By LTjg Tracy Thornem

After months of study, debate and discussion, the July 15th deadline President
Clinton set for issuing an executive order on gays in the military is here. It
is time for the President to act on his promise and end the military's
discrimination against lesbians and gay men.

President Clinton is under enormous pressure.  He is torn between his belief
that no able bodied patriotic Americans should be barred from service and his
awareness that by sticking to his guns he'll unleash a tempest among his
entrenched opponents in the military and Congress.  No matter what decision he
makes he will certainly face enormous opposition.  Change has never been easy,
but this is one change whose time has come.

Opposition to ending the Pentagon's costly discharge policy would be
understandable is the military has presented one shred of evidence to support
their policy.  But they haven't.  Over the years, the generals have argued
that the presence of homosexuals will destroy good order, discipline, and
morale. For reports now, two by the Pentagon and two by the Government
Accounting Office, refute that argument.  A fifth study, recently completed by
the Rand Corporation at a cost of 1.3 million tax payer dollars, reportedly
calls for an end to the ban.  That is why, despite repeated requests from
Congressman Pat Schroeder, the Human Rights Campaign Fund and others, the
Pentagon refuses to release it.

This isn't the first time the Command in Chief has been asked to delay ending
discrimination and defer to military judgement.  In 1948 Harry Truman's
@promist to integrate the military was labeled as "social experimentation at
the cost of the nation's security."  Polls of men and women in uniform showed
that 80% opposed serving alongside blacks, and the majority of Americans were
against the idea.  Before he agrees to a policy of "Don't Ack, Don't Tell,"
President Clinton should review the record of opposition that Harry Truman
faced from powerful voiced on Capitol Hill and the Pentagon.  President Truman
did what he knew to be right, and the country is all the better for it.

As someone who has lost his career to the current policy, I find it disturbing
that we are about to repeat the mistakes of the past.  There is not one shred
of evidence to support the military's proposition that gay and lesbian service
personnel who abide by the rules will hurt the armed forces.  Of all our
allies, the vast majority of whom have integrated lesbians and gays, none have
reported the least bit of trouble.  We need to follow their example and create
a strong code of conduct that will protect all members of the armed forces,
men and women, gay and straight, from harassment and misconduct.

Our country has always been one place in the world where hard wrewarded, where
diversity is seen as a strength, not a target for bigotry, and
where individuals are judged by their ability to contribute to the American
dream. It's time for the President to take a hard look at the facts, stand
tall beside his principles, and restore faith in the dreams of all Americans.

I know that gay and lesbian Americans can serve our country honorably without
being forced to lie about who we are.  I did for a full year after I
acknowledged my orientation.  I continued in my duties as a Naval Officer,
worked and integrated with the unit both on duty and in our leisure time.
Overall, there were no problems.  Yes, a handful didn't like working with a
gay officer, but some didn't like to work with the women on our staff, and
still others weren't happy working alongside blacks.  But they did.  They did
so because it was demanded of them.  In short, my Commanding Officer ordered
us to check our differences at the door when we came to work for the United
Stated of America.  When the rest of the armed forces falls in line behind a
policy of non-discrimination, we will look back one day and wonder, "What was
the big deal about gays and the military anyway?"

LTjg Thorne, a Naval Flight Officer, and the first military offpublicly out
himself in order to challenge the DoD policy banning gays, is
currently in the Navy's Standby Reserve awaiting a final resolution between
the President and Congress.

The entire contents of The Electronic Gay Community Magazine are Copyright 1993
by The Land of Awes Computer Information System (telephone 316-269-0913 Voice,
316-269-4208 FAX/BBS) but may be reproduced by any means without permission
from the publishers provided that this copyright notice remains with each
article.

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