Debating the Gay Ban in the Military

For a significant period of contemporary history, homosexuality was believed to be, and classified by the medical community as, an aberrant behavior and a psychological disorder. Modern psychology has repudiated this idea, and the accepted reality is that homosexuality is innate and immutable, not a deliberate behavioral choice. If homosexuality is a naturally occurring phenomenon in human beings (it is, in fact, a naturally occurring phenomenon in many different species and is not limited to human beings), then it would follow that discrimination against an individual for their sexual orientation would be a violation of their human rights. This should therefore dictate that the Department of Defense's Homosexual Conduct Policy be amended to allow homosexuals to openly serve in the Armed Forces. Aaron Belkin and Geoffrey Bateman, Director and Assistant Director, respectively, for the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military, a research center based at the University of California, Santa Barbara, that promotes the study of gays and lesbians in the military, were co-editors of a 2003 anthology entitled, Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Debating the Gay Ban in the Military. In it, the veracity of the claim that the presence of homosexuals serving openly in the ranks is actually a detriment, is examined by experts on both sides of this issue. "In most reports that have become public, the military has admitted openly that most lesbians and gay men have served honorably without incident, regardless of their admission or denial of their affectionate preferences".