The Real Problem With Ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I think this month has reminded us that while the gay community focuses on issues like marriage and military service it has ignored, arguably more important, issues like bullying, discrimination, and violence. It has been argued that marriage and military service are the only two things keeping priviliged members of the community from feeling fully intergrated in American society. We are far from the radical early days of the gay rights movements when our primary focus has become intergration in the war making apparatus and legal recognition of our relationships.

While I oppose "Don't ask, Don't tell", I find it odd that it's become the central focus of the LGBT community, especially since I don't know anyone who's part of said community, that's ready to run out and enlist if and when it's overturned. My concern, and I'm sure the concern of many others, is with the men and women already serving in the military. They have every right to continue to do so. They have every right to do so openly. Yet should they? Is it safe?

The issue of safety is one that few have talked about but I believe is the real reason that the Justice Department and the Pentagon has been slow to act. President Obama has said time and time again that he plans to end the policy. He's said it as a candidate, and as Commander in Chief. Yet the gay community demanded immediate action. His ability to unilaterally end the policy is not only doubtful, it might very well be unwise at this stage. What we have seen and heard from the President and the Pentagon is a slow movement to prepare the military for integration. There has been a lot of talk about troop morale, disruption and the fact that we're in two wars, but what underlies these arguments is the issue of safety.

Is it really safe for gay members of the armed services to come out in one of the most heteronormative institutions in this country? Hate crimes are on the rise. This month the suicides of several gay youth as a result of bullying caught the national attention...though it happens often. It's not safe for any gay person in this country, especially in the army. Does it really get better? Perhaps, it depends on who and where you are. While President Obama might be wary of pronouncing his fears about homophobia and an angry backlash, violence against gay service members is a real possibility. It's something the military has already experienced on numerous isolated occasions. Some have even resulted in death.

So before we rail against the injustice of it all, I think we must first have a frank discussion about how we can keep our men and women in the military safe. If we aren't even safe at school, or walking home from the bar, what do we face in the high stress, homophobic, heteronormative, gun carrying, violent culture of the United States military? If you support the immediate repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", please tell me how we can do so and keep everyone safe from physical and mental abuse.
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