Vets speak on gay policy

Homosexual ex-service members share stories in hopes of reversing the military's
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," statute.

dailypress.com
BY STEPHANIE HEINATZ
247-7821
July 30, 2006
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-87525sy0jul30,0,6096956.story?track=rss

NORFOLK -- Robert M. Rankin stood tall and walked proudly to a small podium.

His white uniform was crisp. The gold bars on his shoulders - signifying his rank as a Navy captain - were perfectly attached.

And his smile was as bright as the ribbons decorating his chest.

When the current clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at George Washington University retired from the military in 1980, the Navy asked him for one small favor.

"When you speak to any group about a military subject, speak in uniform," Rankin said.

On Saturday, at the Fred Heutte Center in Norfolk, Rankin was among four veterans who led a discussion on the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy - a 12-year-old federal statute governing the gays in the armed services.

Rankin spoke about how he thought that the policy was having a negative effect on the Defense Department.

Quality men and women are being ushered out of the military because they're thought - or found - to be gay, Rankin said. Between 1994 and 2003, about 9,500 service members were discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy.

But, Rankin said, during the Vietnam War - before the policy - he knew a young Marine who was gay, his command knew that he was gay - and he was kept in the service because, as the young troop told Rankin, "when they need you, they keep you."

Rankin also spoke of his own pain of staying in the closet, of losing his life partner to AIDS.

Organized by the recently created Military Equality Alliance, the event was meant to "educate Virginia voters on how horrible this policy is," said Lara Ballard, a Washington attorney who spent four years in the Army and moderated the discussion.

The timing had nothing to do with the coming vote in November where Virginians will consider a state amendment banning gay marriages.

But, Ballard said, it had everything to do with encouraging Virginians to petition their legislators to reverse the policy.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell," was part of the 1994 Defense Authorization Act.

It says engaging in homosexual conduct is grounds for dismissal from the military, but commanders and recruiters can't ask about a person's sexual orientation.

Ballard said the policy forced gay, lesbian and bisexual service members to keep their sexual orientation a secret.

If they say they are gay, lesbian or bisexual - or attempt to marry someone of the same sex - the policy allows commanders to investigate them, which could lead to an administrative discharge.

Supporters of the policy say allowing openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people into the military would hurt recruiting and unit cohesiveness because heterosexual troops could feel uncomfortable working and living so closely with them.

Nearly 50 people attended the event, most of whom are either in the military or knew someone in uniform struggling with their sexual orientation.

Throughout the more than two hours of the event, two men stood outside the center, yelling that God doesn't like homosexuals.

They held up large signs asking homosexuals to decide whether they wanted to go to heaven or hell.

Rankin happens to think that God doesn't condemn homosexuals, and neither should the military.

Years ago, Rankin said, when he was still on duty, a young sailor went to him in confidence.

"He thought he might be gay," Rankin said the sailor told him.

He wasn't being teased or persecuted, but he feared that God would condemn him for being attracted to men. Rankin suggested that he go see a Navy chaplain.

The chaplain, though, confirmed the young man's worst fears.

So the sailor attempted to commit suicide by walking into a minefield in Cuba.

Sadly, Rankin said, "I guess he saw suicide as his only way out."

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