HRC Back Story

For those who can't handle the truth: 

Congress should repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law because the presence of gays in the military is unlikely to undermine the ability to fight and win, according to a new study released by a California-based research center.

The study was conducted by four retired military officers, including the three-star Air Force lieutenant general who in early 1993 was tasked with implementing President Clinton's policy that the military stop questioning recruits on their sexual orientation.

"Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion," the officers states.

Here's more background on the experts who helped produce the report that was sponsored by the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara:

The Palm Center, a research institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, commissioned the new report. The officers reached their findings independently and required a written pledge that the Center would publish their recommendations regardless of the political implications, and would not seek to influence conclusions. The report includes ten findings and four recommendations. Key findings are that the policy prevents some gay troops from performing their duties, that gays already serve openly, that tolerance of homosexuality in the military has grown dramatically, and that lifting the ban is “unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline, or cohesion.” [...]

The new report is based on discussions the senior flag and general officers held with expert panels in Washington, D.C. over the past year. The group heard from military members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, scholarly experts on military personnel policy, former senior members of the Clinton administration who played central roles in formulating “don’t ask, don’t tell” in 1993, and a senior Pentagon official from the Bush administration whose primary responsibility was military personnel policy. In addition, prominent opponents of letting open gays serve in the military, including Elaine Donnelly, Robert Maginnis, and the late Charles Moskos, were invited to appear in person, submit written testimony, and/or testify via conference call.

The study lists the following recommendations in its report (.pdf):

Recommendation 1. Congress should repeal 10 USC § 654 and return authority for personnel policy under this law to the Department of Defense.

Recommendation 2. The Department of Defense should eliminate "don't tell" while maintaining current authority under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and service regulations to preclude misconduct prejudicial to good order and discipline and unit cohesion. The prerogative to disclose sexual orientation should be considered a personal and private matter.

Recommendation 3. Remove from Department of Defense directives all references to "bisexual," "homosexual," "homosexual conduct," "homosexual acts," and "propensity." Establish in their place uniform standards that are neutral with respect to sexual orientation, such as prohibitions against any inappropriate public bodily contact for the purpose of satisfying sexual desires.

Recommendation 4. Immediately establish and reinforce safeguards for the confidentiality of all conversations between service members and chaplains, doctors, and mental health professionals.

There's nothing sweeter than a non-partisan report by military experts to serve up a quick smackdown to the anti-gay logic of folks Fred Barnes and John McCain.