Military Scholar Critiques John Kerry's Position on Gay Ban

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MILITARY SCHOLAR CRITIQUES JOHN KERRY’S POSITION ON GAY BAN

Historically Supportive of Gay Rights, Kerry Still Says Gay Ban “Could Work”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:

Nathaniel Frank
Senior Research Fellow



SANTA BARBARA, CA, March 17, 2003 – A Military Scholar who studies the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay soldiers raised concern recently over remarks by a leading Democratic presidential contender, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, about the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. In an interview with In Los Angeles magazine, Sen. Kerry expressed opposition to the policy on gay soldiers, but stopped short of a promise to work to end the ban if he were elected president.

When asked if he would “challenge” the policy, he said, “you can’t do it right now because it’s an Administrative issue, an executive issue.” He also said the ban “could work if it’s applied properly… they’re simply not following the policy.” When asked if he would “act to eradicate the policy,” he said he would “take steps to try to guarantee that we have fair access to service in the military for everybody in America with no holds barred.”

Dr. Aaron Belkin, Director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California, Santa Barbara, questioned the meaning of Sen. Kerry’s assertion that the ban could work if it were “applied properly.” He said that whether the ban “could work” depends on what the goals of the ban are. “What it has clearly worked to do,” he said, “is to swell the number of discharges and encourage anti-gay harassment by discouraging victims from speaking out for fear of reprisals.” In some instances, a report of harassment has prompted an investigation into the victim’s sexual orientation instead of the behavior of the accused.

Belkin disputed Sen. Kerry’s contention that the gay ban was an administrative issue. He explained that the current policy, implemented in 1994, was passed by Congress and is thus federal statute. Rather than being an executive issue, then, Congress would need to act in order to lift the ban.

Despite his current unwillingness to challenge the ban directly, Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the country’s largest gay rights lobbying group, gave Sen. Kerry a 100% approval rating. David Smith, a spokesperson for HRC, said that the senator “clearly opposes a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’” citing supportive remarks he made in 1993 on the senate floor for ending the ban altogether.

(more)

http://www.gaymilitary.ucsb.edu/PressCenter/press_rel_2003_0317c.htm

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1. Misleading headline.

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When asked if he would “act to eradicate the policy,” he said he would “take steps to try to guarantee that we have fair access to service in the military for everybody in America with no holds barred.”
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If Kerry said this, AND testified in front of Congress to allow gays to serve openly, then this article was written probably to deceive voters.

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2. and according to the CNN candidate profile:

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Gays in the military
Favors allowing homosexuals to serve openly in military

Gay adoption
Supports adoption by homosexuals

Hate crime legislation
Expand federal hate crimes legislation, assure equal justice

http://us.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/special/president/issues/index.kerry.html

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3. and according to Human Rights Campaign:

Kerry: For the Record
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Born in a military hospital in 1943 to a World War II serviceman and his wife, John Kerry has had a lifelong affiliation with the U.S. military. As a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, Kerry made
a distinctive stand in support of gays in the military during early '90s hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I think that any American ought to be able to serve their country if they are physically qualified and able," said the Massachusetts senator in a recent interview with HRC Quarterly. "There were gay people who served in Vietnam. There were gay people who served in World War II, Korea and World War I — and great acts of heroism have been per-formed by people who are gay."

Kerry is among the early front-runners in the bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. A Yale graduate, Kerry was elected lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 1982. He was elected to the Senate in 1984, and has consistently supported, sometimes at great political peril, civil rights for the gay community.

In addition to his support for gays in the military, he was one of only 14 senators to vote in 1996 against the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. "I thought it was rank gay bashing; it was pure political exploitation," said Kerry.
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Kerry says his record over the years on a range of issues sets him apart from other candidates. In 1985, he authored the Senate version of the gay civil rights bill — a measure that, if passed, would have covered discrimination in employment, housing and credit. His average score on the Human Rights Campaign's congressional scorecard, begun in the 101st Congress, is 96 percent — with a perfect score for the last four congresses.

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"I think that tolerance is what this country is built on," said Kerry. "That's what America is about. That's our journey."

http://www.hrc.org/publications/hrcq/hrcq03sp/kerry.asp