Group battles military policy

Pundits say a gay rights group might have the legal ammunition to overturn the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that precludes gays and lesbians from openly serving.

The Log Cabin Republicans filed a lawsuit Tuesday demanding that the 1993 Clinton administration policy be struck down. The policy allows gays and lesbians to serve if they do not disclose their sexual orientation or engage in homosexual acts.

The group claims the military is violating gay soldiers' constitutional rights to due process, freedom of speech and equal protection.

"The United States Constitution says that all men are created equal," said Martin Meekins, an attorney for the group. "The Constitution has not changed."

He added that there are numerous court cases supporting the group's claims about soldiers' constitutional rights being violated, including a 2003 Supreme Court decision striking down a Texas law that made sodomy a crime.

"Courts have a rich tradition of making sure constitutional rights are protected," Meekins said. "The military is just another employer."

The policy is based on the idea that unit cohesion would crumble if gays and lesbians openly served, said Aaron Belkin, director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

"The policy is not based on evidence," he said. "It is not generating benefits, and the benefits outweigh the costs."

The center studied gays in foreign military units and concluded that having openly gay members does not damage unit cohesion or cause a flood of people to announce their sexual orientations.

"Data shows that very few people would come out of the closet," Belkin said. "The lifting of the ban would not have that effect."

He added that the military has fired soldiers in sensitive occupations, including Arabic linguists, at a time when ranks are thin because of the ongoing war on terrorism.

"The military has fired many soldiers in this backdoor draft," he said. "They can test the waters now."

The majority of young voters seem to agree with the assessment that the policy is discriminatory. A CNN/Gallup poll conducted in December 2003 found that 91 percent of voters aged 18 to 29 were supportive of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly.

"This is not a Ted Kennedy issue," Belkin said. "The military and the extreme right are on the wrong side of the issue."

While the presidential election is only 15 days away, Meekins said the suit was not filed for political reasons. But Jack Porter, a professor of political science at The Citadel, said people should pay attention to the case's timing because a Republican group filing the suit might give more credibility to the case.

"It puts the Bush administration on the defensive because they will not change the policy," he said.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. - who is openly gay, does not support the policy and voted against it - said that the suit has substance but that the policy must be overturned with legislation, not a court verdict.

Frank said the military is a special part of society that receives internal deference from the courts because the courts are not experts on military affairs.

"The courts are not going to overturn the policy," he said. "We are going to have to overturn it politically. If (Democratic presidential nominee) John Kerry is elected, the legislation will be repealed."

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.