GW openly contradicts its own anti-discrimination policy by ignoring violations by the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. The policy supposedly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in any area of University-recognized student life, but it is a well-known fact that the NROTC at GW, in accordance with federal law, discriminates against and discharges any student known to be gay.
The University accepts this contradiction because the federal “don’t ask, don’t tell” law supersedes University policy and basically states that military personnel who come out of the closet can be discharged from service. Also, any intervention by the University in ROTC recruitment affairs can result in a loss of all federal funding, including millions of dollars for financial aid and research – which obviously buys the government lee-way in University policy violations.
Last week, gay-rights activists hosted a panel on gays in the military in which Patrick Moloughney said he was discharged from GW NROTC because he was gay. He described the stereotypical rampant anti-gay atmosphere of NROTC in which he, as a gay man concealing his sexual orientation, felt very uncomfortable. When he sent a letter to a superior officer acknowledging his sexual orientation and denouncing the attitude of his classmates, he was placed on leave and then discharged for violating the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
The Navy claims to value honesty, courage and integrity among its midshipmen, but contradicts itself by punishing men like Moloughney for asserting these very qualities. Moloughney should be commended for standing up for what he believes and for committing himself to honesty, but instead he was accused of violating a morally questionable policy and was discharged from the NROTC, losing a full tuition scholarship.
Moloughney’s situation exemplifies the web of contradictions surrounding the “don’t ask, don’t tell policy,” of the U.S. armed forces. While this policy can be considered an improvement from the policy that existed before it, which specifically banned homosexuals from service, there is still no real acceptance of gays in the military. While the law theoretically allows for gays to serve in the military, it is not apparent because no one can acknowledge that they are gay while in the service. It forces all homosexuals into the closet – living a secret life.
To further understand how the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy affects homosexuals in the military and forces them to live lies, students should consider the situation from a different angle. Imagine a straight male in a military that enforced a policy where he is not able to be openly heterosexual. The straight male would have to abstain from any heterosexual activity and never admit to anyone that he is sexually attracted to women and would be forced to pretend he was attracted to men – or face humiliation and official punishment.
This illustrates the need for further advancement of legislation – and attitudes – concerning gays in the military. What if black people were still discriminated against the way they were 40 years ago, or women were restricted to infirmary positions? The military should be moving toward democratic ideals of tolerance and acceptance.
