[Vision2020] Reclassification Won't Alter 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

[Tom Hansen]

>From the December 4, 2006 edition of the Army Times -

-------------------------------------------------------------

Reclassification won't alter 'don't ask, don't tell'

By Gordon Lubold
Staff writer

For gays in the military, the good news is that the Defense Department no
longer classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The bad news? Now it's considered a defect.

Defense officials made an administrative change in a Defense Department
instruction that reclassifies homosexuality in the same category as
sleepwalking, dyslexia, stammering or stuttering and other "conditions,
circumstances and defects."

Discharges from service under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy - which
allows gays to serve as long as they do not disclose their sexual
orientation or engage in homosexual acts - previously listed homosexuality
under a different section of mental disorders, Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia
Smith said.
 
The change is only in the wording and does not affect the Pentagon's policy
on gays in the military. It also maintains the ability to separate gays from
the military without affecting any disability benefits they might receive. 

Most discharges rendered under "don't ask, don't tell" occur under honorable
conditions, with the recipients still qualifying for veterans' benefits.

In June, an advocacy group had called attention to the fact that the
Pentagon had incorrectly classified homosexuality as a mental disorder; the
Pentagon acknowledged the oversight and made its policy change in July.

But advocacy groups and others say the change doesn't go far enough. 

"We appreciate your good-faith effort to address our concern that the
document was not medically accurate - as homosexuality is not recognized as
a mental disorder - but we remain concerned because we believe that the
revised document lacks the clarity necessary to resolve the issue," said
James Scully Jr., medical director and chief executive officer of the
American Psychiatric Association, in a letter to the Pentagon on Nov. 14.

"Because homosexuality is not a defect of a developmental nature, but could
be construed as one by its inclusion in this section, we respectfully
request that it be removed from the section, or that the section be parsed
out in a way that is accurate and clear," Scully wrote.

Open to changes

For its part, the Pentagon is always reviewing its policies and is open to
further changes, Smith said.

"We'd be happy to take their recommendation to the next working group," she
said.

A spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a gay-rights
group, said he was pleased the Pentagon had made the administrative change
earlier this year - and reaffirmed the ability of service members discharged
under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy to collect veterans' benefits. 

"It's unfortunate that sexual orientation continues to be listed along with
other classifications such as bed-wetting and other areas, but the central
point is that they do not consider sexual orientation a basis for receiving
benefits," said Steve Ralls, communications director for the legal defense
network.

Last year, 742 service members were discharged under the "don't ask, don't
tell" policy, according to data provided to the legal defense network by the
Defense Department.

The Army released 386 people; the Air Force, 88; the Navy, 177; the Marine
Corps, 75; and the Coast Guard, 16. 

The total number of troops dismissed under the policy in 2005 was up from
668 discharges in 2004 but down from 787 dismissed in 2003.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in
Albany, Georgia and St. Augustine, Florida, and many other campaigns of the
Civil Rights Movement.  Many of these courageous men and women were fighting
for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own, and
I salute their contributions."

- Coretta Scott King (March 30, 1998)