Introduction
Same sex marriage has become a polarizing issue in both state and national politics as well as religious platforms. In the United States alone, fourteen states including California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Washington among others, states have legalized same sex marriages either through court decisions, state legislations or through popular votes. However, some other states such as Alabama, Arizona, Alaska, Kentucky, and Missouri among several others have banned same sex marriages by constitutional amendments and state laws, or constitutional amendments or state laws only. The polarizing views on gay marriages can also be witnessed on religious groups with some groups supporting the marriages, and other rejecting the same. The ethical considerations surrounding enlistment of gay people into the military has been a greatly contested opinion in the history of the United States.
The most recent controversial religious viewpoint on same sex marriage was witnessed when the newly elected Pope Francis challenged his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI on the same sex marriages. Pope Francis maintained that he is not God to judge the people involving in same sex marriages, which are considered to go against the conservative nature of the Catholic religion. On the same note, the United Church of Christ also affirmed equal marriage rights to all its followers notwithstanding their gender. However, the church does not permit its ministers to perform these marriages. Additionally, in the American history, the House of Representatives and the Senate have enacted legislations such as the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” act that was later repealed with the efforts of the same political institutions (Andrea, pp. 34-6). In this paper, while giving the contradicting and contrasting opinions, I will discuss the ethics and morality surrounding the enlistment of gay individual into the military. This paper is for the opinion that is moral to be gay and enlisted in the United States Department of Defense.
There have been changes in the history of enlistment of gay individuals into the United States Department of Defense. However, despite the heated historical debates, political analysts believe that the reduce discussion of the same in different forums have been the results of more relevant discussion topics such as the Iran and Afghanistan issues as well as the nation’s future. Before the First World War, there were no documented policies that bared homosexuals from serving the United States Military (Jefferson, p. 12). Nevertheless, sodomy was considered a criminal activity that bore consequences including expulsion from service. The United States Department of Defense officially outlawed gay considering it incompatible with the military service in 1982 (Jefferson, p. 12). The enactment of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Act, which was later repealed in 2010 under the Obama Administration led to the discharge of more than 18,000 men and women accused of gay or lesbian characteristics. These characteristics included displaying romantic overtures, or having sexual relations with members of the same sex, or telling anybody about a person’s sexual orientation (Fenner, p. 5).
The American constitutions advocates for equality and equity in opportunities for all citizens as well as discourages discrimination. Gay Americans have equal identity as other Americans since they qualify for citizenship. Enlistment into America’s Department of Defense is an opportunity that all Americans should have equal access it. Therefore, outlawing Americans from joining the military based on their sexual orientation is completely unethical. There is little or no known association between sexual orientation with nationalism or patriotism. The enlistment to serve in the Department of Defense should be based on nationalism and patriotism traits as opposed to sexual orientation. Straight men as well as gay men have equal opportunities in providing national security. Therefore, judging people during enlistment based on sexual orientation does not only deny the gay men their constitutional, birthrights, and obligations of protecting the country, but also practicing unethical inequality in favor of the straight members of the community at the expense of the gay members of the society.
However, religious institutions have raised contradicting reactions towards allowing or outlawing gay relationships in the United States. While some religious affiliations support gay relationships, others such as the Roman Catholic Church have lately taken contradicting positions arguing that human beings should not judge fellow human beings. The religious standpoint has two ethical considerations. On one hand, proponents of gay enlistment argue that these sexual orientations should not form the basis of discriminating against gay individuals. They believe that gay members of the society have the divine nature of their creator, and should therefore be given equal opportunities without exercising the divine act of judging individuals whose supposed sins could be less than our own. On the other hand, the religious affiliations that consider gay enlistment an unethical practice argue that the divine purpose of sexual relationships should be for procreation. Therefore, gay relationships go against this divine provision. They should therefore not be allowed to defend the straight members of the society (Snyder, & Kenneth, p. 81).
On the social formation standpoint, the environment is a crucial determinant of human behavior. Since the members of the military live in confined environments, where social interaction is motivated by the closeness of the members of difference departments, the gay members of the military might influence other members of the military society into homosexual relationships. In the history of the American military, most of the people enlisted into the military service are young and socially active individuals. Additionally, people used to share rooms in the military in the past (Jefferson, p. 12). Even though this has changed over time, members of the military sometimes spend time together during national and international duties. In these cases, the gay members of the military might only influence the straight young members, but could also be tempted to unlawful practices such as sodomy, which would not only destroy the reputation of the Department of Defense, but also affect the sexual relationships as well as the social lives of the subjects.
Finally, the gay members of the society are willing to reveal their sexual orientations despite increasing sexual scrutiny and skeptics. Revealing sexual orientations is crucial in ensuring that the other members of the military understand the sexual characters of their mates before engaging in social relations with them. Therefore, I consider it ethical for the gay members of the society to be enlisted since they are not socially stigmatized. In the fight against gay discrimination, providing these members of the society with equal opportunities in the military acts as an advocacy tool for the special interest groups. It helps in convincing the society that the government is willing to provide equal opportunities to its citizens without discrimination based on any sexual orientation traits such as gay or straight. The federal government represents the rights of all American citizens in all spheres of life. The citizens believe in their elected leaders represent their interests. Therefore, political initiatives such as the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Act have been viewed to represent the common interest of all American citizens if not the majority.
Conclusion
Same sex marriages have become a polarizing issue in different platforms to include state and national politics, religion, and learning institutions. While some people support the idea of men marrying men, others believe that marriage is an institution that is meant for procreation purposes. Several legislators have also been noted to use their influence alongside the American courts to advance their agenda alongside. Around the 1990s, researchers established that the support for heterosexuality was increasingly higher than the same sex marriages. However, in the past few years, gay rights activists have greatly influenced the Americans’ attitudes toward supporting gay marriages. Gay members of the society have faced similar challenges in military enlistment with these institutions taking contradicting standpoints. Considering the proponents and opponents of gay enlistment, it is clear that the enlistment of these members of the society is a moral consideration the federal government should embrace. Judging members of the society based on their sexual orientations does not only deny them their constitutional and birthrights as well as obligations, but also advocating for discrimination, which in itself is immoral. Additionally, gay members of the Department of Defense possess similar patriotic qualities as the straight men.
Works Cited:
Andrea, Stone. "Bill targets 'don't ask, don't tell'." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
Donnelly E. Is It Time to Repeal the Ban on Gays in the Military? NO. U.S. News Digital Weekly [serial on the Internet]. (2009, June 19), [cited December 15, 2013]; 1(22): 15. Available from: Academic Search Complete.
Fenner, Lorry M. "Either You Need These Women Or You Do Not: Informing The Debate On Military Service And Citizenship." Gender Issues 16.3 (n.d.): 5. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
Jefferson, Aisha I. "Don't Ask, Dont' Tell." Jet 121.15 (2012): 12. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
Snyder, William P., and Kenneth L. Nyberg. "Policy Paper: Gays And The Military: An Emerging Policy Issue." Journal Of Political & Military Sociology 8.1 (1980): 71-84. International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
