Date: Sun, 2 Apr 95 12:52:54 KST (0252Z) From: EAID-EB-SO-SGM@emh2.korea.army.mil Subject: GAYS IN THE MILITARY This is an article that I wrote sometime ago for submission to the Army Times. I thought it would be of interest to members of this list. Your comments are welcome. Michael S. Bowden HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVISTS are deceiving the American people concerning the issue of homosexuals serving in the military. They claim that everyone, including homosexuals, have the right to serve their country. And that the current policy excluding them is reminiscent of the policies that prevented blacks from serving along side white serviceman prior to the forced inte gration of the armed forces. "Just what is the problem?", they ask. Hundreds, maybe thousands of homosexuals are already serving in our services and the forces of our NATO allies. On top of this, the American taxpayers are footing the bill for needlessly discharging them each day. Is this the real issue? DO GAYS REALLY want to be soldiers?-I think not. The military culture is not very accommodating to the gay lifestyle. The"homosexual creed" mandates the tolerance and acceptance of ones fellow man. He must not force his views on anyone by any means. Could they possibly espouse the "Spirit of the Bayonet". . . that is, "to kill, to kill, to kill without mercy?" This is only the beginning of the many dilemmas that they will face. ANY MILITARY MAN knows that it is almost impossible to separate ones professional and personal life. After retreat sounds in the evening, his professional and personal obligations do not disappear until re veille the next morning. To be observed by ones subordinates in a Gay bar "frolicking" with the boys would be considered "unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman." Privacy then, is a very important aspect of a homosexuals life. There is none to be found in the barracks. Could this be why so many homosexuals are discharged each year? TO MAKE MATTERS worse, the controversy surrounding this issue has created an "unfavorable awareness" of homosexuals. Before this issue became the number one concern of the Commander in Chief, soldiers merely considered homosexuals as objects of pity-now they are objects of hatred and violence. A recent survey con ducted by Charles Moskos and Laura Miller, sociologists at Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois re vealed that out of a thousand soldiers surveyed, seventy eight percent of the men and forty seven percent of the women strongly disagree with lifting the gay ban. The recent beating death of a gay sailor in Japan and the assault of another in a bar near a marine base confirms this hostility. JUST WHAT PASSIVE homosexual would want to be a part of such a culture? Just what do gay activists really want? The answer rests with how society will react when and if the armed forces allows gays to openly serve. When the United States Government sanctions homosexuality then society is likely to do the same. The government is making a moral statement for all to heed: that is. . . sodomy is ok. IF SODOMY IS OK then homosexual marriage is ok as well. What if a liberal State like California sanctions homosexual marriage. The armed services must then honor those marriages and extend all the benefits to them that are extended to their heterosexual peers. The armed forces is their "gateway" to normalcy in American society. The term "Domestic Partner" will become com monplace terminology in our society. The Congressional debates in March will be focused on the military aspects of this issue. This is unfor tunate because society has as much or more to lose than the military. Military leaders will focus on opera tional, financial, disciplinary and administrative problems associated with the open acceptance of homo sexuals in the fighting force. Will the problems associated with gays be so overwhelming that it hampers the accomplishment of the military mission? Will soldiers respect and follow a gay commander? Do we have the funds to accommodate three separate genders-male, female and ?. Can we assign a gay soldier to areas like Saudi Arabia where the penalty for homosexual acts is public execution? Will Sergeant Jones fit in as a member of the Officers Wives Club. Whatever would he,she, it, wear? GAYS WILL PRESENT their case as well. Their testimony will focus on the cruel and unjustified "Witch Hunts" that military authorities conduct in their quest to seek and discharge homosexuals. References to the integration of the armed forces will be the center of their arguments. THE VOICE OF SOCIETY will not be heard during these crucial debates. If homosexual activists are successful in their endeavor society will feel the ramifications in the home, school, workplace and church. Parents will be bigots if they teach their children that homosexuality is immoral. In school first graders will be taught homosexuality is ok through text books such as "DADDY'S ROOMMATE" and "HEATHER HAS TWO MOMS." In the workplace we will feel the competition of affirmative action programs and increased health insurance costs because of AIDS. In our churches our religious doctrine will be reinter preted to satisfy the political correctness of the day. Americans would do well to come out of their coma and become part of these debates through interaction with their elected officials. They won't read your letters, but they will count your post cards. A simple message will do: HOMOSEXUALITY IS WRONG. Your grand children will appreciate it too.