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Lift the Ban on Gays in the Military?: Accepting Reality
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10097 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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4 / 1993 |
2,444 Words |
| Author
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James T. Bush
Capt. James T. Bush retired from the U.S. Navy and is
associate director of the Center for Defense Information. |
What can President Clinton do to fulfill his promise to allow gays and lesbians in the military? What will happen if he keeps this promise?
The noisy debate on these two questions has been long on emotion and short on substance. The primary reason for this is that there is a confusion between the laws that punish homosexual conduct in the military and the administrative ban on homosexuality (more properly, homosexual preference) issued by the Department of Defense (DOD). The laws have been on the books since the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) was adopted in 1951, but the administrative ban has been in effect only since 1982. Clinton cannot change the laws, only Congress can do that, but he can cancel the administrative directive. While there will undoubtedly be staunch resistance, the time has come for the military to accept this change.
BACKGROUND
Two articles in the UCMJ apply specifically to homosexuals. Article 125 states: "Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy." The other is Article 134, referred to as the general article because it bans "conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline." Military lawyers indicate that Article 134 specifically bans some acts such as "indecent acts with another" and "soliciting another to commit an offense." Both these articles prohibit conduct, not thought or preference.
Persons charged under these articles may be subject to a court-martial where they will be protected by constitutional guarantees with regard to due process of the law. A person found guilty of violating these articles can receive punishments that include fines, confinement, and a punitive discharge. There are two punitive discharges, a dishonorable discharge and a bad conduct discharge.
The DOD policy directive banning homosexual preference as well as homosexual conduct was issued in 1982. It states in part:
Homosexuality is incompatible with military service. The presence in the military environment of persons who engage in homosexual conduct or who, by their statements, demonstrate their propensity to engage in homosexual conduct, seriously impair the accomplishment of the military mission.
Under this policy
...
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