(Washington, DC) - From Newsday.com

CRIMINAL WAIVERS PROVE LUNACY OF ARMY POLICY ON GAYS

BY GARY ACKERMAN

Rep. Gary Ackerman, a Democrat representing the North Shore in Queens and Nassau County, is co-sponsoring a bill to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy

That sound you hear in Washington is the federal government shooting itself in the foot.

A recent investigation by CBS News found that the U.S. Army is so desperate for new people to fill the ranks and staff the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that it recently issued 8,000 criminal waivers to potential recruits. At least 100 of those were waivers for convicted felons whose records included everything from burglary to drug charges.

"We've always been an Army that's been known to give patriotic citizens second and third chances," Col. Sheila Hickman told CBS. And that may be true ... as long as those patriotic Americans don't happen to be gay or lesbian.

Since 1993, our armed forces have fired more than 11,000 gays and lesbians under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Of those sent packing because of the law, nearly 800 had skills deemed "mission-critical" by the Department of Defense, including at least 322 language specialists, 58 of whom spoke Arabic.

The list of good people ejected from military service because of their sexual orientation also includes doctors, combat engineers, pilots and military police officers. They didn't have criminal pasts (now acceptable), didn't need a waiver to enlist, and there was no good reason to send them away.

Just to make this clear: In the middle of a war in which we are losing people every day, we are removing from the armed forces volunteers who have absolutely vital, lifesaving skills because they happen to be gay or lesbian.

Consider the case of former Army Sgt. Bleu Copas, an Arabic linguist stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. Copas had a stellar service record and the respect of his fellow troops. His command became suspicious about his sexuality after someone sent an anonymous e-mail to a Bragg official. When they learned that Copas had regularly participated in community theater, the curtain came down. Seeing no reason to retain a highly skilled, highly regarded Arabic speaker, who had done nothing wrong but happened to be gay, the U.S. Army fired Sgt. Copas.

The stupidity of this policy goes further still. Copas - and countless other gay service members dismissed under this law - can and often do continue to serve our country as civilian government employees or through government contractors.

How do they qualify to get these jobs, which require high-level security clearances and often pay double the wages received by those in uniform? It's thanks to the extensive background check and costly training provided by the taxpayer. We get to pay for the security clearance process, pay for the specialized training and then buy - at a 100 percent markup - the services of the very same people who were fired.

This absurdity can't continue. The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is not only wasteful and inefficient, it's unfair and un-American. In the middle of a war we are throwing out good people who have volunteered to put their lives on the line for their country. Every day, another two service members are fired because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and unlike the crooks we're now reduced to recruiting, gays aren't granted second chances.

It used to be argued that service by openly gay and lesbian patriots would undermine the efficacy of our armed forces. I find it hard to believe that our soldiers and Marines - who go on daily combat patrols carrying 60 pounds of gear and ammo in 120-degree heat with the real prospect of death or dismemberment - are going to lose their nerve if the gays and lesbians who are already serving in uniform are allowed to do so openly.

If they're tough enough to tackle al-Qaida, I think they'll manage to serve with "Will and Grace." Canada, Australia, Israel and every country in Europe allows open service by gays and lesbians. I haven't heard that any of these countries' armed forces are seriously overstretched (like ours) or have been reduced to recruiting ex-cons to fill their ranks (like ours).

Until this regressive policy is consigned to the trash heap with other indefensible forms of bias, more messages will go untranslated, more wounded service members will go untreated and more recruitment slots will go unfilled. If we're serious about winning the war on terror, we need to roll out the welcome mat for every patriot, gay or straight, who wants to serve. When Congress reconvenes in September, we need to do the right thing and lift this ban.

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-opack075322802aug07,0,738289,print.story

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