Letters to the editor and comments from Q-Notes Online. Web comments are not edited for grammar or punctuation.
[Ed. Note — This is a response to the Nov. 1 QLiving feature, “Veterans’ Affairs.”]
While I don’t want to take anything away from Albert’s and Robert’s service to our country, I do think there is a better way to honor our GLBT veterans on Veteran’s Day other than touting the fact that they appeared in porn and are on manhunt.net. There are many local GLBT veterans, Reservists, National Guard members, and active duty service members who are in actively in the fight to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT). One of the issues that we are confronted with by our foes is that they think that we are all sex crazed deviants that can not control our urges. The article on Albert and Robert does nothing to change the mind of those that oppose us.
We should be keeping to the facts when discussing our GLBT military community and not giving our opponents fuel for the fire. The facts are that gay and lesbian service members are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan with no ill effects on unit cohesion or combat effectiveness. Currently British, Canadian, Australian, Israeli and several other militaries have lifted their bans on gays and lesbians with no negative effects on military readiness or morale. Our US forces are serving along side gay and lesbians from these other countries.
Historically the US military has been a vehicle for change. We can look back and see where the military allowed African Americans and women into the ranks to serve and excel long before such practices were being carried out in the corporate world. Currently it is the civilian sector that has recognized the power of a diversified work place. Many Fortune 500 organizations actively recruit minorities and this includes gay and lesbians. Its time for the Armed Forces to catch up with the times and end this archaic policy called DADT. To deny our right to serve goes beyond denying us a job. It’s a matter of civil rights.
Q-Notes readers can do their part to repeal the ban by going to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network web page at www.sldn.org and signing the petition to urge Congress to repeal the ban by passing the Military Readiness Enhancement Act. Thank you.
— Keven Scott, Nov. 7, web