John Kerry's Promise of a New Gay Military
Commentary by Steve Yuhas
July 27, 2004

On April 30, 2004 John Kerry wrote an opinion column for publication in the gay press.  The purpose of the article was to join gays in “…celebrating Pride in the LGBT community.”  One of the most underreported and seemingly ignored aspects of his statement is beginning to become an issue for men and women serving in uniform – his promise to “end the discriminatory policy of "don't ask, don't tell.” 

Suspiciously, Kerry’s article appears on gay websites such as gay.com and planetout.com, but does not appear on his official campaign website and all references to gay pride have been deleted from the mainstream portion of his site.  The mainstream press has paid little attention to his promise that will undoubtedly spark a fight of tremendous proportion.

Few things get people in uniform worked up or politically active: issues dealing with deployments and pay raises are the big ones, but one sleeping giant this election cycle may very well be John Kerry’s promise to disband the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy enacted by the Clinton administration that deals with gays serving in the military.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a simple policy.  It says that members of the military services cannot be asked about their sexual orientation and that they cannot tell others about what they do in the privacy of their bedrooms.  People in the military are taught from boot camp onward what the military policy is and it has worked since being enacted in 1993.

Each year we are treated to a barrage of news releases by gay organizations who declare that the military is “firing” gay members of the military because they are found to be gay.  Figures are not difficult to come by, but one thing is certain – gays being discharged from the military are not being fired, they are resigning in droves.

Take Fiscal Year 2000 as an example.  The Serviceman’s Legal Defense Network (SLDN) – a gay organization devoted to lifting the ban on gays serving openly in the military – issued a press release saying that the Department of Defense fired 1,212 people for simply “being gay.”  What was not reported by the activists at SLDN is that of the 1,212 discharges in FY2000 only 106 of them were discharged for engaging in “homosexual conduct” where the remaining 1,106 were discharged because they walked into their commanding officer’s office and announced that they were gay – knowing full well that they would be discharged.

I inquired of SLDN as to why they didn’t release the truth in the figures that 87% of the people discharged from the military for being homosexual were not fired, but actually resigned from the military and their response was puzzling.  Steve Ralls of the SLDN told me that there is no such thing as a “voluntary” statement and that those who do go to their commanding officer to announce they are gay do so under duress.  Not true.

I can tell you from personal experience that I know people who have used Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to get out of the military in order to cut short their enlistment while still receiving benefits of active duty service.  Servicemembers discharged for homosexuality receive an honorable discharge and maintain all benefits afforded to gay and straight servicemen and women who actually complete their contract and serve honorably.

John Kerry should be forced to explain his position on ending the policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in a time where military organizations are concerned not only with retention, but with recruitment.  Many on the left and many gay activists who demand full inclusion of openly gay people into the military have not experienced life wearing a uniform and living in close quarters and watching gay military porn doesn’t count for service either. 

Opponents compare Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to the integration of blacks into white units in the 1950s.  That argument is pure unadulterated gibberish as sexual attraction to a squad bay full of naked men during boot camp and simply being uncomfortable because a black or brown skinned person happens to share a shower are completely different things.

Sexual orientation is a behavior that has to be told in order to be known.  Race is an immutable characteristic – a black man can’t help but be known as a black man, but a gay man has to take the effort and initiative to tell people that he is gay.  People who don’t see the difference are simply ignoring the obvious.

Imagine showing up for boot-camp months after John Kerry is elected and when the Drill Instructor orders new recruits off the bus there is a kid wanting to prove a point who shows up wearing a rainbow t-shirts and queerly marches across the parade deck.  Does John Kerry not believe that the men serving, living, and showering with this flamboyant young man will not feel a certain degree of discomfort?  Will there be different showers for men attracted to men and for men who think they’re women?

Serving in the military as a homosexual is easy, many of us have done it, but there is absolutely no reason to open the military up to flamboyant homosexuals who would have their service serve as a political statement rather than service to the nation.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is supported by President Bush and opposed by John Kerry.  The mainstream media should demand an explanation by the Democratic nominee as to how he will implement what he calls a “civil rights priority” without alienating the men and women who serve honorably in our armed forces without raising a rainbow flag in the morning and wearing our sexuality on our sleeves.

The public should demand that the question concerning gays serving openly in the military be asked and both candidates should be forced to tell.