Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJuly 27th, 2006
Or at the least, revenge. But that’s only because of the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
A decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist Bleu Copas was dismissed from the Army, even though he never was asked, and never told. His accuser has not been identified. Instead, the Army relied on a stream of anonymous e-mails sent to his superiors. So much for the accused’s right to confront his accusers.
This brings up a disturbing possibility:
The policy is becoming “a very effective weapon of vengeance in the armed forces” said Steve Ralls, a spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a Washington-based watchdog organization that counseled Copas and is working to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
The US military has been engaging in an anti-gay witch hunt recently. Dismissals are up 11% from 2004, and the army has no compunction about dismissing anyone regardless of how critical their skills may be. Arabic translators are in extremely short supply, but fifty-five have been dismissed under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” costing American taxpayers nearly $369 million (not to mention unknown lives due to the shortage of translators).
One historic argument against granting gays and lesbians security clearances is that they were presumed to be susceptible to blackmail. But proponents of gays and lesbians have noted that blackmail is only possible if the individual is closeted. Ironically, the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy forces gay and lesbian military personnel back into the closet, which leaves them vulnerable to blackmail attempts or acts of revenge. Because of this, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ends up weakening our security, not strengthening it.
Sgt. Copas, however, showed the kind of integrity that should have made the Army proud:
On Dec. 2, investigators formally interviewed Copas and asked if he understood the military’s policy on homosexuals, if he had any close acquaintances who were gay, and if he was involved in community theater. He answered affirmatively.
But Copas declined to answer when they asked, “Have you ever engaged in homosexual activity or conduct?” He refused to answer 19 of 47 questions before he asked for a lawyer and the interrogation stopped.
Since the Army violated its own policy in asking Sgt. Copas “the question,” he was right to refuse to answer. But that wasn’t enough to keep him in the army. Apparently, knowing gay people and being involved in theater is enough to get kicked out these days.
That is a standard that neither Ronald Reagan nor Charlton Heston could meet.
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Jason D
April 18th, 2008
doesn’t this violate the “Don’t Pursue” part of the bargain that everyone seems to forget? It’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue”.
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