By
Sheila Bapat
Steve May was a great lieutenant in the Army, and he is a great representative in the state legislature.
Yet he has been forced to defend himself on both fronts. Last year, the Phoenix Republican was battling colleagues from his own party over anti-gay legislation. He is currently fighting to save his military career.
On Saturday, May faced a panel of military bigwigs who are threatening to strip him of his military title because he is gay. After the three-member panel of army colonels heard his case in Los Alamitos, Ca., they made a recommendation to the general of the 163 Reserve, John Scott, to discharge him from the army. General Scott will make the final decision in the case at an undisclosed date.
May's case exemplifies the pathetic state of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. Instead of being a force for tolerance, the policy is allowing the military to throw more gays out the American armed forces. What was May's offense? He merely stated that he is gay last year during a debate over anti-gay legislation on the floor of the state legislature.
After, the Army that he served as a chemical weapons defense officer, so faithfully and with such distinction, seized this opportunity to put May on the stand, saying that he breached the don't ask, don't tell policy and therefore deserves to be thrown out.
In doing so the military has yet again proven what everyone already knows: it is a vehemently intolerant institution. It has defended its position by saying that the armed forces are not the place for "social experimentation." Translation: we are the armed forces, and we can discriminate as we please.
For some reason, the Army has thus far been given permission to ignore basic social rules of tolerance. The idea that you are free to serve as long as you do your job well simply does not exist. May did his job well before anyone knew he was gay. Somehow, disclosing his sexuality forced the Army to forget how valuable his service was. May is arguing that by using his speech against him, the military is attacking his constitutional right to free speech within the legislature.
Not only is the military trying to discharge him, but it is trying to send him out with a general discharge instead of an honorable discharge. "This has become a vendetta against Lt. May," Chris Wolf, May's attorney, told the Arizona Republic. "A general discharge is not typical under don't ask, don't tell and is frankly reserved for bad soldiers. Lt. May is anything but a bad soldier. In fact, he is an exemplary officer." In the military's eyes, May's sexuality is enough to negate his accomplishments as an officer.
The United States military needs to open its eyes. Don't ask, don't tell began as a Clinton administration proposal that intended to help homosexuals serve in the military without fear of being questioned about their sexuality and being thrown out. After being pushed through an unrelentingly anti-gay US Congress, the bill became less a protection for gays than it was a tool for the military to throw out anyone whose sexuality was disclosed.
Thus, the military has been allowed to discharge officers left and right. Of course, May was outspoken about his sexuality only because he was forced to when other state legislators began pushing ridiculously unfair legislation.
He chose to stand up and speak out about it instead of sitting by and letting the status quo slide, as do other gay Republican leaders in Arizona.
May plans to appeal the military's decision, and the case could actually make a full circle and find itself at the White House, where the don't ask, don't tell policy first began. A Clinton White House gives May's case some hope.
It is impossible to know what it will take for the military to change its policies of discrimination. It will undoubtedly require a movement, led by people who put themselves on the frontlines to challenge an unfair system.
It will require more people like Steve May.
