“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been a policy enforced in the United States Armed Forces, however the attitudes of this policy in some aspects has transferred to the business sector. Some American citizens believe the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is effective, yet others find it problematic. The policy has affected not only homosexuals wanting to serve our country, but also those attempting to find employment.
Homosexuals serving in the military have been a long debated topic throughout U.S. history. As early as Revolutionary War times, the military did not exclude homosexuals from serving our country. However, they did consider sodomy a criminal offense. According to the “Article 125 of Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) prohibits all service members from engaging in sodomy. Service members found violating this article can be court-martialed and imprisoned if found guility.” (Alexander) Sodomy is defined as, “anal or oral copulation with a member of the same or opposite sex” (Sodomy). In 1778 the first solider, Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin, was discharged from the Continental Army for sodomy. The military’s main focus was on homosexual behavior, but eventually shifted to eliminate homosexual personnel all together. During this time, psychiatric evaluations were administered to prevent homosexuals from entering the military due to an alleged “medical” reason.
In 1916, the Articles of War clearly forbid homosexuals from serving in the U.S. military. For the first time in 1942 the army included a clear definition of regulations for both homosexual and “normal” persons. This included distinct procedures for rejecting gay draftees. In 1981, the Department of Defense issued a new policy which indicated that determinedly homosexuals were unsuitable to serve. After this new policy became effective nearly 17,000 men and women were discharged due to their sexual orientation. Advocates of gay and lesbian civil rights pushed for reversing the policy in the late 1980s. During this time, many gay and lesbian service members “came out” publicly and challenged their discharges through the legal system.
In 1992, propositions to abolish the policy were presented to the U.S. Congress. In 1993, President Bill Clinton attempted to propose a policy to end homosexual discrimination within the military. However, his proposal was met opposition from Congress, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a substantial percentage of the U.S. public. After long debates and twelve legislative hearings a compromise was made. On November 30, 1993, the statute, Section 654, Title 10 of Public Law 103-160, also referred to as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” was put into effect. Under this law it states, “Commanders and appointed inquiry officials shall not ask, and service members shall not be required to reveal, their sexual orientation. If a service member says that he or she is a homosexual or bisexual, or made some other statement that indicates a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts, then there’s basis for a discharge. Additionally, a service member may only be investigated and administratively terminated if he or she states that he or she is gay, lesbian or bisexual; engages in physical contact with someone of the same sex for the purposes of sexual gratification; or marries or attempts to marry, someone of the same gender.” (The U.S.) On July 5, 1999, 22-year old Private First Class Barry Winchell was mercilessly murdered by a member of his unit, 19-year old Private Calvin Glover. Winchell was asleep in his bed at Fort Campbell, KY when Glover began beating Winchell to death with a baseball bat. Winchell had no chance of regaining consciousness because Glover had only hit him in the head and nowhere else. Once Glover stopped wielding the bat, there was brain, bone, and blood that had been sprayed against the wall from the viscous blows. Winchell had been a decorated service member as part of the 101st Airborne Infantry, but was now gone due to his sexual orientation. Glover was sentenced to life in prison for committing this inhuman crime. After this brutal incident occurred, the Department of Defense decided to add “Don’t Harass,” in order to help address the excessive harassment that was taking place in the Armed Forces due to a person’s sexual orientation. “Officially, “the Armed Forces do not tolerate harassment or violence against any service member for any reason.””(Survival) Harassment can range from “anti-gay comments, to direct verbal and physical abuse to death threats” (About). The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass” policy affects many people in the Armed Forces. Active Duty, Reserves, National Guard, Individual Ready Reserves, Service Academies, and Reserve Officer Training Corps are all affect by this policy. Each of these groups can be investigated and discharged if they have engaged in homosexual conduct in military or civilian attire or settings. Female service members face more anti-gay comments and accusations than male service members. Regardless of their sexual orientation women are often referred to as being a lesbian in the military. “Women have been consistently discharged at a rate nearly twice their presence in the services since the implementation of the law.” (Alexander)
Transgender is defined as, “of, relating to or being a person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person’s sex at birth” (Transgender). Per military regulations, transgender persons are prohibited from serving out country. Transgender persons are not directly addressed in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” statute because the ban is based on the definition of someone’s sexual orientation.
However, transgender persons serving in the military may be investigated under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” because they are recognized as gay or lesbian by fellow service members. There are two basic categories of military regulations that apply to transgender persons. The first category is medical regulations. In order to join the military, you must submit to a physical examination. If there is evidence of any type of genital surgery, the individual will be rejected from becoming a service member. If the enrollee identifies themselves a being transgender, they will be rejected on grounds of having a mental health condition because of Gender Identity Disorder. Waivers can be requested to join the military, but they are very scarce and difficult attain.
Active Duty and Ready Reserve Military transgender service members are not directly addressed in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” statute; however they cannot serve openly in the military. Even though they are already service members, they can still be discharged for medical regulations. The second military regulation category is conduct regulations. This includes uniform and grooming standards that are given by gender. Cross-dressing or alleged cross-dressing is a direct violation of this regulation and can result in discipline, discharge, or even criminal prosecution.
The response to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass” policy has been mixed since it was put into effect. According to a poll from the Washington Post in 2008, 75 percent of Americans think gays who publically disclose their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the military; 22 percent of Americans think gays who publicly disclose their sexual orientation should not be allowed to serve in the military; and 3 percent had no opinion. (Polling) According to a new CBS News poll from October 2010, 56 percent of Americans are in favor of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly; 31 percent of Americans opposed gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military; and 13 percent had no opinion. (Montopoli)
Forty former military chaplains want to retain the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy to ban gays in the military. They believe that if the policy is repealed it will discriminate against the beliefs of Christian chaplains. A shift in this policy would compel chaplains to make a moral decision, they stated, “whether they are to obey God or to obey men.” Former chaplain service members are reporting that they were told not speak in support of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” “don’t speak about this and particularly, don’t raise issues about why you can’t support it.” (Dimascio)
Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, and Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs with Liberty Counsel, are pleased that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was not repealed. Barber states, the military is no place for “radical social experimentation.” He also states, “It has long been established that to enlist those who define themselves as 'gay' or 'lesbian' would both disrupt unit cohesion and harm troop morale." (Groening)
Some of the American public also agrees that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is just, fair, and has positively influenced the military. The policy allows homosexuals who want to join the military do so, but it also allows them to keep their beliefs to themselves. In keeping their beliefs to themselves they will not make service members feel uncomfortable about their sexual orientation. Homosexual may want to keep their sexual orientation private, and the policy helps them to do so.
Congress has made many discoveries in support of Section 654, Title 10 of Public Law 103-160. The Constitution of the United States, Section 8 of Article 1, “commits exclusively to the Congress the powers to raise and support armies, provide and maintain a Navy, and make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces.” Therefore citizens are provided no constitutional merit to serve in the armed forces. It was found that the success of military units while in combat is categorized as having high morale, good order, discipline, and cohesion. Some believe homosexuals will not be able to uphold to these standards or will distract others from keeping these standards. Military life is much different from civilian life because “military society lives by its own laws, rules, customs, and traditions, including numerous restrictions on personal behavior.” (Center)
On the other hand, many thought the United States has overcome issues of discrimination and oppression; however, it seems there may still be some problems. Many Americans find the statue of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” very offensive to soldiers that are fighting for the citizens of the United States. Some find the policy ludicrous because homosexual soldiers have to hide their private lives in ways which no heterosexual soldier ever had to do, and this policy has been discriminatory since it was first and instated. (Don’t) The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is a great tax burden on American taxpayers. Since critically important skilled soldiers have been discharged from the military due to their sexual orientation, it has cost the United States millions of dollars trying to replace these valuable soldiers who were discharged. In 2005, over 11,000 homosexual service members were discharged, 800 of these members had skills crucial to the security of our nation. This also included the discharge of “55 Arabic speakers, 9 Farsi speakers, and over 244 doctors, nurses, and medical specialists.” (History)
American soldiers have been serving with openly gay soldiers from other countries who were members of Bush’s “Coalition of the Willing” for years, and yet they have an issue of serving with openly gay soldiers from their own country. According to the Palm Center, as of June 2009 at least 25 countries throughout the world allow homosexuals to serve in the military. The list of 25 countries includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Uruguay. (Nations)
It is said that what is occurring in American society is projected in the military. In some ways this may be true because there is no federal law that currently protects employment discrimination of sexual orientation or gender identity. In some court cases dealing with employment acts of discrimination based on someone’s sexual orientation, Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 has upheld due to sex stereotyping and sexual harassment. But Title VII does not currently include discrimination based on sexual orientation.
As of now the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is trying to be passed through Congress. The ENDA would prohibit public and private employers from discriminating against prospective or current employees based on their perceived or actual sexual orientation. The bill however would not apply to companies with less than fifteen employees, religious organization, and uniformed members of the armed forces. The District of Columbia and twenty-one other states have supported the end of employment discrimination based on sexual orientation by passing laws prohibiting such discrimination. In twelve states and the District of Columbia has also passed laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on gender identity. In 2009, 87% of the Fortune 500 companies had applied their own non-discrimination policies based on someone’s sexual orientation. It is still legal to fire someone based on their sexual orientation in twenty-nine states, and it is legal to fire someone for being transgender in thirty-eight states. (HRC) Pennsylvania prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public workplaces, but not in private workplaces.
Sexual orientation and gender identity is a very controversial workplace issue. Sexual orientation is a workplace issue because employees have been physically threatened, verbally abused, and been put into hostile work environments. Yet, sharing parts of your personal life with your coworkers is a normal part of the workday. However, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees do not discuss their personal life at work because they may be fearful of being rejected by coworkers or possibly damaging an opportunity for a promotion in the company. Also, workplace discrimination has created a substantial compensation gap between the wage of a heterosexual employee and an employee who is LGBT. “The Williams Institute study found that government LGBT employees earn wages that are 8-29% lower than their heterosexual counterparts.” (Workplace)
When LGBT employees have an issue at work and it is not addressed it may make the employee feel as if they are not accepted or included in the organization. Sometimes businesses may make employees feel that they need to hide their sexual orientation and this may result in a lower work performance. If the business finds the LGBT employee a “problem” they may decide to terminate the employee from the company.
Many companies are embracing sexual orientation diversity through awareness training and equality. The trainings will also assist in creating a cohesive team, and will enhance productivity and performance in the employees. Diversity training can be given in many categories such as, “anti-discrimination training, diversity knowledge and skills-based trainings, or dimension-specific workshops.” (HRC) The diversity trainings will give all employees a clear vision of what is appropriate behavior in the workplace and what the consequences are for be incompliant with the anti-discrimination polices. The training or education may be informal discussions, lessons incorporated in other business orientations, or a full training program informing employees about sexual orientation discrimination issues. Through training and education, all employees will learn to be comfortable and trusting of each other in the workplace.
As you can see in both the military and business sector LGBT persons are often seen as the “issue”. However, since there is no federal law that completely protects LGBT from being open in the workplace without facing discrimination and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is still effect, the LGBT will have to be patient. Hopefully there will soon be a change for both the military and the business sector in order to treat all as equals.

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