
By: Rod Swift
Re: Something For Ken!

Something for you to disprove to you that gays can serve openly in the
military if they just "go away" and "be quiet".

More proof that a policy of silence by the victims does *NOT* work when
the opposing bigots don't respect the rules of the game.

Rod "...I love you, Ken, I just hate your lifestyle" Swift :)

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THE BOSTON GLOBE  March 8, 1997
Box 2378,Boston, MA 02107
(Fax 617-929-2098, print run 516,981)
(E-MAIL: letter@globe.com)(http://www.boston.com/globe)

EDITORIAL
An Assault on Gays in the Military

   The instructions sound simple:  Don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue.  But
President Clinton's policy of tolerance for gays in the military appears to
have backfired.

   The story is in the numbers.  In 1996, 850 gay military personnel were
discharged, a five-year high and the highest rate of discharge since 1987,
according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

   The network labels the de facto practice "ask, pursue, and harass" and
backs the numbers with disturbing examples of service personnel who were
questioned repeatedly about their sexual orientation and threatened about the
penalties for not answering.

   In a particularly perverse twist, the organization found that women,
regardless of their sexual orientation, were labeled lesbians for rejecting
men's sexual advances or for reporting incidents of sexual assault or
harassment.  In some cases, officials investigated only the lesbianism
allegations.

   The implication?  The Defense Department habitually breaks the law.  The
department, however, is tight-lipped about defending itself.  Yes, it kows
all about the report, and yes, it will look into it, as the Servicemembers
Legal Defense Network also made a valid case last year.  But don't expect a
publicly staged nostra culpa.

   The network has suggested a more aggressive response that includes
additional "don't ask, don't tell" training for military personnel and the
disciplining of commanders who ignore the regulations.  The military would
still be free to dismiss personnel who declare that they are gay or have sex
with or try to marry someone of the same gender.

   Changing organizations takes time.  But as the leader who swung a
spotlight on the issue of gays in the military, President Clinton should be
at the front lines of this effort.  The worst don't ask, don't tell
violations merit an executive office bellow of CUT IT OUT! [italics in
original].  And as commander in chief, the president can also insist that in
the United States military, gossip, false accusations, and harassment of any
kind will not win the day.
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 * OLX 2.1 TD * Fundamentalist: (n) Ape-like creature with a Bible

