Military Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy - Essay Example

This policy is unfair and unethical because there is no proof that gays cannot serve well in the military. When we think about the issue of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, it becomes clear that this is not just a homosexual issue. Instead, it is an issue about discrimination against people who have served the military well. A Short History of Gays in the Military Gays have been recorded as being part of the military as far back as Plato and the Greeks. They understand the value of having gays in the military.

Although Plato's time accepted gays in the military, there were problems as time went on with each war. As far back as the Crusades, gays were persecuted when they were found to have same-sex affairs during the 14th Century. In 1816, during the Napoleonic Wars more gays were persecuted, hanged and whipped if they were found to have same-sex affairs (Webley, 2010). By 1778, George Washington discharged a soldier from his military command and by 1916, the U.S. Military prohibited homosexuality in the Articles of War.

There were many ways to screen out gays from the military throughout the years, and by the Vietnam War, homosexuality was seen by some as a way to get out of military service, especially during this war which was difficult for everyone to understand. However, one man, Perry Watkins, was discharged from the military after 16 years of service because he was a homosexual in 1984; he sued the military and won the case in 1990 (Webley, 2010). This short history shows that gays and lesbians have been serving in the military for probably every war that has ever been fought, and there has always been a concentration on whether they should be open or closeted while they were serving.

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy In 1993, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was enacted to stop people who were homosexual from talking about their lifestyle or from practicing homosexuality while in the military. The reason this was enacted was because the military believed that if it were allowed, it would "create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion which are the essence of military capability" (Burrelli, 2010, Summary). This was not a law, but rather a policy that was in place to make sure that service members did not talk about their sexual orientation and that they were not asked about it when they entered the service or as they continued.

In other words, homosexual service members were to keep quiet about who they were and how they lived in order to serve next to heterosexual service members. In 2010, the act was repealed as unconstitutional and the military was ordered to stop enforcing it. It is the opinion of this researcher that this was the right thing to do because everyone should have the opportunity to serve in the military regardless of their sexual orientation. When this policy was put into place, thousands of military members had to leave the military based on their sexual orientation or live a lie in order to serve as those who were not homosexual served (Obama, 2011).

In having this policy in place, it made many men and women have to hid who they were which made them feel isolated and afraid. President Obama acknowledged that this was another sacrifice that these men and women had to do that was not fair to them. The repeal of this policy will not happen quickly because the