EDGE on the Net

A New York senator might bring the question of repealing the military’s anti-gay troops policy to an abrupt boil by pushing for a year-and-a-half suspension of the policy, under which 265 servicemembers have been booted just since President Obama took office.

The Daily Beast reported in a July 13 article that NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is supposedly thinking about introducing an amendment to a defense bill that would require an 18-month hiatus for the 16-year-old policy, which was enacted by Congress in 1993 as a compromise measure between kicking gays out of the military wholesale or else fully integrating the armed forces.

Under the terms of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, gay and lesbian soldiers may continue to serve as long as they do not reveal their true sexual orientation.

But critics charge that the third part of the measure’s title, "Don’t Pursue," is often violated, and that gay and lesbian servicemembers face harassment in the form of investigations into their personal lives even when they have given no overt indication of their sexuality.

Moreover, critics charge that straight women in uniform are falsely accused of being lesbians when they do not respond to the sexual advances of male colleagues.

The article noted that a Gallup poll showed 69 percent of Americans supporting the full integration of the military.

Indeed, senior military officials have increasingly been vocal about the need to repeal DADT, including some top brass who, after retirement, came out as gay.

But others cling to the original justifications for DADT, saying that if openly gay soldiers are allowed to serve, straight troops will rebel and heterosexual prospective recruits will steer clear of enlistment.

A July 13 Associated Press article quoted another pro-repeal lawmaker, PA Congressman Patrick Murphy, an Iraq veteran, as responding to such claims.

"I take it as a personal affront to our warriors," the article quoted Murphy as saying.

"To say that other countries’ soldiers are professional enough to handle this and American soldiers aren’t is really a slap in the face," added Murphy, referencing the fact that other nations, including U.S. allies, have integrated their armed forces.

Murphy had also championed legislation to repeal the policy, taking over as the sponsor for a bill in Congress that would repeal DADT.

The bill’s original sponsor, Ellen Tauscher, vacated her Congressional seat upon becoming a presidential appointee.

In a speech about DADT, Murphy, who served as an Army Captain in Iraq and also had a stint as a West Point professor, declared, "The policy is not working... and it hurts national security."

In an appearance on the Rachel Maddow show, Murphy discussed the bill’s support in the House and stated, "I served with some great soldiers who were kicked out of the Army... just because they were gay."

Murphy pointed out that since the policy’s inception in 1993, over 13,000 servicemembers had been discharged under the provisions of DADT--"That’s more than three and a half combat brigades.

"It doesn’t make any sense," added Murphy. "Now is the time to repeal it."

The Daily Beast article reported that the prospective amendment is in part the work of the Human Rights Campaign and Servicemembers’ Legal Defense Network (SLDN), both of which support the repeal of DADT.

The article quoted SLDN’s communications director, Kevin Nix, who said, "We went and explored this idea with several senators who were interested in doing something with DADT."

Added Nix, "Gillibrand is one of those senators we’ve talking to about doing this."

Lately, headlines have been generated by the ongoing discharge of highly qualified soldiers, some of them who have served with distinction. One young officer facing discharge, Lt. Dan Choi, has, of late, practically become a household word; on July 7, Choi received a recommendation of discharge for "moral and professional dereliction"--in other words, for being open about being gay. Choi, a 10-year veteran who possesses the "mission critical" skill of being able to translate Arabic, now faces being booted from the service.

The Obama administration, preferring that lawmakers repeal the measure rather than that Obama strike it down through an executive order, declined to intervene on Choi’s behalf. This has led some GLBT equality leaders to question Obama’s commitment to the campaign rhetoric to which the president gave voice, in which he spoke of repealing DADT, along with other anti-gay federal laws such as the "Defense of Marriage" Act, a 1996 law that bars any federal recognition of gay and lesbian families.

The Daily beast article referenced the firestorm of controversy that rocked the Clinton administration, and the nation, in 1993 over the issue of allowing openly gay troops to remain in uniform.

The article quoted David Mixner, a GLBT equality advocate who had been an associate of Bill Clinton, as saying, "At this stage, there is no reasonable or logical explanation of what is stopping them. It is irrational fear at best."

Added Mixner, "The fact of the matter is that [Obama] could have ended it with a stop-loss order, and it would have cost them nothing politically."

Referring to the relaxed recruitment standards that have been adopted as the nation’s all-volunteer forces have become stretched thin, Mixner added, "For God’s sake, we are allowing convicted felons to serve."