By: Chuck Colbert/Special for TRT
Just past the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 20, “don’t ask don’t tell,” the nearly 18-year-old ban on openly gay military service, became history.
The repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” means that currently serving gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members, both active duty and reserve, are at liberty to come out without fear of being discharged solely for being gay.
Come out they did.
From Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, a 21-year-old airmen, Randy Phillips, called his father in Alabama to tell him he is gay— with the whole world watching. Phillips recorded the telephone conversation on his Web camera and posted it on You Tube.
“Dad, I’m gay.”
“Yikes,” replied his father, adding later, “I still love you, and I will always love you, and I will always be proud of you.
In Duxbury, Vt., Navy Lt. Gary Ross married his partner Dan Swezy, shortly after repeal took effect.
Closer to home, Tony Mercado, currently serving in the Coast Guard in South Boston, came out to his supervisor, Navy Comdr. Catherine Masar.
“I want to let you know my experience of 18 years, how ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ affected me,” he said, recalling her response. “She made me feel so comfortable with who I am serving in the military,” said Mercado.
Across the country dozens and dozens of celebrations marked the historic milestone in LGBT rights, with parties and military ceremonies.
They were held everywhere from one at the legendary Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, to another in Philadelphia where former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Pennsylvania Democrat, a leading proponent of lifting the ban while in Congress, was the headliner.
Indeed gay America celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in cities and localities from Chicago to Atlanta to San Diego to West Hollywood to Honolulu to Washington, D. C., to Germany, among many others.
Here in Boston, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a leading advocacy organization for repeal, sponsored an evening event at Club Café. The celebration drew nearly 100 people, including two Cambridge City councilors, E. Denise Simmons and Lelund Cheung.
“Truly this is a victory,” Simmons said. “But we have to remember that we are still on the road [to equality] and not yet there.” Openly gay, Simmons is a former mayor.
Margot Thistle, a local attorney and event organizer, called for a moment of silence for “service members who lost their lives in service to country” and for “transgender service members who continue to fight for equality” even in the new era post “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Military policy and medical regulations still prohibit transgender persons from serving in the armed forces.
Boston attorney John Affuso, a longtime advocate for repeal, told the gathering, “I never doubted the military’s ability to handle repeal.” An Army veteran who served in the New Jersey National Guard, Affuso lobbied Massachusetts’ U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who in the end voted for repeal.
“We veterans made a promise to all actively serving, and in the reserves and guard, we would not abandon you, we would not rest, we would not be silenced, and we would not quit until this shameful policy is no more,” said Affuso. “We kept our promise.”
Also on hand was Neil MacInnes-Baker, a former staff sergeant, who served in Air Force from 1989 to 1994 — both before and during “don’t ask, don’ tell.”
MacInnes-Baker re-enlisted in 1993, he said, “because I was so hopeful and confident that the ban would be removed,” adding, “I was so eager to serve my country.”
But the decorated airmen, who excelled at his job, fell victim to a witch-hunt investigation, was harassed but ultimately not fired for being gay.
MacInnes-Baker fought the so-called “charges” that he was gay by lying about his sexuality and hiring a military lawyer. After six months of humiliating inquiry and fighting, the charges were dropped. Still, the Air Force continued to monitor his behavior — tearing open, reading, and resealing all of his in-coming and out-going mail. Nonetheless, MacInnes-Baker continued to serve for an additional year and a half and received an honorable discharge.
In brief remarks, MacInnes-Baker recalled the betrayal he felt from “the officers who awarded me with decorations amid handshakes and flashbulbs, were the same officers now attempting to throw me out — saying I was a disgrace to the United States Air Force.”
A former chief warrant officer two, Travis Hengen was also discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” ending a 12-year career in the Army as a counter intelligence officer.
After experiencing frustration and distraction on the job, having to hide his sexual orientation, Hengen, with legal assistance from SLDN, drafted and delivered a coming-out letter to his commander.
But few people believed him. During a seven-month investigation, senior officers said “I was doing this to get severance pay,” said Hengen.
“It was humiliating, frustrating, embarrassing, and something nobody deserves to go through,” he said.
And yet ” I would tell my story a million more times, I would go through all the harassment, frustration, and anger to get the same results,” Hengen said. “I am so proud to be here today to see those who can serve openly with pride in who they are.”
A shameful legacy
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” dates back to Nov. 30, 1993 when Bill Clinton signed the policy into federal law, although drumming gay soldiers out of the military dates back 233 years to the American Revolutionary War when the first gay soldier got the boot. As early as March 11, 1778, the Continental Army kicked out Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin, who is “the first known soldier to be dismissed from the U.S. military for homosexuality,” according to the late Randy Shilts in his 1995 book Conduct Unbecoming. Enslin’s offenses were sodomy and perjury.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” was supposed to mean that gay, lesbian and bisexual persons could serve, but only by staying closeted. In reality it was a nightmare even for those who stayed quiet. Some were outed by fellow service members; some commanders interpreted “telling” as being on a gay dating website, or other personal acts; and some gays were pursued and persecuted by commanders who decided their own interpretation of the policy.
The ban on openly gay service was a compromise measure between the president and Congress. Clinton had campaigned on a promise to end sexual orientation discrimination in the armed forces but once in office bumped up against strong opposition from Congress and Pentagon top brass.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” was supposed to mean that gay, lesbian and bisexual persons could serve, but only by staying closeted. In reality it was a nightmare even for those who stayed quiet. Some were outed by fellow service members; some commanders interpreted “telling” as being on a gay dating website, or other personal acts; and some gays were pursued and persecuted by commanders who decided their own interpretation of the policy.
The compromise policy has also been deemed by many to be a failure. Altogether, more than 14,300 military personnel have been fired at an estimated overall taxpayer cost of $555 million, according to 2010 report by the Williams Institute, a think tank at the UCLA School of Law. Moreover, thousands of men and women lost careers, the military lost people with valuable skills, like Arabic linguists. Even Clinton and former Secretary of Defense Colin Powell, who is also a former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, said the law was a mistake.
“Big win” for LGBT rights
President Barack Obama, delivering on a campaign pledge to the LGBT community, signed repeal legislation into law on Dec. 22, 2010. But a provision of the measure required the president, Defense secretary, and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman to “certify” military readiness for “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal. After months of training to implement open service, the top three defense officials sent written notification to Congress, on July 22, of troop preparedness to lift the ban. For repeal to take effect, however, a 60-day waiting period (until Sept. 20) was required.
Historian Nathaniel Frank, author of the 2009 book “Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America,” offered an historical perspective on dawn of a new era.
“This is a big win politically for the LGBT community and for advocates of equality and civil rights,” he said in a telephone interview. “In one sense, a major shame for the country will be wiped away although its legacy and heritage will always be there,” he added.
“This was a unique form of discrimination because the policy was not on its face value about excluding people,” Frank explained, adding, “It was about denying [gay service members] existed and forcing them not to talk about themselves. This was a policy of institutionalized denial and ignorance, and prejudice.”
An ardent repeal advocate, U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, (D-Mass.), who serves on the Armed Services Committee, spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives on Sept. 21. She said, “Today our country is stronger because we all benefit from a military that takes into account all the talents that our nation has to offer.”
