University of Chicago Press Out in Force – Sexual Orientation & the Military (Worlds of Desire: The Chicago Series on Sexuality, Gender, and Culture)

Can the U.S. military integrate gay personnel into its ranks and still accomplish its mission? In 1993, this question became the centre of a heated debate when President Clinton attempted to lift the long-standing ban on gays in the military. This debate persists because the compromise policy "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue," faces serious legal challenges, and is likely to go to the Supreme Court before the end of the decade. Just below the surface of this debate rages a more general argument about the status of gay people in America. This volume refutes the notion that homosexuality is imcompatible with military service and that gay personnel would undermine order and discipline. Contributors seek to show that the ban on homosexual personnel could successfully be eliminated and they set forth a programme for implementation.