From: heath@athena.cs.uga.edu (Terrance Heath)
Subject: Re: Clinton blows it twice in just 3 days!
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 14:42:15 GMT


I was going to let this pass, but its early in the morning, and I
haven't had my coffee yet.

In article <1993Jan24.193840.1@vmsb.is.csupomona.edu> cvafy006@vmsb.is.csupomona.edu (Daniel Rouse, Jr.) writes:
>
>	First of all, gays do not belong in the military...we need toughies,
>not pseudo-men.  Most gays are either effeminite or else they are like beasts
>(in other words, they either are too compassionate or else they are all over
>everyone).  The military needs a balance of the two--which only hetrosexuals
>have.  Don't pull the "substitute black" reply because I'm referring to
>homosexuals of ALL RACES, COLORS, AND CREEDS.  They don't belong in the
>military!  A heterosexual has a more "stable" brain which can both be tough and
>be compassionate--a homosexual's brain has a disorder (as medical evidence has
>tried to prove to rationalize this irregular behavior) which prevents him/her
>from being both!

	People who make the claims that Mr. Rouse has made above have
yet to be able to cite any evidence proving that gays cannot function
in the military. We have been doing so since the dawn of military
history, in both hostile and accepting climates. I suggest looking up
some information about Alexander the Great among others.
	Also, take into consideration the fact that the gay men and
lesbians being kicked out of the military now are people who were
performing their jobs well (Take, for example, Joseph Steffan, a Naval
Academy midshipman who was at the top of his class before he was
kicked out for BEING gay - not for any specific behavior.).  The only
thing that makes it difficult for gays to serve in the military is the
DOD policy barring them from doing so. 
	The military has often been known to forget its policy at
convenient moments. In World War II, when there was a need for bodies
on the front lines, the army and other branches of the military
allowed known homosexuals to remain in service because their skills
and often their lives were needed.  Yet, when the was was drawing to a
close the Department of Defense enforced the ban again and starting
discharging all the gay men and women who had fought for their
country, with dishonrable discharges that denied them the benifits
they earned through their service.  Even in our last war, the Wall
Street Journal reported the Pentagon planned once again to allow known
homosexuals to serve, and then discharge them once it looked like the
war was over.  The different was that this time gay men and women in
the military were not quiet about what was happening. The press was
alerted, and the action was stopped.
	Finally, as one lesbian put it "I've never gotten my taxes
back from the government with a note attached saying 'This is lesbian
money. We don't want it.'"  I, for one, will continue to demand what
the Constitution promises, equal protectoin under the laws, until I
get it. Stonewall was 23 years ago, and a lot has changed. We are no
longer timidly, quietly accepting the status quo.  We will be
citizens, equal to anyone else. We will not be silent, and we're not
going away.  In other words, get used to it.

Terrnace Heath