Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 13, 1993 TAG: 9305130217
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
As President Clinton's July 15 deadline for lifting the ban draws near, it's clear the 50-year-old prohibition against gays in the military is going to be altered.
The question is, how much?
Already, the Pentagon, under orders from Clinton, has stopped asking recruits about their sexual orientation. A growing number of lawmakers would like to stop there.
Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., who as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee is possibly the most influential lawmaker on military policy, has been pushing a "Don't ask, don't tell" compromise for months.
In other words, so long as homosexuals don't flaunt their sexuality - no public displays of affection, no outbursts, no harassment - there's no problem.
"What's wrong with just stopping there?" Rep. G.V. Montgomery, D-Miss., asked gay advocates appearing recently before the House Armed Services Committee. Any more than that, he said, "I'm not sure you can win."
"I don't see any compromise on this issue," argued Karl Cropsey, a retired Army colonel and winner of the Silver Star for valor in Vietnam who acknowledges his homosexuality. "We cannot effectively fight the attitudes and laws that put us at constant risk without leaving the closet."
"It's still discrimination in a nicer package," said David Smith of the Campaign for Military Service, a gay advocacy group that wants the ban removed. "But in effect, nothing would change."
But most troops feel strongly that the ban should not be softened.
"I don't think we should have a compromise," Marine Maj. Kathleen Bergeron told Nunn's panel Tuesday. "I do not think you can separate the behavior from the status when it is the behavior that defines the status."
But over the past two days, several members of Nunn's committee - and H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who led allied troops during the Persian Gulf War - have endorsed what Nunn calls his "don't ask, don't tell" plan.
"If a person chooses to come into the military, does not practice a homosexual lifestyle, practices celibacy, does not try and announce openly that they are homosexual, does not choose to marry someone of the same sex and does not engage in homosexual acts, then for all intents and purposes, they are not acting like a homosexual," Schwarzkopf said.
"And if they're serving their country honorably, I see no reason why they shouldn't continue to do so," the retired Army general said.
Schwarzkopf said commanders should investigate allegations of homosexuality if the person causes morale problems in the unit - a slippery definition that he said guarantees the Pentagon would be "up to our eyeballs in litigation."
by CNB