Gays in the Military: Will Separate Rooms Help?
Separate Rooms Won't Solve Issue of Gays in the Military
The military does not fall under the same rules and laws that govern the general populace, nor should it. If the military fell under the same standards as general society, we would have no age restrictions for serving in uniform, and there would be men and women in wheelchairs or with guide dogs serving.
While I do believe that homosexuality is a sin against God, I am not a homophobe. I served as a United States Marine for more than 21 years and retired as a Master Sergeant (E8) and I'm sure that more than one of my comrades in arms, both men and women, were gay. I have no ill feelings towards anyone that is gay, nor do I wish them harm. I just don't believe that anyone that is gay should be openly serving in the Armed Forces.
I believe that allowing gays to openly serve in the military will cause a serious breakdown in leadership. Today's military has men and women training together but has drawn the line with them being berthed together and sharing a shower. How will they maintain a similar restriction with gay men and woman? Someone once argued with me that just because a woman was a lesbian didn't mean she would hit on me, and of course that's true. But my brother wouldn't hit on me either, and I still wouldn't be showering with him.
Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen James Conway, recently said that if the ban on gays serving openly in the military is lifted, he will give them separate rooms and not force gay and straight troops to live together. While I agree that heterosexuals and homosexuals shouldn't be forced to be billeted in the same room, simply not forcing them to is no answer. If every gay man or woman is given a private room, then the same should be offered to all, regardless of sexual persuasion, and that's just not practical financially or logistically.
Instead of private rooms, if homosexuals of the same sex were berthed together, wouldn't that be the same as billeting heterosexual men and women together? If Sgt Joe and his male roommate are both gay but not in a relationship, is Sgt Joe's partner going to be jealous? What if Sgt Joe and his gay roommate are in a relationship, and that relationship goes south? Does Sgt Joe demand another roommate? And if Sgt Joe and Sgt Jeff have a thing going and are allowed to room together, why can't Cpl Jeff and Cpl Jenny have a room together too?
There are enough issues to face in garrison stateside, but how would you address same in the field, or deployed in a combat environment? Putting our combat troops in that sort of potentially compromising position is deplorable.
There's a reason that many top officials in today's military are against repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy currently in place and their guidance shouldn't be ignored. It's not about how the military should keep up with changes in today's society; the military has always been a completely separate entity and should remain so. It's not the job of the Armed Services to further a cause, to help society become more accepting of a behavior.
Anyone that hasn't served in a leadership role in uniformed service to this Country has no business dictating what is good or not good for those who do.
Source:
Personal opinion
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Published by Marie Anne St. Jean - Featured Contributor in Lifestyle
A Top 1000 Content Producer for the last three years, Marie Anne is a retired U.S. Marine MSgt whose weapons of choice are now crochet hook and pen. When not writing for Yahoo! sites such as YCN! Voice... View profile
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34 Comments
Post a CommentThe Marines are trained to deal with all hardships, that is why they are what they are! Why do they have to put up with Adam and Steve's gay rights?
Lesbians have been serving openly in the army for years. It's a joke to think otherwise.
My wife was in the army in the early 1970s. She was a very petite young women weighing about 100 pounds, and was constantly harrassed and molested by the obvious "butch" lesbians in the living quarters. She complained to the captain, also a lesbian, who threatened her with trumped-up disciplinary action if she pursued it.
She and another young straight women pooled their meager salaries and moved off the base at their own expense. It was the only way they could shower without being sexually harassed.
The army didn't care. The people you see being discharged now are the ones who go to the media and tell them publicly whate everone already knows.
Gay men are another matter, and that's what this debate is really about.
I agree totally. Speaking as someone who is bisexual, I would never go into the military. I don't relish the idea of being beaten within an inch of my life by my 'comrads in arms'. I served my country in Americorps, as a volunteer. We had tons of GLBT there, and I was proud to serve. Single rooms were the norm, with a shared bathroom. That's the way to go.
It was my experience when I was in the Army that lesbians were able to safely remain in service even when they were "out of the closet". I had a floor sergeant who was openly gay and she seemed to command more respect from everyone (including the command) because of her sexual orientation. I'm sure this has something to do with stereotypes about lesbians being more "man like" and gay men being more "woman like". It's unfortunate, however, that she was rewarded for breaking the rules.
Wow....my comment was too long and got cut off. sorry about that. :D My final thoughts were that with your unique perspective you have a point of view that is valuable. The article was excellent with some great points. sorry to be so long winded.
I was never active duty, but my husband was, for close to 25 years. He also made the same points to me that you have made here. I think they are valid points. As a Christian, I share your views on the immorality of homosexuality, and also like you, I am not "phobic" about anything.
I know a lot of gay/lesbian people and would never wish them harm or want to see them harmed. In my bible fellowship, we have had openly gay people attending for quite some time. No one is throwing them out or confronting them telling them they are going to hell. What they ARE doing is teaching them what the bible says so that they can decide for themselves if they want to line their lives up with the bible or not.
I see homosexuality in the same way that my own life was twisted up with drugs. I used to attend this same bible fellowship stoned out of my teenage mind on pot. I was treated, as a drug abuser, in the same manner as the homosexuals are being treated. With love and acceptance, but
Interesting, this issue is kind of tough for me. I don't like any kind of discrimination but your points seem valid.
I just keep thinking about the gays about whom I have I read who were kicked out of the military. One of the problems that their leaving presented? They were fluent in Arabic, and it seems we don't have quite enough Arabic speakers at the moment. I cannot imagine that one's sexual orientation is an issue when bullets are flying and bombs are falling. It just seems to me that the issue should be about whether or not that person can do their job. As Theresa said, there was a time when women where not welcome in the military. There was also a time when color was an issue.
I was curious as to how our resident Devil Dog would feel about his this. Nice job Master Sgt.
I believe that if Jesus were alive today, he would accept everyone with open arms and treat all humans with the dignity and respect they deserve, just because they are human. If an openly gay person wants to defend this country, why not let him or her? At least they're being honest about their sexuality, though, for the life of me, I can't understand why that subject even became important in defending our country. I don't understand why we put such emphasis on sexual persuasion. I'd be more concerned if my bunk mate was a pedophile who saw photos of my children or a sexual predator who showed interest in my family members. I think God loves all of us, no matter who we are. Once upon a time women weren't allowed in the military and bunking was an issue. Looks like we're going through it all over again, this time with gays. I don't have an answer, but I hope one day the problem will get resolved.