http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2002Mar13.html

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Group: 1,250 Gays Left Forces in '01
Harassment Cited in Largest Exodus From Military Since '87

By Vernon Loeb
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 14, 2002; Page A04

A total of 1,250 service members left the U.S. military last year after declaring themselves gay in what amounted to the largest exodus of gay service members since 1987, according to an advocacy group for gays in the military.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, in a report scheduled for release today based on Pentagon statistics, also says gay discharges have more than doubled since 1994, after the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy was implemented. It permits gays to serve in the military as long as they do not engage in homosexual conduct or reveal their sexual orientation.
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Twin: I saw an article about this in my morning newspaper. As many of you know I was a big Clinton supporter, but...having said that...the one issue I disagreed with him entirely on was the fact that he was the Commander in Chief at the time this stupid policy was enacted, and he should have told our Armed Forces leaders get over an reservations you have about openly gay people serving in the United States military, if you don't like it tough --it!!! But, did he?? no!!! He backed out, and made a HUGE mistake. Its the only thing I never fully forgave him over.

I saw this in the paper this morning - It made me sick to my stomach.

[ March 14, 2002: Message edited by: copman ]

[quote]Originally posted by puckman45:
Clinton ... should have told our Armed Forces leaders get over an reservations you have about openly gay people serving in the United States military, if you don't like it tough --it!!!

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Barry Goldwater's opinion exactly.

Thanks for mentioning Barry twin. Now there is a man who proves its never to late to come to ones senses!!!

[quote]Originally posted by puckman45:
Thanks for mentioning Barry twin.

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His grandson (one of his grandsons?) is gay.

1,250 is the number of people discharged for homosexuality from the entire military over 2001. The most disturbing element of this story is that one sixth of those people were from a single army base. The army base in KY that was the scene of an anti gay murder in 2000. I am concerned that the leadership at that base is fostering an unusually hostile atmosphere for homosexuals. Certainly they don't have one sixth of the military population.
Also, it should be noted that 2000's total was 1,241, so an increase of 9 people is perhaps not entirely statistically significant.

[ March 14, 2002: Message edited by: jqueer ]

The report can be found at http://www.sldn.org/templates/index.html .

Also, a sizable number of the people forced out are women, so not only homophobia and heterosexism, but paternalistic and misogynistic biases may come into play. It's sickening that at a time when our current Commander in Chief has called for national sacrifice and support for our armed services, they are wasting time and good personnel by rooting out people based on their sexual identity (some of the people who've been tossed out haven't even acted on their desires, but were "suspected" to be homosexual). The military shouldn't get another budget increase until they stop this hateful nonsense!

The scarlett "L" has long been a problem for military women. Rebuff the wrong superior's adavances, and suddenly your a lesbian.

[quote]Originally posted by jqueer:
The scarlett "L" has long been a problem for military women. Rebuff the wrong superior's adavances, and suddenly your a lesbian.

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I'm a bit confused here. Have cases like this been documented? I do know that any relationship, even fully consensual ones, between a servicemen/women and their superior is considered rape, because of the difference of rank and power. With something like that hanging over your head, it seems way too risky for superior officers to make advances.

Perhaps a case of poetic liscense. I have heard several stories about women who refuse the advances of male military personell (not superiors) who have then been labeled "lesbian" and eventually discharged. When hearing those stories, it was made clear that these were not isolated incidents.
But, no, I have no direct knowledge of any of these cases.

I talked to a friend of mine who was in the military until fairly recently. He is not femenin at all, and was not acting on any of his feelings while he was in the military. Someone in his company caught wind of it and he started getting harrassed. He was duck taped to his bed and then tobassco sause was poured down his throat, and one time he was stabbed in the leg. He was finally discharged for being accused of being gay. So he (according to him)had sex with his major the day before leaving base. I say good job. The thing is, he's taking dissability all over the place for a back problem, the stab wound, and because of the harassement he's getting treatment for PTS syndrom, and depression. He figures if he can't sue them to let him back in, he can take them for all the dissability he can get. I find it unfortunate that these types of things actually happen.

They say gay's can't be part of a cohesive group, and yet I know a guy that was some kind of officer of the year here in montana a while back, and guess what, he's gay. Go figure.

As Jon Stewart said in his Saturday Night Live opening last week: "What's the military afraid of? I think it's a 1000 gay guys in the Army with M-16's going 'Who you calling faggot?'"

Don't we have enough true enemies out in the world without treating some of own that way? Of course it's a ridiculous waste of resources to go after gays--but then again, our government hasn't been known to be the most efficient either.

Needless and counterproductive suffering has always gotten to me. When we treat our Saudi "hosts" with a lot more respect, e.g. the women required to wear the burka-like things when they're off-base, than we do our own citizen-soldiers, there is something truly wrong going on.

I doubt anyone engaged in actual combat right now in Afghanistan gives a rat's ass about someone's orientation. It's about doing a job, and staying alive.

[ March 15, 2002: Message edited by: Brent ]

You know what I would like to see happen??? Every gay, or bi person, male or female that are in the Armed Forces leave the armed forces. Me thinks they would be in a world of hurt!!!!

Well, there sure as hell wouldn't be a Navy or Marines to speak of!

[ March 15, 2002: Message edited by: satxbuddy1 ]