Academic Books
Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America, 2009
Nathaniel Frank, Author
www.unfriendlyfire.org, Book on Google Books
Drawing on more than a decade of research and hundreds of interviews, Nathaniel Frank exposes the military’s policy toward gays and lesbians as damaging and demonstrates that “don’t ask, don’t tell” must be replaced with an outright reversal of the gay ban. Frank is one of the nation’s leading experts on gays in the military, and in his evenhanded and always scrupulously documented chronicle, he reveals how the ban on open gays and lesbians in the U.S. military has greatly increased discharges, hampered recruitment, and—contrary to the rationale offered by proponents of the ban—led to lower morale and cohesion within military ranks. Frank does not shy away from tackling controversial issues, and he presents indisputable evidence showing that gays already serve openly without causing problems, and that the policy itself is weakening the military it was supposed to protect. In addition to the moral pitfalls of the gay ban, Frank shows the practical damage it has wrought. Most recently, the discharge of valuable Arabic translators (who happen to be gay) under the current policy has left U.S. forces ill-equipped in the fight against terrorism.
Thesis Supported: Analysis Of The Policy Prohibiting Homosexuals From Serving In The US Military, 2009
Richard Ishings, Author
Book on Amazon
The purpose of this book is to analyze Public Law 10 United States Code, Section 654, Policy Concerning Homosexuality in the Armed Forces. This law was enacted in 1993 and is commonly referred to as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Harass, Don’t Pursue” which further defined the policy of homosexual service in the United States military. The research looked at historical societal norms and the evolution of acceptance in regards to homosexuals, the economic and lost opportunity costs associated with not allowing homosexuals to serve in the United States military by essentially limiting the qualified available candidate pool, as well as the policies and impacts of open homosexual service in other nations militaries that are allies of the United States.
The U.S. Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy: A Reference Handbook, 2007
Melissa Sheridan Embser-Herbert, Author
Book on Amazon
Embser-Herbert explores the history of the policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, (DADT) the federal law restricting the military service of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. In this narrative overview, she traces the policy from its origins in the early 1990s, through its evolution and implementation into law in the United States military, before evaluating the impact of post-9/11 events on the military, the policy, and the ongoing debate surrounding the existence of the policy itself as lawmakers consider its repeal. Her three-part history of DADT begins with a brief look at earlier policies that preceded it, a discussion of events in 1992-1993 that resulted in the passage and implementation of the new law, and an examination of the law’s impact on the military. She also compares the policy to that of other nations, such as Canada, Australia, and Great Britain, that eliminated similar restrictions as they sought ways to avoid a potential manpower shortage in their armed forces.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Debating the Gay Ban in the Military, 2003
Aaron Belkin and Geoffrey Bateman, Editors
Book on Amazon, Book on Google Books
Conservatives and liberals agree that President Bill Clinton’s effort to lift the military’s gay ban was perhaps one of the greatest blunders of his tenure in office. Conservatives argue that Clinton should have left well enough alone; liberals believe that he should have ordered the military to accept homosexuals rather than agreeing to the compromise “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. In this ground-breaking book, experts of both persuasions come together to debate the critical aspects of the gays-in-the-military issue. The participants consider whether homosexuals undermine military performance; whether they threaten heterosexual privacy; and whether the experiences of militaries in other countries have relevance for the United States. They also explore the human, organizational, and dollar costs of the present policy. Belkin and Bateman provide a thorough context for the transcripts of the deliberations, as well as a discussion of the implications of the participants’ conclusions for current U.S. policy.
Officially Gay, 2003
Gary L. Lehring
Book on Amazon, Book on Google Books
In this impassioned treatise, Lehring argues that military policies towards gays and lesbians have played a major role in the creation of what he terms an “official” gay identity-namely, “who and what lesbians and gay men are.” The opportunity to defend one’s country is a hallmark of citizenship, explains Lehring; thus, an individual who is deemed unfit for military service based on his sexual orientation is, in many ways, stripped of some of his rights and privileges as an American. Ambitious but accessible, the text begins with a survey of definitions of gay identity, covering what Lehring terms the essentialist/constructivist debate (i.e., those who believe sexuality is innate and irreducible, and those who believe it is a social construct) and the potential for the former to lead to “greater State regulation of sex.” Lehring goes on to examine issues such as gays’ place in the “hypermasculine atmosphere” of the military (where gay men might be perceived to objectify their male comrades) and to debunk arguments that homosexuality is “incompatible” with military service. He also explores Clinton’s wishy-washy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy, and, perhaps most notably, considers how the military’s epistemological models of homosexuality have actually shaped the contemporary gay liberation movement.
Gay Rights, Military Wrongs: Political Perspectives on Lesbians and Gays in the Military, 1996
Craig A. Rimmerman, Editor
Book on Amazon, Book on Google Books
Out in Force: Sexual Orientation and the Military, 1996
Gregory M. Herek, Jared B. Jobe, Ralph M. Carney, Editors
Book on Amazon, Book on Google Books
Out in Force refutes the notions that homosexuality is incompatible with military service and that gay personnel would undermine order and discipline. Leading social science scholars of sexual orientation and the military offer reasoned and comprehensive discussions about military organizations, human sexuality, and attitudes toward individuals and groups. They demonstrate forcefully that the debate is really about the military as an institution, and how that institution will adapt to larger social changes. The contributors show that the ban could be successfully eliminated, and set forth a program for implementation. In sorting opinion from fact, myth from reality, Out in Force stands as an invaluable guide for the military, lawmakers, and the courts as they continue to grapple with this question of institutional and societal change.
And The Flag was Still There, 1994
Lois Shawver, Author
Book on Amazon, Book on Google Books
In this groundbreaking book, author Lois Shawver substantiates a heretofore unexamined rationale–the “etiquette of disregard”–for lifting the ban against gays in the military. Why do we have a ban on gay people in the military? Primarily it is because most of the military brass and the politicians who support them predict enormous havoc if the ban were lifted. Yet studies show that little would change if the ban were lifted, and in And the Flag Was Still There, Shawver uses both anecdotal and systematic data to present her unique perspective that is of substantial interest not only to individuals interested in this military issue, but also to those in other occupations where gay people are discriminated against either by open policy or subtle historical trend.
Gays and the Military, 1993
Marc Wolinsky and Kenneth Sherrill, Editors
Book on Amazon, Book on Google Books
In April 1987 Joseph C. Steffan, one of the ten highest ranking midshipmen in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy, and only six weeks from graduation, was denied his diploma and forced to resign his commission because he answered “Yes, sir” to the question, “I’d like your word, are you a homosexual?” Six years later his cause, and that of other gay men and lesbians seeking to serve their country by enlistment in the military, has become the subject of intense national controversy. This unusual and innovative work, based on the litigation strategy and court papers filed in the case of Joseph C. Steffan v. Richard Cheney, Secretary of Defense, et al., brings the resources of clinical psychiatry, clinical and social psychology, cultural history and political science to bear upon the fundamental questions at issue: How is sexual orientation determined? How and why have socially prejudiced stereotypes about male and female homosexuals developed? Why have gays faced special obstacles in defending themselves against discrimination? How much political power do gays have?
