status. If the DREAM Act were to be passed, these students would be able to enroll in a college or university, be able to apply for financial aid and pay in-state tuition rates as well as enter the military (Bennion). Once an immigrant completes 2 years of college or military service they will able to obtain legal status. With their new status in the country they will be able to legally work study and obtain drivers’
The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. The restrictions were mandated by United States federal law. (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33930.html) The policy prohibited people who "demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts" from serving in the armed forces of the United States, because their presence "would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability. (http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/02/15/Cheney_for_DADT_Repeal/) The act prohibited any homosexual or bisexual person from disclosing his or her sexual orientation or from speaking about any homosexual relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces. The act specified that service members who disclose that they are homosexual or engage in homosexual conduct should be separated (discharged) except when a service member's conduct was for the purpose of avoiding or terminating military service or when it would not be in the best interest of the armed forces.
While I believe it has gotten much better in giving women more options, it still does not give us enough benefits. It is a disappointment that to this day there are still issues with equality among men and women. Of course it has helped many women’s collegiate sport programs lift off, but it only helps them to a certain limit. Society has put up a barrier on women’s sports, disallowing them to reach full potential. I think that thus far, Title IX has helped women’s sports, yet at the same time more can be done based off of the countless demands for
The draft being lifted and the Equal Rights Amendment focused attention on the topic of women’s equality in the military. Through out the 1970’s many barriers that stood in the way for women slowly began to fall. The Department of Defense increased their recruiting goals for women due the end of the draft. “In 1972, one in every 30 recruits was a woman. By 1976, one in every 13 recruits was a woman.”(History and Collections, n.d) Gender discrimination was a problem in the military and the Department of Defense knew that something had to be done due to the public presence of the Equal Rights issue.
Many soldiers lie about their mental wellbeing just so they can get done early and hit the bar. Some commands are starting to realize that there is an issue with mental health related problems with returning soldiers. Many soldiers are not aware of any potential combat related mental issues until they are already having problems with it. There must be new