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Sodomy In The Military Essay

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This paper will explain the timeline (Appendix B) for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community in the United States Military between and the policies behind setbacks to the retention and entry of otherwise qualified personnel. Explanations of gender identity disorder and gender dysphoria disorder, defined as mental disorders by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (American Psychiatric Association [APA], DSM-1, 1942; DSM-4, 2000; DSM-5, 2013). This textbook published and periodically updated by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), directly affects the guidelines for determining qualification of personnel into military service. Factual information is the only justification used for the policies put forth by the Department of Defense (DOD), Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), the Supreme Court of the United States, the office of the President of the United States and all categories of official office or position …show more content…
The military had an official ban on sodomy since the Revolutionary War under the Articles of War Article 18 section 5 (Second Continental Congress, 1775). In 1920, modification of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) Article 93 (Secretary of Defense [SECDEF], 1920) included all forms of sodomy. There was no ban on homosexuals in the military until 1942. DOD Separations Policy (SECDEF, 1942) banned all homosexuals in the military from continued service and immediately processed them out of service in order to maintain good order and discipline. This policy took effect concurrent to the update of the DSM-1 (APA, 1942), which classified reoccurring thoughts of and any acts of homosexuality and homosexual tendencies as Gender Identity Disorder. The military references publications of the APA and other psychiatric institutions when updating the policies outlining whom is fit for service in the

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