Posted on 04/07/2005 2:31:08 PM PDT by Crackingham
An Army sergeant who was wounded in Iraq wants a chance to remain in the military as an openly gay soldier, a desire that's bringing him into conflict with the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Sgt. Robert Stout, 23, says he has not encountered trouble from fellow soldiers and would like to stay if not for the policy that permits gay men and women to serve only if they keep their sexual orientation a secret.
"I know a ton of gay men that would be more than willing to stay in the Army if they could just be open," Stout said in an interview with The Associated Press. "But if we have to stay here and hide our lives all the time, it's just not worth it."
Stout, of Utica, Ohio, was awarded the Purple Heart after a grenade sent pieces of shrapnel into his arm, face and legs while he was operating a machine gun on an armored Humvee last May.
He is believed to be the first gay soldier wounded in Iraq to publicly discuss his sexuality, said Aaron Belkin, director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California-Santa Barbara.
"We can't keep hiding the fact that there's gay people in the military and they aren't causing any harm," said Stout, who says he is openly gay among most of his 26-member platoon, which is part of the 9th Engineer Battalion based in Schweinfurt, Germany. Stout, who served in Iraq for more than a year as a combat engineer, said by acknowledging he is gay, he could be jailed and probably will be discharged before his scheduled release date of May 31.
"The old armchair thought that gay people destroy unit camaraderie and cohesion is just wrong," Stout said. "They said the same things when they tried to integrate African-Americans and women into the military."
Before the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, enacted in 1993 under the Clinton administration, the Pentagon had explicitly barred gays from military service. At least 24 countries, including Great Britain, Germany, France, Australia, Canada and Israel, allow gays to serve openly.
In an e-mail following the AP interview, Stout said he had been ordered not to speak to the media. "I guess they found out somehow that I was talking to the press and now they are having a fit. I will try to get everything straightened out," Stout wrote.
Martha Rudd, a spokeswoman for the Army at the Pentagon, said soldiers who are discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" typically receive honorable discharges, although the timing would be up to the individual's commanding officer. She declined to comment about Stout, saying the Army doesn't comment on specific cases.
The issue of whether gays should be allowed to openly serve in the military has received increased attention in recent months as the Army has struggled to meet its recruiting goals. Twelve gays expelled from the military sued the government in December, citing a Supreme Court ruling that declared unconstitutional state laws against homosexual sex. The Bush administration has asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit.
Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey has said he opposes changing the policy, although Pentagon figures show a sharp decline in the number of U.S. military members discharged for making it known they are homosexual, falling from 1,227 in 2001 to 653 last year.
Thanks Stout but we can do without your open sex orientation!
Hahaha, the title is hilarious (if read with an open/warped mind).
And seriously, how often does open heterosexuality come into play in the Army, regarding interaction with superiors and taking care of business and such? Seems to me the gay community is all about making themselves heard, whether their sexuality is relevant in the situation or not.
"The Love that dare not speak its name" is now "The Love that can't shut the Hell up!"
I think he should be obligated to disclose "the ton".
The told therefore he MUST be asked.
Zeppelin wrote:
Seems to me the gay community is all about making themselves heard, whether their sexuality is relevant in the situation or not.
--> I agree, the military is a fighting machine, not a prom. If they want to be gay, they can stay in sanfrancisco, errr the moon i mean.
Thank you for your service Sgt Stout. Here is your honorable discharge.
Thanks for the service, but no thanks for the suggestion. The effect of homosexuality on unit cohesion and morale is not worth it.
"I will only protect my right to be gay on my own terms", said in a whiney voice.
Why should I care what sexual orientation anyone is whether in the military or anywhere else? Not my business.
Next is football...question is, would a gay football player want to be a tight end or a wide receiver?
(With thanks to Bob Nelson for that line.)
OK by me. He was wounded defending our country. I give people like that a lot of lattitude in their personal lives.
Seems like "Don't Ask Don't Tell" has worked out pretty well so far. Why mess with a policy that lets homosexuals serve while at the same time protecting unit morale and cohesion?
The Onion: "Homosexuals Fight For Right To Love Man, Kill Man."
This sentence implies his fellow soldiers know and couldn't care less.
So what 'secret' is he keeping?
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