End military bias

Friday, July 25, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

Momentum is building toward the day when a federal law that mandates discrimination against gay people is overturned.

The law, popularly known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” applies only to members of our armed forces. Under this law, enacted by Congress during the Clinton administration, any member of the military who openly acknowledges being homosexual is automatically discharged.

Before “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” those about to enter the military had to state in writing whether they were homosexual. Any gay person honestly answering the question was barred.

Today gays don’t have to lie to sign up, and they are supposed to be protected against harassment and from commanders pursuing information about their sexual orientation based on a hunch. But they still must keep their true sexual orientation a secret or face discharge, an untenable situation.

Clinton wanted to end such blatant discrimination, imposed decades earlier when the reality of homosexuality was blotted out by uninformed, biased assumptions.

In truth, gay people have served honorably and skillfully in the U.S. military for generations, as they have in the military forces of many allied nations.

But in 1993, as Clinton was attempting to have this fact acknowledged, he encountered blistering opposition from Congress, Republican critics and military leaders. All he could achieve in that political climate was a compromise in the form of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which has been used to discharge more than 12,000 people from the services.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” does not bolster our national security. If anything, the law undermines it by discouraging qualified individuals from entering military service and discriminating against them if they join.

Fortunately, polls today show widespread public acceptance of gays serving openly in the military. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released Saturday, for example, shows this view is held by 75 percent of Americans.

Also, former critics of Clinton’s plan have softened, and more than 50 high-ranking retired military officers, including Gen. John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are publicly supporting the right of gays to openly serve their country.

Testimony was heard Wednesday on a House bill that would create equality in the military for gays by repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In a column printed Wednesday in this newspaper, Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which fights discrimination, expressed strong support for the bill, saying, “The American people have moved on. Congress can, too.”

By the time the full Congress acts on this bill, a new administration will be in place and new senators and new representatives will have been elected. The timing will be right for passing a new bill addressing gays in the military, one that will respect their right to be treated no differently from any other person in uniform.