Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

LETTER: Military Recruitment
2006-09-06

This article shared 3788 times since Wed Sep 6, 2006
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


On Aug. 22, 2006, two other Northwestern University students and I tried to enlist in the Army Reserve but refused to conceal our sexual orientation as a condition of service. We were rejected on the spot under the military's ban on openly gay service members, called 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' ( 'DADT' ) . Our actions were part of Soulforce's Right to Serve campaign to fight government-sanctioned discrimination, but our ultimate goals are more wide-reaching than an integrated military.

As any child going through the American educational system, I was bombarded with messages venerating freedom and equality from an early age. The American system of government, I was told, is the best and most democratic form of rule in the world; after having traveled to other countries, I have no question about the validity of that social studies lesson. It is when I return home, however, that I see the shortcomings of American politics in comparison to the limitless potential of a nation under our Constitution.

In our first act as a sovereign country, the founders of our democracy declared that 'all men are created equal.' History, however, shows us that this has rarely held true in our 230 years as a nation, and contemporary American society continues to remind us that this has yet to come to fruition. De facto racial segregation plagues our communities and women continue to have limited opportunities. But these, at least, are no longer legislated.

In case the far-too-frequent hate crimes and daily hardships faced by gays and lesbians does not remind us of our second-class citizenship in this country, more states amend their constitutions to limit our rights with each election year. Only one state offers us full marriage, while a handful of others offers us a 21st century reincarnation of colored-only water fountains; civil unions may seem like a step toward complete marriage equality, but in the grand retrospect of history, will still prove to be 'the back of the bus.'

Our battle for full equal protection under the law will be arduous, and as the past few months have shown us in Washington and New York, often disappointing. Soulforce's mission is to fight religion-based discrimination so that one day soon, gays and lesbians can have all the opportunities and privileges granted to heterosexuals without inciting the condemnation of others in the name of religion.

Legislation is the key to successful ascension to full citizenship, but only activism can overcome the anti-progressive inertia that has proven throughout history to resist change and promote social stagnation. Had Rosa Parks not refused to give up her seat, or if Samuel Adams had not dumped tea into the Chesapeake, our great nation would have progressed no further than a racially segregated colony. So too, will activism prove crucial to our civil rights battle.

We have chosen to confront 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' specifically because it is the most blatant federal law explicitly limiting the prospects of gay and lesbian Americans. By highlighting our own rejection from the armed forces, we hope to draw attention to a much larger problem in American society: we will never achieve equal legal and social status as long as the government continues to send the message that we are heterosexuals' moral, physical, and spiritual inferiors. Just as it took federal action spurred by mass protest to move Gov. George Wallace aside for the first African-American student to enter the University of Alabama, so too will a clear message from Washington be needed to overcome the states' discriminatory laws and change the national perception of gays and lesbians. However, as long we are complacent and apathetic in being given a portion of the rights we deserve, our representatives in the nation's Capitol will continue to skirt the issue of our equality and outright deny our status as heterosexuals' equals.

As I prepared for my enlistment date, I had an unexpected debate with a gay friend about the Right to Serve campaign and the injustice of DADT. Pointing to the war in Iraq, my otherwise open-minded friend considered this policy his ticket out of a draft. I informed him that DADT author Charles Moskos himself said that the law would disappear in the event of a draft, and my friend's sense of security was quickly dissolved. His unwillingness to take ownership of the gay and lesbian plight, unfortunately, could not be so easily overcome. Just like a majority of gay youth, the issue of gays serving openly in the military does not affect him personally. He does not want to be in the army, so why should he fight for that privilege and responsibility? The same mentality has prevented wide-reaching success in the battle for the right to marry.

The gay community has resources that could affect real change. Yet we have not seen a mass protest for our rights in the 37 years since a handful of fed-up gays, lesbians, and transsexuals stood up for their right to assemble in a New York bar, thus galvanizing the global gay rights movement. We have sat idly watching the country fall into the hands of those who call themselves our enemies, and all energy created post-Stonewall has all but disappeared. Our apathy will prevent success and allow for further measures to be taken against us. The Right to Serve campaign is about more than the right to fight and die for my country; it's the next step in the civil rights movement and the path to complete equality. Even those who are anti-military should be concerned and deeply frightened by the 13-year history of DADT, because as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'

Robert Fojtik, Co-Organizer of the Chicago Campaign of Soulforce's Right to Serve


This article shared 3788 times since Wed Sep 6, 2006
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor 2024-03-08
- Hanania Ben-Shimon—the gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recently—published a post in which he pleaded that his ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Chuck Schumer, anti-marriage bill, drag event back on, military doctor 2024-02-23
- U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced his support for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)—and, as a result, several LGBTQ+-advocacy organizations dropped their opposition to it, The Hill ...


Gay News

Col. Jennifer Pritzker comments on military museum move 2024-02-13
- Local transgender philanthropist Col. Jennifer Pritzker commented to Windy City Times about the impending move of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library (PMML), which she founded in 2003, to Wisconsin. "At the end of the day, ...


Gay News

Pritzker Military Library to close in July, move to Wisconsin 2024-02-08
- On Feb. 7, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library announced that it is closing its downtown Chicago location on July 27 and moving to an archives center in Wisconsin later this year, according to The Chicago ...


Gay News

PASSAGES Paris Johnson 2023-12-29
- Paris Johnson, 29, of Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, passed away unexpectedly Nov. 28. He would have celebrated his 30th birthday Dec. 20. Born into a military family in Sacramento, California, Paris moved often in his youth, ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Women's college, banned books, military initiative, Oregon 2023-12-29
- After backlash regarding a decision to update its anti-discrimination policy and open enrollment to some transgender applicants, a Catholic women's college in Indiana will return to its previous admission policy, per The National Catholic Reporter. In ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Music awards, military film, Tom of Finland, Yo-Yo Ma, 'Harley Quinn' 2023-11-17
Video below - Brothers Osborne—a duo that includes gay brother TJ Osborne—won Vocal Duo of the Year for the sixth time at the recent CMA Awards, per a media release. Backstage, TJ told reporters, "I did not expect us ...


Gay News

AVER celebrates LGBTQ+ veterans at annual Veterans Day dinner 2023-11-12
- Writer and historian Owen Keehnen was keynote speaker at the the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) Chicago Chapter's 32nd annual LGBTQ Veterans Day Banquet held on Veterans Day at Ann Sather restaurant on Belmont. Keehnen ...


Gay News

South Korean court upholds military 'sodomy law' 2023-10-28
- For the fourth time, South Korea's constitutional court has upheld two anti-LGBTQ+ laws—including the country's notorious military "sodomy law," The Guardian reported. By a vote of five to four, the court confirmed the constitutionality of ar ...


Gay News

WORLD Couple's win, attack in Beirut, German military, gay ski week 2023-09-08
- In Strasbourg, France, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Bulgaria violated the rights of a same-sex couple (Darina Koilova and Lili Babulkova) by not recognizing their marriage abroad, RFE/RL reported. Rights groups lauded the ...


Gay News

'We've had a ball': Prominent activists Jim Darby and Patrick Bova celebrate 60th anniversary 2023-09-07
- One of the first couples to be legally married in Illinois is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year. Jim Darby and Patrick Bova fell in love decades before they became the lead plaintiffs in Lambda Legal's ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Military drama, Janelle Monae, Conan Gray, Dylan Mulvaney, Whoopi 2023-08-31
- The LGBTQ+ military drama Eismayer (from Dark Star Pictures and Golden Girls Film) will be out in theaters on Oct. 6, and on DVD and Digital on Oct. 10, per a press release. The plot is ...


Gay News

FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act would undercut equality, Modern Military Assoc of America comments 2023-07-14
--From a press release - Washington D.C. - Anti-equality House members are using the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act to pass dangerous amendments targeting healthcare, gender-affirming care, education, and LGBTQ+ friendly services and resources. The ...


Gay News

WORLD Pride celebrations, puberty blockers, British military, killer sentenced 2023-06-16
- Gay Pride Buenos Aires is slated to take place Oct. 27-Nov. 4, according to GayTravel4U.com. More than 30 organizations and groups host activities that will begin a week before the parade (which is on Nov. 4). ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT War in the 21st Century: mercenaries, private military companies, private armies 2023-05-20
- In 2022, $407 billion of the Pentagon budget—representing half of that year's funding —were obligated to private contractors, of which a significant number were Private Military Companies (PMCs) involved in ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS






Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.