Homosexuality and the U.S. Military
A Brief History
The military and treatment towards homosexuals has been an ongoing issue since the 1700’s. Homosexuals were treated as criminals and received less than human treatments. This article will focus on the history and current status of the LGBTQ community in regards to the US Military.
Early Actions Against LGBTQ People in the Military
During the early 1900’s, The Articles of War of 1916 were implemented. This was a newly constructed article preceding the Articles of War of 1806. Under the Miscellaneous Crimes and Offences, the article stated that, “Any person subject to military law who commits “assault with intent to commit sodomy” shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.” The military mostly based their views off of personal biases, and that the psychiatrists were feeding them information that negatively circulated around the LGBTQ community. The argue was that these persons were unfit to fight. Sadly, this lead to an extreme hatred and discrimination against the LGBTQ in the military. Into 1920, those military personnel could even be charged or denied military benefits. In the early 1940’s, the military still viewed any homosexual relations as criminal and treated those on a completely unequal level as opposed to heterosexuals or those who didn’t openly express themselves. It was at this time that the military began psychological screening to keep out those deemed unfit, including those who displayed “the stigmata of degeneration” or who showed other signs of “sexual perversion,” though implementation was halting and uneven.
After World War II, the military began to view homosexuality more as a mental illness, as opposed to a sin or a crime. The new policies regarding the lgbt community were mostly aimed at men, as the majority of soldiers and involved persons were men. However, in 1944 the Women’s Army Corps explicitly included homosexuality as a disqualifier. At this time, most people who were recognized by the military as homosexuals were dishonorable discharged instead of imprisoned. During the war and its mobilization, women were doing male dominated jobs. However, there was no sudden change within the military and the gay community.
Leonard Matlovich
The first wave of change really kicked off in the late 1960’s. Leonard Matlovich was one of the first Gay personnes in the US military to really challenge the discriminatory laws. He was also the first gay personnes to have a Military funeral. so in 1975 he wrote a letter to Air Force Secretary John McLucas declaring that he, Matlovich, was a homosexual and asking for a waiver of the ban on homosexuals in the service. Initially, he was recommended for a formal discharge. He was put on Time titled, “I am Gay,” and even excommunicated from the Mormon Church. Sadly, he accepted the honorable discharge in exchange for payment. Even still, Matlovich got this issue into the media, and into the minds of the military members and others.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law was a compromise proposed by Bill Clinton that said if a person directly acknowledges their homosexuality, they were to be discharged. This compromise, however, said commanders were not allowed to directly ask if their soldiers were gay. So as long as you remained quiet, you were mostly fine. Although this was a small step up from previous years, it was still directly discriminating against the LGBTQ community. According to, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” By Cynthia R. Poe, “If a person acknowledges his or her homosexuality publicly, military commanders presume that he or she intends to engage in homosexual conduct. The policy was a compromise between President Bill Clinton, who sought to repeal the military’s ban on gay personnel, and the opponents of that repeal in Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff.” Sadly, Clinton’s vision of breaking down the barriers really did the opposite. Gays and Lesbians were forced to go into hiding in fear of being dishonorably discharged. It suppressed those from being themselves and from serving their country without feeling oppressed.
Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
The picture to the left is Obama singing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal Act of 2010. On September 9th, 2010, Federal Judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled that the 1993 law was unconstitutional. In her statement, she exclaimed “The 17-year-old policy ‘infringes the fundamental rights of United States service members and prospective service members’ and violates their rights of due process and freedom of speech” This was a huge day for the gay community in the Military. They were now free to be as open as the wanted to without fearing discharge. Of course, this did not end the discrimination against the LGBTQ in the military, as we are still battling today with their rights, but it was a huge step away from the restrictive military policies of the past. One of the pros of this repeal was that all service men and women who were discharged due to their sexual orientation were now allowed to reenter. Those who did not received a dishonorable discharge were upgraded to an honorable status. Also, those who were denied veteran benefits were compensated. Furthermore, during the summer of 2013, the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. Section 3 made the Supreme court deny over 1,000 federal benefits and protections to legally married same-sex couples. Thanks to the court, this act no longer remains, which only furthers the progress of lgbtq in the military and outside it.
Thanks to those who fought for DADT, and for those who fought to repeal section 3 of DOMA, steps have been made towards a better environment within the military.
In Conclusion
As of today, there are no laws which legally discriminate against LGBTQ in the military. From being dismissed dishonorably due to sexuality, to receiving no benefits, to now no legal discriminations, we can say that the tremendous effort has resulted in a major win. However, this does not mean that discrimination against this community has suddenly vanished. Unfortunately, people still are not able to adapt to change and new ideas, so the LGBTQ community still receives violent verbal abuse and other non documented harassments. Hopefully in the near people will accept any person, regardless of their sexual orientation.
References:
(1)”USNI Logo.” Key Dates in US Policy on Gay Men and Women in Military Service | U.S. Naval Institute. Accessed April 19, 2017. https://www.usni.org/news-and-features/dont-ask-dont-tell/timeline.
(2) Rayside, David. “Military.” In Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America, edited by Marc Stein, 258–262. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2004. Gale Virtual Reference Library (accessed April 19, 2017). http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=sunyfredonia&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3403600328&asid=20ccf46c92e9665a3984a98c31c42872.
(3) “Gay Military Hero Buried.” In Gender Issues and Sexuality: Essential Primary Sources, edited by K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner, 308–310. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Gale Virtual Reference Library (accessed April 19, 2017). http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=sunyfredonia&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX2587400130&asid=589e51337dd7348490ba010ea71fadf1.
(4) Poe, Cynthia R. “‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” In Dictionary of American History, 3rd ed., edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 78. Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003. Gale Virtual Reference Library (accessed April 19, 2017). http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=sunyfredonia&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3401801257&asid=2a5ab1529426ba487b8d017526b46aef.
(5) O’Brian, Katiuscia. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Homosexuality and the Military.” In Proud Heritage: People, Issues, and Documents of the LGBT Experience, edited by Chuck Stewart, 149–154. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2015. Gale Virtual Reference Library (accessed April 19, 2017). http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=sunyfredonia&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX6176000068&asid=356f69f6f683173a816f5dfbf34a5b11.
