Before the s, soldiers accused of committing sodomy were often court-martialed, discharged and sent to military prison. But with the mass mobilization of troops during WWII, courts-martial for each soldier accused of being gay would have created an unsustainable economic drain. Though they had to conceal their sexuality from draft boards after successfully enlisting, many gay service members had their first gay experience while serving during World War II.
And in interviews with homosexual service members, journalist Randy Shilts found the prevalence of lesbians in the military became a self-fulfilling prophecy , as some lesbians joined the military primarily because they expected to find other lesbians there. Shilts also claims that it was while serving in the military that many service members first heard of the concept of gay identity.
Having to always strategize and conceal their sexuality, gay service members realized that being gay was integral to their overall sense of self. So that I think I was much more prepared to be an upfront homosexual once I settled here in San Francisco.
The rhetoric and discrimination surrounding blue discharges — soldiers were expelled, stigmatized and denied benefits — produced an aura of political legitimacy, where struggling soldiers felt emboldened by anti-gay stances. This new sense of identity inspired some gay and lesbian vets to publicly express their persecution as a discriminated-against minority group in hopes that it would lead to reformed military policies and social changes in the broader American society.
But the visibility and personal-rights issues these gay advocates helped promote was far from being the largest unforeseen outcome of the mass issuing of blue discharges.
While screening for gay soldiers, the military outed people in an era where gay tolerance was nonexistent in most areas of the U. For many of these soldiers, living publicly as a homosexual meant becoming a social outcast.
Instead of returning home and answering to fearful, angry and worried family members and acquaintances, many stayed in the locations where they had been discharged, hoping for a fresh start, which led to the emergence of large and visible gay communities in port cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Policies Libraries policies governing use of library resources, space, and services. Strategic Plan Current Libraries strategic goals and initiatives. Research Guides.
Congressional Serial Set U. Laws [U. Executive Branch] Departments and Agencies U. Federal Regulations U. Government Sources by Subject: Gays in the Military. Human Rights Campaign, Military The largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. OutServe-SLDN "A non-partisan, non-profit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to bringing about full LGBT equality to America's military and ending all forms of discrimination and harassment of military personnel on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Nonconforming Sexual Orientations and Military Suitability: Annotated Select Bibliography Annotated select bibliography relating to the issue of gay people in the armed forces from Stanford University.
This selective annotated bibliography compiles documents made available by the federal United States government with regard to the policy of the United States Armed Forces toward homosexuals Database providing citation and abstract information for articles on all branches of the military and topics relating to the military and military life. In May, the Navy granted a waiver to a female Navy lieutenant allowing her to remain uniform, despite being diagnosed with gender dysphoria in June And on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the employers cannot discriminate against their homosexual or transgender employees.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
Your Military. By Meghann Myers. Jun 15, Minority Veterans of America helped lead the Seattle Pride parade in Minority Veterans of America. Alex Ketchum, an infantryman, started her transition from man to woman in late Navy grants first waiver allowing transgender officer to remain in uniform Lt. Then on September 5, , the Department of Justice announced that it would no longer enforce the law that restricted veteran spousal benefits to different-sex couples.
Though the Department of Veterans Affairs now finds it lawful to extend veterans benefits to same-sex spouses, another factor complicates the situation. Though the Department of Defense has decided it will judge the validity of marriages based on where a couple was married instead of where the military member is currently stationed, it is uncertain whether or not the Department of Veterans Affairs will do the same.
For example, if a veteran was married in Maryland, a state that recognizes same-sex marriage, then moves to Virginia, a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage, that veteran could lose all of his or her spousal benefits. Until the Department of Veterans Affairs issues guidance on the implementation of DOMA repeal, it remains unclear whether veterans in same-sex marriages will be eligible for federal benefits if they reside in a state that does not recognize their marriage.
However, before , service members who were found to have engaged in homosexual conduct were likely to receive discharges that were Less than Honorable. A Less than Honorable discharge characterization can have severe consequences that follow a veteran for his or her entire life.
In most states, it is legal for private employers to discriminate on the basis of discharge characterization, and a Less than Honorable discharge all but disqualifies a person from working in the public sector.
Additionally, a Less than Honorable Discharge characterization may mean forfeiture of veterans benefits, such as G. Bill education benefits and health care coverage. After all, it is legal in 29 states to fire an employee or refuse to hire someone simply because of their sexual orientation.
Currently, all veterans seeking discharge upgrades undergo a lengthy review process and the likelihood of actually obtaining an upgrade is low. In , the Veterans Health Administration, or VHA, released a groundbreaking policy statement on the provision of care to transgender veterans.
VHA Directive established a policy for the Department about the respectful delivery of care to transgender veterans. A second directive renewed these policies in and extends through February In February , the Department of Veterans Affairs extended similar protections to lesbian, gay, and bisexual veterans. A department-wide memorandum required that all VA medical centers adopt nondiscrimination and visitation policies protecting the rights of veterans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Veterans Health Administration provides clinical competency training for VHA physicians to ensure that transgender veterans receive high-quality, comprehensive health care. VHA medical providers are given additional guidance on meeting the medical needs of transgender veterans through medical guidance on the use of hormone therapy. This kind of training and use of clinical standards is particularly significant because medical providers are often given insufficient training in medical school on the provision of care to transgender patients.
VA medical centers have been quick to adopt these changes, and LGBT special emphasis groups may assist many of them in increasing cultural competency and conducting outreach to LGBT veterans. Despite these strides toward inclusive health care, outdated regulations continue to prevent some veterans from accessing medically necessary care.
This kind of exclusion targeting transgender veterans lacks basis in medical science or even cost savings. As such, despite significant policy advances made by the Department, transgender veterans continue to be denied medically necessary care because of arbitrary and outdated policy. Despite the demise of DADT and a Supreme Court ruling that struck down sodomy laws across the country, the military maintains sodomy as a criminal offense.
Legal experts and Pentagon officials alike have stated that the law is basically unenforceable as it applies to consensual sexual relations of gay and lesbian couples. However, conservatives have spun efforts to strike Article from the UCMJ as a push by liberals to legalize bestiality. This has been a popular argument among conservatives opposing LGBT equality in the past, having described same-sex marriage, for example, as a slippery slope leading to bestiality, interspecies marriage, incest, and pedophilia.
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