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Essay Subject: Critical analysis of President Clinton's policy, historical military bias, right of privacy, Pentagon position.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Critical analysis of President Clinton's policy, historical military bias, right of privacy, Pentagon position. Paper Introduction: President Clinton addressed the issue of gays in the military as one of the first issues in his administration, and he was roundly criticized for making this his first challenge. He had originally proposed eliminating the ban on gays in the military outright. Ultimately, though, Clinton settled for what has been characterized as a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In essence, this leaves the ban on gays in the military in force in that any gay behavior would be grounds for dismissal. The new policy means that recruits will not be asked their sexual orientation, and if they do not tell, no one will challenge them. If they are found out to be gay, however, it is unclear what the consequences would be, which is one of the problems with the new policy. Clinton's present policy is specious and only maintains the status quo that existed before he came to office, with a few Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. and William b. Everyone has an interest in guarding the accuracy of and access tocertain kinds of information, such as credit reports, bank accounts,letters of recommendation, and so on. American Constitutional Law: Introductory Essays and Selected Cases. The Clinton policy as adopted generated opposition from both sides.The military seldom states arguments against letting gays serve except tosay that it is Pentagon policy, a policy that states that "homosexuality isincompatible with military service" (Weisberg 21). Many states still kept their oldlaws, however, and in the Georgia case the judge looked to Virginia's Doev. Those seeking socialcontrol, whether they be the government, employers, or others, have longsought to circumscribe sexual activity. Bacevich pointsout that both sides in the debate have been disingenuous. He had originally proposedeliminating the ban on gays in the military outright. Constitution, though somecase law has developed over issues related to homosexual rights in society. The Question of Equality. "Gays in Arms: Time for a Fair Fight." The New Republic (February 19, 199 ), 2 -22.----------------------- 8 Cases involvingthe Fourth Amendment may deal with guards against physical and electronicsnooping by the police. There is no good reason in a democratic society for discriminatingin this fashion against a class of American citizens who want to servetheir country and who are qualified to do so in every way, and whose sexualorientation has nothing to do with their ability to perform their duties. The present ban does not make a clear distinctionbetween characteristics and behavior, and the ban allows the military todiscriminate on the basis of sexual orientation rather than sexual conduct. In essence, this leaves the ban on gays in the military inforce in that any gay behavior would be grounds for dismissal. Allthe original 13 states considered sodomy a criminal offense when the Billof Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791, and all 5 states hadoutlawed sodomy as late as 1961 when pressure to liberalize came frommedical, social-welfare, and legal groups. In doing so, he will create a metaphor to be utilize by other major institutions that have not accepted open homosexuality (Butler 22).Clinton was right to seek to change the ban on the military, though he didnot pursue the issue with any dedication and failed to do more than maskthe fact that he failed. Ultimately, though,Clinton settled for what has been characterized as a "don't ask, don'ttell" policy. and D.G. This latter dimension is protectedlargely by state and federal statutes. The policy is not defensible on the grounds setforth by the military. What should be done is what Clinton originallypromised--the complete elimination of the ban on homosexuals in the armedforce. Justice Douglas wrote in that case that"Specific guarantees of the Bill of rights have penumbras, formed byemanations from those guarantees that give them life and substance" (Masonand Stephenson 442). The right to privacy is also not mentioned in theConstitution, though it has come to be championed as an unenumerated rightexisting in the penumbra of clauses in the Constitution. Bowers, acase in which a Georgia statute against homosexual conduct had beeninvoked. Discrimination against homosexuals has a long history, which is noreason for it to continue in a more enlightened age. Stephenson, Jr. The militaryhas a stated interest in discipline and order in its ranks, and it requiresa number of things from those in the military that would not be required ofthose in civilian life. "Homosexuals and the Military Establishment." Society (November-December 1993), 13-22.Deitcher, David. Courts will force the government to justify group-based distinctions and, at the very least, should require the administration to demonstrate that its discrimination against lesbians and gay men is rationally related to a legitimate government interest (Broadus and Rubenstein 55).The policy that the Pentagon has been protecting had been shown to be falseeven before Clinton began trying to change it. Commonwealth's Attorney to deny that homosexuals shared the right ofprivacy enjoyed by heterosexuals. "Facing the Legal Fight of Their Lives: Gays Take the Military Compromise to Court." U.S. News & World Report (August 2, 1993), 31.Smith, R.E. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1979.Weisberg, J. There are a number oflegal issues involved in the military ban on homosexuals and inhomosexuality in general, and these issues should be addressed and resolvedin favor of greater openness and tolerance. "Gays and Military Culture." National Review (April 26, 1993), 26-31.Broadus, Joseph E. Recent cases have combined issues of homosexual rights with the questionof privacy. Libel cases under the First Amendment involveclaims that someone has published damaging information about anotherperson. In truth, though, the new policy fails to addressthe essential fact of the existing policy: Any policy that does not grant equality to gay servicemembers also violates the equal protection clause [of the Constitution], which requires that individuals be judged by their abilities and not according to group membership. Rubenstein. She worked for months to get the Pentagon to release the DefensePersonnel Security research and Educational Center report, "NonconformingSexual Orientations and Military Suitability." This report was produced inDecember 1988 and was conducted for the Pentagon by the Defense ResearchInstitute in Monterey, California: Very simply and straightforwardly, it concluded that homosexuality relates to job performance as left- or right- handedness does, period. The issue of privacy was raised in 1965 in Griswold v. The American Law Instituteurged state legislatures in the late 195 s to adopt a Model Penal Codewhich would decriminalize adult, consensual, private sexual conduct.Illinois was the first to do so in 1961. Military leadersclaiming the admission of homosexuals would destroy the military foreverignore the fact that gays already serve and that many military commanderstolerate known homosexuals. If they are found out tobe gay, however, it is unclear what the consequences would be, which is oneof the problems with the new policy. Clinton's present policy is speciousand only maintains the status quo that existed before he came to office,with a few limitations. The newpolicy means that recruits will not be asked their sexual orientation, andif they do not tell, no one will challenge them. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1987.Shapiro, J.P. Similarly, those who insist a change is neededto allow gays to serve ignore the many who do so already (Bacevich 26). The issue of homosexuality inany form is not addressed directly by the U.S. One sentence from the report best sums up its conclusion. When asked to examine issues related todecisions on military policy, the courts generally defer to the military.Privacy rights do not always extend to those in the military. Connecticut inwhich Connecticut's anticontraceptive statute, though it did not violateany express guarantees of the Bill of Rights, was found to violate thepenumbral right of privacy, a right not expressly stated in theConstitution but found in the shadow, or penumbra, of other rights that areenumerated in the Constitution. The truth in any case is that there are already homosexuals in the serviceand that this fact has not destroyed the military or threatened theAmerican way of life. The policy against gays in the military is in effect upheld by theClinton plan, for all it does is enable gays to get by in the military aslong as they live a lie. An appeals judge ruled otherwise, andthe Supreme Court reversed this by stating that Georgia could punish eithergays or heterosexuals who engaged in sodomy, since privacy rights did notextend this far (Irons 381-39 ). "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." ABA Journal (October 1993), 54-55.Butler, J.S. One way to do that is to lessensexual privacy. New York: Macmillan, 1988.Mason, A.T. Works CitedBacevich, A.J. Privacy: How to Protect What's Left of It. President Clinton addressed the issue of gays in the military as oneof the first issues in his administration, and he was roundly criticizedfor making this his first challenge. The Courage of Their Convictions: Sixteen Americans Who Fought Their Way to the Supreme Court. Many have sought greater privacy in sexualmatters, both heterosexual and homosexual, and often homosexuals do sobelieving they are discriminated against because restrictions are placedupon them that are not placed on heterosexuals. On the other side,lawyers from the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund assert theirclaims that the new policy violates the constitutional rights of gaysoldiers to free speech and equal protection (Shapiro 31). Removing the ban would contribute to fairness, helpin changing the discriminatory attitude prevailing in much of society todayregarding gays, and have no detrimental effect on the military or itsculture. It is this sort of thinking that continues to infuse the debate onhomosexuals in the military. Privacy was raised again in Hardwick v. It says that sexual orientation has no relevance to one's ability to perform a job. Kate Dyer was an executiveassistant to Democratic Congressman Gary Studds of Massachusetts from 1987to 1991. This law dated from 1816 and defined the crime of sodomy. The fact that the Pentagon has hidden this report shows that it isdedicated to keeping gays out of the military even in the fact of evidencethat its policy is based on false assumptions and a non-existent threat.In truth, though, the Pentagon has never managed to keep gays out of themilitary at all: If President Clinton changes the policy on homosexuals in the military, he will not bring a new, hitherto excluded group into its ranks, but rather will create a policy that accepts a certain kind of behavior that has always been present in the military, albeit unofficially. Therewere many laws early in American history against "the detestable andabominable crime against nature," as sodomy was defined in common law. In addition, there has long been a bias againsthomosexuals per se that has led to the passage of laws proscribing suchactivity (Smith 276). New York: Scribner, 1995.Irons, Peter. The Pentagon suppressed this report (Deitcher 191). Another dimension of privacyinvolves questions of "life styles" and control of a person's body (Masonand Stephenson 442). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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