"On the battlefield its how you fight that matters not who you sleep with" according to a senior officer in the U.K. forces. While our country awaits a resolution to the outdated "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and presumably "Do Lie" policy currently in force with the military, I asked my friend, Baroness Denise Kingsmill, a member of the House of Lords how her country was dealing with gays serving openly in their military since 2000?
Bill Donius: What is your country's experience and how many gays and lesbians are serve today?
Denise Kingsmill: Ten years after Tony Blair's government lifted the ban on homosexuals serving in the British Armed forces, following a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, there are now estimated to be 14,000 gay men and women serving in the UK's Armed Forces.
Bill Donius: Has there been a backlash, or impact on the military in any way?
Denise Kingsmill: The feared resistance, harassment and discord in the ranks just hasn't happened. In fact, the move has been found to have no negative impact on morale, cohesion or effectiveness.
Bill Donius: Has the military made special accommodations?
Denise Kingsmill: Gays in the military now receive exactly the same treatment as anyone else. When civil partnerships were introduced in the UK in 2005, giving same sex partners equal legal rights, the armed forces changed the designation of married quarters to Service Family Accommodation. Today gay couples have the same rights to housing, pension and compensation and, crucially, to be notified as next-of-kin in the event of injury or death on the front line.
Bill Donius: How are the commanding officers dealing with this issue?
Denise Kingsmill: General Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff the UK's highest ranking officer until he retired last year, said in a speech in London in 2008, that respect for gays, lesbians and trans-sexual officers was now a command responsibility and was vital for operational effectiveness. He said, " We have made real progress in our understanding of equality and diversity in the military context and there is a desire to achieve more; respect for others is not an optional extra, it is an essential part of leadership, teamwork and operational effectiveness." This widely publicised speech was the culmination of a remarkable transformation in the attitude to gays serving in the armed forces not only in the military itself but also in the country as a whole.
Bill Donius: This experience contrasts remarkably with our experience in the U.S. How do you account for the difference?
Denise Kingsmill: I think there are three main reasons. First and perhaps most importantly is that we are, by temperamental and historical inclination, a largely liberal minded society. As a small, crowded island we have to be accepting of each other. Wave after wave of immigrants first from the Commonwealth and more recently Europe, have been absorbed mostly without serious concerns. We have acquired the habit of tolerance. Sexual orientation and behaviour is just another aspect of diversity we have learned to embrace.
Second, the weakening in the influence of the Church and the religious right has also played a role. The Established Church of England is one of the last bastions of anti-gay prejudice still outside the law. It is the only institution that can, legally, discriminate against the employment of gay people and they have recently fought hard to retain the right to refuse a religious service to gay couples wishing to marry, even in circumstances where the church and the priest may wish to offer this. The Bishops may have seats in Parliament reserved for them but Church attendance in the UK is declining rapidly and it is only a matter of time when this last barrier to full equality falls. The Armed Forces have been much more progressive.
Third, the impact of legislation on social change should not be underestimated. Many major shifts in social attitudes have been preceded by progressive acts of Parliament, sometimes in advance of public opinion. Foremost among these must be the abolition of the death penalty in 1969, when it was likely that a majority of the country still supported capital punishment. Today, polls show there is only a very small minority that would support its reintroduction. The readiness with which the no-smoking ban was accepted and almost universally implemented when the law changed is another example. Similarly, years of prejudice and discrimination against gays within the armed forces, has almost completely disappeared. Change came slowly at first but now the Army actively recruits gays. Senior officers even attend Gay Pride Marches in uniform, and advertise for recruits in leading gay publications.
Bill Donius: Are there other factors accounting for the more accepting environment of sexual orientation and sexual identity in your country?
Denise Kingsmill: Some have also argued that since the officer class in the UK's armed forces were mostly educated in single sex boarding schools where early gay experimentation was common they are more relaxed about such behaviour. This is an intriguing idea, unfortunately not born out by the facts about the educational background of the modern military!
The UK Armed forces are very different in 2010 from just a decade ago. There are many openly gay officers serving alongside their heterosexual comrades with full equality, their sexuality not an issue. That this has coincided with an almost continuous war-footing or active troop engagement.
Bill Donius: Kudos to the U.K. for not being narrow minded in their approach to military service. A policy that encourages those who are willing to die for their country's honor to lie about who they are simply does not make sense. I appreciate the Baroness' comments and interests in helping us move this debate along. Godspeed. As the senior officer said, "On the battlefield its how you fight that matters not who you sleep with."