On Tuesday, U. S. District Judge Virginia Phillips denied the government’s request for a stay on her ruling overturning the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers.
That same day, the Pentagon confirmed it had issued guidance to recruiting commands that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” had been suspended, but that the 9th Circuit ruling could be reversed at any point.
Because of the legal uncertainties, advocacy groups for gay and lesbian servicemembers are urging them not to come out and for recruits to use caution in signing up, as they say the law can be triggered by any statement of homosexuality made at any time and to anyone.
But wait.
Wouldn’t it be a more effective strategy if all gay and lesbian servicemembers came out right now?
Consider: It’s estimated that there are 65,000 active-duty gay and lesbian servicemembers, and an additional 1 million gay veterans.
As of August, there were approximately 1.48 million active-duty troops, meaning about 4 percent of the active military is gay or lesbian.
While it doesn’t seem like a large percentage, in a time when the United States has hundreds of thousands of troops overseas and resources are already stretched thin, it would be nigh impossible for the Pentagon to pursue some 65,000 individual cases of homosexuality — especially when the law is currently suspended.
Another way to think of it: Before President Obama announced the troop increase earlier this year, there were 68,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Polls have shown that at least two-thirds of Americans support gays serving openly and 73 percent of military personnel are comfortable with gays and lesbians.
Moreover, polls have indicated 57-67 percent of servicemembers know or suspect that someone is gay or lesbian in their unit.
Since the ban was enacted in 1993, more than 13,500 servicemembers have been discharged under the policy — and that’s not counting gays and lesbians who opted not to go into the military, cut their military careers short or lied about their orientation during their service.
While it’s true that repealing the ban will result in a change in the military — investigations will no longer be conducted into personal lives, policies will have to be rewritten and training may have to occur — acting like the ban has no negative effects on costs, unit cohesion, military and family readiness or human capital is preposterous and disingenuous.
For servicemembers, throwing caution to the wind and coming out en masse is a risk to be sure. But there is a certain safety in numbers — and in knowing that history, the president, the majority of Congress, the majority of the military and the majority of Americans support the right to serve openly.