West Point Grads Form Gay Support Group

One of the arguments that Christianists disingenuously put forth to support "Don't Ask Don't Tell" ("DADT"), is that having gay and lesbian service members would impair unit morale and military readiness. The illustration at left is typical of the lies told by our enemies in this regard. The real fallacy, of course, is that there ARE many, many gays and lesbians serving with distinction in all branches of the military. They are certainly all over the greater Norfolk area and can be found in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, all of which have bases or units in the area. I have a significant number, in fact, who are clients, so I do know of what I speak. But then, the real reason for DADT has nothing to do with unit morale or military readiness. Rather, it is based on the Christianist agenda of maintaining laws that make LGBT Americans less than full citizens which can then be cited as evidence of gay inferiority and unworthiness.

*

Apparently, 38 graduates of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point decided that they would do their part to expose the lies upon which DADT was constructed and has been maintained to date. As the Navy Times is reporting, these Military Academy graduates came out of the closet Monday with an offer to help their alma mater educate future Army leaders on the need to accept and honor the sacrifices of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender troops. Here are some story highlights:

*

“Knights Out” wants to serve as a connection between gay troops and Army administrators, particularly at West Point, to provide an “open forum” for communication between gay West Point graduates and their fellow alumni and to serve in an advisory role for West Point leaders in the eventuality — which the group believes is both “imminent and inevitable” — that the law and policy collectively known as “don’t ask, don’t tell” are repealed by Congress.

*

“We’re publicly announcing our sexuality, our orientation,” said 1st Lt. Dan Choi, a National Guardsman with the 1st Bn., 69th Infantry, based in Manhattan. “It’s just one part of who we are in saying that we are standing to be counted.”

*
In forming Knights Out, its 38 members are following the example of similar support and education groups formed by graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Air Force Academy, known respectively as USNA Out and Blue Alliance. Most if not all of these groups’ members also belong to the Service Academy Gay and Lesbian Alumni social network, a group that Knights Out claims includes some active-duty commanders serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

*

Choi, a Korean by descent, is a combat veteran of Iraq who graduated from West Point in 2003 with a degree in Arabic language. He said his unit is aware that he’s a homosexual and added, “I’m very comfortable with all the repercussions right now. To me, it’s about doing the right thing, not about trying to fit into the process that gets you the rank or prevents you from getting a discharge. “If that’s the repercussion, I’m ready to take it,” he said. “I think it’s more important that I let everybody know that … it is a wrong policy.”

*

Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., recently introduced legislation in Congress that would repeal the law. . . . Another Democrat, Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia, has asked the military for a monthly report on don’t ask, don’t tell discharges. Moran announced Monday that the Army discharged 11 gay soldiers in January.

*
“At a time when our military’s readiness is strained to the breaking point from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the armed forces continue to discharge vital service members under the outdated, outmoded don’t ask, don’t tell policy,” Moran said. “Our allies have overcome this issue, facing no adverse consequences from lifting bans focused on soldiers’ sexual orientation. . . Moran, a long-time opponent of the military gay ban, is a co-sponsor of Tauscher’s Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR 1283).

*

Again, DADT has nothing to do with unit readiness or morale. Rather it's all about appeasing the hate-based agenda of delusional Christianists like Elaine Donnelly (who has ZERO military experience herself). DADT needs to be repealed and one can only hope that Obama will stop kissing Christianist asses, grow a backbone and start making good on his campaign rhetoric.