Friday, July 10, 2009
Which one is gay?
Using his own experience as an Army veteran, Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA) is taking up the charge to revoke the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, arguing that soldiers don’t care whether someone is gay or straight as long as everyone sticks together during combat. But Murphy is also adding a national security argument to the debate, pointing out that 58 Arabic-speaking military personnel have been kicked out since the September 11, 2001, attacks because of the anti-homosexual policy, at a time when U.S. intelligence is in desperate need of Arabic speakers.
“They could be on the ground right now in Iraq . . . producing vital intelligence that would help us win the war on terror,” says Murphy, a former Army lawyer and captain in the 82d Airborne Division. “When I was in Iraq . . . my men did not care if you were gay or straight; they just wanted to get the mission done and come home alive.”
Murphy is taking over the fight to revoke “don’t ask, don’t tell” from Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), who is leaving Congress to become undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. Tauscher’s bill has languished in the House since it was first introduced in 2005. It is currently stuck in a subcommittee, even though the legislation has 151 cosponsors.
Murphy has launched a website, http://www.letthemserve.com, where service members can share stories about how the discriminatory policy has affected their careers and lives. Since “don’t ask, don’t tell” was made law in 1993, more than 12,000 military personnel have been discharged.
Opponents of “don’t ask, don’t tell” aren’t concerned that a veteran has taken up the cause, pointing to a 2006 Military Times poll showing 58% of active-duty personnel support keeping the policy in place. On the other hand, in a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in May, 69% of Americans said that openly gay men and women should be allowed to serve in the military.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Murphy Takes Up Overturn of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (by Joelle Farrell, Philadelphia Inquirer)
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