Part of being green is supporting human rights and social justice. One “right” that has been called into question in the last several years is that of homosexuals to serve in the U.S. military.
Homosexuality has been grounds for military discharge since the Revolutionary War, with Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin being the first person dismissed in 1778. Discharges continued through the World Wars and Vietnam, although when personnel shortages arose, homosexuality was often overlooked.
In 1982, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a policy stating homosexuality was incompatible with military service. After public outcries, the DOD instituted the infamous Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy under President Bill Clinton in 1993 as compromise. The policy basically states that military members cannot be asked their sexual orientation, but, if the military learns they are homosexual, they are out. In other words, you can be homosexual, just hide it because if we find out, you lose your career.
If you saw the red carpet for the MTV VMSs not long ago, you might have noticed Lady Gaga had four military members as her escorts. Actually, I should say four former military members, as three (Major Mike Almy, Sgt. First Class Stacy Vasquez, and Staff Sgt. David Hall) were discharged for homosexuality while one (West Point Cadet Katie Miller) voluntarily left the service.
But, Lady Gaga didn’t stop there in her protest of the policy. She urged her fans to call elected officials to repeal the polity in a YouTube video posted on her web page, calling herself the “a voice of my generation.” She said she wasn’t asking the official to approve of homosexuality, but rather protect the Constitution.
Lady Gaga is also leading a DADT rally today in Portland, Maine organized by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). She hopes the state’s two senators will support a defense bill that repeals DADT. With a vote due in the Senate tomorrow, supports of repealing DADT say they don’t have the 60 votes they need to defeat the Republican filibuster that could block the bill. Lady Gaga chose Portland because Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, although Republicans, have publicly said they are undecided on the issue.