Thesis statement: A person’s sexual orientation should not be a basis of discriminating them from getting equal treatment in all areas of life such as employment, respect of their right to freedom and such.
Gay in the Military
The American army has always been against allowing gay countrymen to serve in the army. It has been a war that even the religious groups have been involved in for a long time, arguing on the basis that being gay is a sin and should not be condoned under any circumstances. Those who feel the same way as the religious entities argue that being gay is morally wrong, and it undermines basic moral values on which America is built on. Gays, on the other hand, argue that they should be considered as a minority group, whose rights should also be respected.
Background research
Movements aimed at fighting for the rights of gay people begun in the late 1960s, just after World War 2. These movements encouraged gays to live according to accepted social standards (Dautrich et al. 128). Gays, however, went on to assume a more activist mission, urging the gays to come openly and identify their sexual orientation. The issue of gay people in the army did not come to light as a problem that needed solving until 1992 when an army colonel was discharged from the army on the grounds of her sexual orientation.
This led to more talk about whether gays should be allowed into the army or not, and this is how the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy came to being. This policy was put in place by President Clinton, and it proposed the removal of the question of sexual orientation when interviewing military people. Also, it suggested that gays would be allowed to stay in the army as long as they did not reveal their status. The introduction of this policy, however, provided little for the gay community to be happy about. Today, the recruiting of gays openly into the military goes on in other European countries, although the American military continues to disallow gays to publicly declare their sexuality (Dautrich et al. 131-132).
Proposed solutions
The gay’s cries have finally reached the rightful people as is being seen by the developments made in trying to have the ban on gays in the army, lifted. The current government is trying to pass a bill aimed at lifting the ban at the moment, and with over 58% of the American population favouring this decision; it is likely to be passed very soon. However, some religious people, as well as the Republicans, are still opposed to the move saying that it will go against America’s moral values if the ban is lifted. Already, a large percentage of America’s population, including most of the Organizations and government agencies are for the lifting of the ban. Most servicemembers too are also proposing the lifting of the ban, as they do not perceive any negativity being brought about by allowing the gays into the army.
Conclusion
The current president had made a promise to have a ban on gays to serve openly, lifted. Despite the opposition encountered from the republicans and some religious affiliates, the bill proposed to the congress for this cause has a likelihood of going through as it has gained support from most of the American population (India Today).
Works Cited
Dautrich, Kenneth., Yalof, David and Prindle, David. American government: Historical, Popular, and Global Perspectives, Brief edition. New York. Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
India Today. US Allows gays to openly serve in army: Americas: India Today. Web.