Gay marriage is one of the controversial issues, not only in the United States, but also all parts of the world. Whereas proponents of gay marriage advocate for the recognition of gay rights, the opponents are against such advocacy, which has in the past led to a hot debate of the same. In the United States, gay marriage has become a common phenomenon not only in the general public, but also the Armed Forces (Andryszewski, 11). Until recently, gay people were excluded from participating in the military service. Significant evolutions have been experienced over time with regard to the issue of gay marriage in the Armed Forces.
During Bill Clinton’s era, in 1993, the DADT (Don’t ask, don’t tell) policy was adopted. According to this policy, gay people were allowed to serve in the military service, but were forbidden from revealing their sexual orientation. However, the position was ruled unconstitutional in 2010, and one year later the DADT policy was suspended (Andryszewski, 16). Despite the suspension of this policy, same-sex spouses within the armed forces are yet to enjoy full benefits enjoyed by the different-sex spouses due to the restrictions on the same as outlined in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The Democrats and Republicans have had varying opinions on this issue. Generally, Democrats have been leading in advocating for the recognition of gay rights, whereas the Republicans have had reservations in advocating for the same.
According to the Democrats, Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people deserve equal rights as all other Americans. Therefore, there is no reason why gay spouses should not be allowed to serve in the military service. Perhaps, this explains why the Democrats have always received high votes from the gay community as compared to the Republicans, a trend that has been observed since the Clinton era (Andryszewski, 23). Repealing or suspending the DADT policy by the Obama administration is evident of the Democrat’s support of gay spouse serving in the military service. Therefore, they are against the Defense of Marriage Act and advocate for equal treatment of gay spouses as different-sex spouses when it comes to responsibility, benefits, and protection (Kavanaugh).
On the other hand, the Republicans have held differing views on the same, which is one of the issues that have made them unpopular among the gay community. In the previous election campaigns, 2012, various candidates of the Republicans advocated for the restoration of DADT, which indicates their lack of support of gay spouses serving in the military (Rosenthal). Generally, the Republicans do not advocate for any legal recognition of gay spouses, and in favor of banning gay marriage via amendments of the federal and state constitutions and the Defense of Marriage Act. Although, following the suspension of the DADT policy, gay spouses are allowed to serve in the military, the Republicans have spearheaded implementation of policies that ban hosting of gay marriage ceremonies within military bases. The move was taken to protect chaplains from being forced to conducting such ceremonies against their will because of their religious position (Server).
Based on the above views, it is evident that gay marriage is, and perhaps will remain to be, a controversial but very crucial issue in the United States. The country is among the leading countries in the globe with the largest number of communities. Nevertheless, it is important to note that military service is quite different from other department because of the nature of its operations. Therefore, policies that are applicable in other institutions are not likely to do any good in the military service. Hence, it is evident that certain rights enjoyed by other citizens are likely to be applicable in the armed forces, for the sake of maintaining proper functioning of this department. Taking this into consideration, same-spouse marriage should not be restricted among the members of the armed forces. However, there should be restrictions on how they enjoy this right within the military bases. For instance, to avoid intimidation and maintain discipline within the armed forces, gay marriage ceremonies should not be carried out within the military bases.
Works Cited
Server, Adam. House Republicans vs. Gay Troops, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/05/house-republicans-vs-gay-troops
Rosenthal Max. J. House Republicans attempt to ban gay marriages on military bases, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/house-republicans-gay marriage military_n_1506786.html
Kavanaugh Kristen. DOMA Decision: How gay marriage will benefit the U.S. military, 2013. Retrieved from http://www.policymic.com/articles/51627/doma-decision-how-gay marriage-will-benefit-the-u-s-military
Andryszewski, Tricia. Same-sex Marriage: Granting Equal Rights or Damaging the Status of Marriage?Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2012. Print.
