TALKING POINTS

THE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE 

*	Two of America's closest allies, Canada and Australia, 
have recently repealed bans on gay men, lesbians and 
bisexuals serving in the military.  Neither country reported 
morale or conduct problems, any resignations, any 
complaints by heterosexuals, or any violence aimed at gay 
men, lesbians or bisexuals.

*	No ban exists in most of the U.S. allies' militaries.  
There is no ban against gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in 
Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, 
Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and 
Spain.  There is also no ban in the neutral countries of 
Austria, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.

*	Morale problems have not been reported in countries 
without bans on gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in the 
military.

*	In the no-ban nations, conduct regulations are 
strictly, equally and successfully applied to heterosexual 
and homosexual conduct.  No sexual conduct is allowed 
between a soldier and any other person while on base, on 
ship, on-duty or generally between an officer and a 
subordinate.

*	None of the no-ban countries officially ban gay people 
from combat or deny security clearances to gay people 
solely on the grounds of sexual orientation. None of these 
countries report combat failures or breaches of security 
related to the existence of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals 
assigned to combat or security positions.

*	Countries with no ban on gay men, lesbians and 
bisexuals in their militaries have successfully worked with 
soldiers from the United States without any problems, 
including actual experience in combat during Operation 
Desert Storm, in United Nations field operations, and 
through participation in NATO field exercises.

*	Countries that have official bans against gay people in 
their militaries are Libya, South Africa, Iran and other 
nations.  New Zealand has reported plans to lift its ban.  
Ireland is considering lifting its ban as well.

*	Militaries without bans do not segregate gay men, 
lesbians and bisexuals by either assignment or housing.  No 
privacy violations, conduct problems or complaints have 
been reported.

[SOURCE:  All data derived from Frank D. Pond, Esq., A 
Comparative Analysis of Military Policies With Regard to Gay 
Men and Lesbians, 1993 (Unpublished at present).  This 
108 page document is available upon request.]



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Prepared by the Legal/Policy Department of the Campaign 
for Military Service.   2707 Massachussetts Ave, NW   
Washington, DC 20009.  (202) 265-6666.