Argumentative Essay: Homosexuality In The Military

Being gay is now socially acceptable, however, there was a time when you could’ve potentially faced punishment if you were homosexual. This New York Times article is particular to veterans of the army. In essence, many members of the U.S. army were given less-then-honorable-discharges for just being gay (about 100,000) between World War II and the 2011 repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Most of these discharged members went into what can be called “hiding.” For example, Private Donald Hallman was discharged in 1955 and he, like most other members, was extremely afraid of being socially outcast. As a result of this fear, he destroyed all his military records and acted like he was never part of the military from then on. …show more content…
He even went as far as joining the church choir. This isn’t to say that the life he created after the military was an illusion. It just illustrates how terrifying being labeled as a homosexual could’ve been during those times. Now discharged veterans like Hallman are “coming out” and appealing that their less-than-honorable discharges be upgraded to honorable discharges because times have changed and being gay is just about casual now. The government has granted more than 75% of those who submitted applications to the Department of Defense an upgrade in their discharge statuses. Those who were not granted an upgrade were not granted upgrades due to additional “aggravating” factors alongside their discharge (such as bad behavior). Due to their upgrades, these veterans are finally eligible to receive their deserved benefits that regular veterans of the U.S. army receive. Now, their legacies have also been authenticated and their contributions to their country,